By Andrew Warshaw
August 21 – Hope Powell, one of the most recognisable faces in women’s football, has been sacked after 15 years as manager of the England national team following the country’s group stage exit at Euro 2013 last month.
England lost two matches and drew one in Sweden, their worst performance at a European Championship since 2001 having reached the final four years ago. Home fans were also disappointed that Powell’s England-based GB team lost in the quarter-finals of the London Olympics to Canada.
“The time is right to make a change and for a fresh outlook,” said FA general secretary Alex Horne. ” Hope…leaves a strong legacy, having helped the FA build the women’s game to the strong position it is in today.
“The FA has made significant investment into the women’s game over the past 20 years and this has seen major developments such as The FA Women’s Super League.
“We have received outstanding support and investment from broadcast and commercial partners, and participation levels make women’s football the third most played sport in England.
“It is important we continue this development at major tournaments so we can compete, with Germany, France, Spain and the Nordic countries in Europe in addition to the likes of Japan, Brazil, USA and Canada at the 2015 FIFA World Cup.”
Powell, a former international with 66 caps, was the face of English women’s game and will be a tough act to follow, having steered England to the Euro finals in 2009 and the World Cup quarterfinals two years later.
It seems highly likely that she will now be in the running for managerial positions with a Football League club, or just below that level, as and when they become available.
Her dismissal comes amid a concerted effort by the English FA to increase the profile of the women’s game, just as FIFA have done at international level with one elected and two co-opted female members of their executive committee.
More than 70,000 turned out at Wembley to watch Team GB defeat Brazil in a group match during the Olympics last summer and a few months later the FA launched a five-year plan aimed at making women’s football the second-most played sport in the country.
The £3.5m blueprint included the creation of an Elite Performance Unit and the appointment of a head of elite development to develop the best young players; delivering a new commercial strategy for women’s football to include more broadcast coverage to help promote women’s football as a brand in its own right; and expanding the semi-professional Women’s Super League by introducing a second division in 2014 to enable promotion and relegation.
The FA hopes that the introduction of two tiers will increase competition and grow the game and has agreed to part-fund both divisions, awarding £70,000 to clubs in WSL1 and £25,000 in WSL2.
Powell said at the time she hoped the plan could help the national team challenge the likes of Germany, France and the USA but will now not be given the chance to make that happen as she pays a heavy price for England’s poor showing at Euro 2013.
Contact the writer of this story at andrew.warshaw@insideworldfootball