FAI won't offer new contract to women's manager Vera Pauw

Vera Pauw will not continue as the manager of the Ireland Women's National Team, the FAI Board announced on Tuesday, August 29.

"At the meeting of the FAI Board, the Board has decided that Ireland Women's National Team Manager, Vera Pauw, will not be offered a new contract after the expiry of her current contract at the end of this month," the association said in a statement on Tuesday night.

"Appointed in September 2019, Vera led the team to their first-ever major tournament – the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 – and a FIFA Women’s World Ranking of 22."

FAI CEO Jonathan Hill commented: “On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future.

"In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, where our women’s team made history and inspired a nation.

“The future is bright for women and girls’ football, and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women’s team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team and, more broadly, the development of women and girls’ football in this country.”

The FAI Board decided Pauw's fate on Tuesday night during a meeting where a full report on the Irish team's FIFA Women's World Cup qualification campaign and the tournament itself was discussed.

Ireland failed to make the knockout stages at this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup after narrowly losing to Australia and Canada and drawing with Nigeria.

According to the Irish Independent, some members of the FAI Board did argue to extend Pauw's contract, but the majority favored the decision to sever ties and move on to a new coach for the national side.

RTÉ noted that Pauw was plagued by allegations that she shamed players for their weight during her time with NWSL side Houston Dash. Pauw, 60, denies the allegations.

Despite Pauw's denial of the allegations, they "clouded preparations" for Ireland's appearance in the World Cup, which saw Pauw and captain Katie McCabe engage in an on-field row during their match against Nigeria.

Pauw, who refused to heed McCabe's urges to make changes, said in her post-match press conference: "If Katie McCabe wants a change, it doesn't mean… she's not the coach."

Afterward, McCabe tweeted out a zipped-mouth emoji, which drew more than 7k likes.

Eileen Gleeson, the FAI's head of women and girls’ football, has been appointed interim head coach of the Republic of Ireland team while the FAI begins the process of finding Pauw's replacement.

Gleeson will lead Ireland's Women's Senior Team as they play Northern Ireland in Dublin on September 23 for the UEFA Nations League opener, followed by a game against Hungary in Budapest on September 26.