Rhian Wilkinson has been named the next head coach of the Wales women’s national team.
Wilkinson’s last head coaching gig was the Portland Thorns, with whom she won the 2022 NWSL championship. Five weeks after that, however, Wilkinson resigned as head coach after self-reporting that she and a player had developed feelings for one another. No inappropriate relationship took place.
Even still, Thorns players had asked for Wilkinson’s resignation, despite the coach being investigated and cleared of wrongdoing by the NWSL and its players union. Wilkinson resigned due to feeling as though she had lost the confidence of the team.
Wales has been without a permanent head coach since January, when Gemma Grainger departed to take over as manager of the Norwegian national team. Under Grainger, Wales reached the World Cup qualifying playoffs for the first time, although failed to secure a spot in last summer’s tournament.
Wilkinson is a former defender for the Canadian national team, having made 183 international appearances and winning two Olympic bronze medals as a player.
“The team has gone from strength to strength in the last few years and I aim to build on that with our mission to qualify for next summer’s Euros and beyond,” Wilkinson said in a statement. “We have a group of players that are ready and deserve to be in major tournaments. I can’t wait to meet them and work with them.
“My mother is Welsh, and I spent part of my childhood growing up in south Wales, so I’m excited to involve myself with the country’s culture and explore that part of my roots even further.”
Football Association of Wales underwent a “worldwide” search for its next head coach ahead of Euro 2025 qualifying in April. Wales midfielder Katie Sherwood told the BBC that the hiring of Wilkinson is “really exciting.”
“I think it’s a huge statement of intent from the FAW, a real ambitious appointment,” she said. “I’m just really excited to see what Rhian can bring to this team and hopefully she can be that final piece in getting us to that qualification. Her CV as a player, as a manager, is quite remarkable. She’s played all over the world, 183 caps for Canada, but she’s also made huge strides in the women’s game as a manager as well. To have that experience coming into Wales, I think it’s really important to have someone like that in charge of the team who’s been there and done it themselves as a player.
“She has a great squad to work with, it’s just those final details. Her teams score goals and they don’t concede many and I think that’s where she’ll really help this team going forward.”