Appointed in September 2019, Vera Pauw led Republic of Ireland Women to their first major tournament; Ireland finished bottom of their World Cup group after losing against Australia and Canada before a draw with Nigeria
Wednesday 30 August 2023 21:21, UK
Vera Pauw's tenure as Republic of Ireland Women head coach is set to end after nearly four years in charge.
A lengthy meeting of the FAI board on Tuesday led to the decision not to renew Pauw's contract, which expires at the end of this month.
Appointed in September 2019, the 60-year-old led the team to their first major tournament - the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 - and a FIFA Women's World ranking of 22.
FAI CEO Jonathan Hill said: "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."
Earlier this month, Ireland's Football Association (FAI) said they would go through a "full and comprehensive review" of the team's debut at the Women's World Cup before taking a call on the future of head coach Pauw.
Ireland finished bottom of their group after losing their opening two games against co-hosts Australia and Olympic champions Canada before a draw with Nigeria.
Speaking after their tournament exit, the Dutch coach said she did not feel like it was her last game in charge and attended the team's homecoming event in Dublin.
"Why would I not be at the homecoming? I go back with my team. Otherwise I would have stayed in Australia enjoying the tournament," she added.
Pauw questioned her captain Katie McCabe's request for substitutions during the draw with Nigeria, reminding her that "she's not the coach".
McCabe appeared to question Pauw's reluctance to turn to the bench during the second half of the 0-0 draw in Brisbane - a result that consigned Ireland to a last-placed finish in Group B.
But Pauw chose not to make any changes until the 83rd minute and explained after the game why she declined McCabe's request.
"Why would we change?" asked the manager. "If Katie McCabe says that she wants to change, it doesn't mean... she's not the coach.
"Everybody was doing so well so I said, 'what do you want, Katie? Taking the best player off? No'.
"Players are allowed to be emotional and allowed to say that. That's fine, but during the game, I step back and analyse and we make changes the moment that it is necessary.
"A player can say everything to a coach, at least to me.
"She wanted fresh legs on her side [but] everybody was doing so well. Sinead Farrelly was arguably the best player on the pitch at that moment so I was not prepared to take the best player off."
McCabe did not comment on her exchange with Pauw after the match but did take to social media to post an apparent response to her manager.
Arguably Ireland's best player, McCabe spent the entire tournament at left wing-back but still managed to score what remains her country's only Women's World Cup goal to date when she found the net directly from a corner against Canada.
However, Ireland went on to lose that match 2-1 which, combined with their earlier 1-0 defeat to co-hosts Australia, meant McCabe's side were already eliminated ahead of their meeting with Nigeria.
"To be calm, composed and patient in our defensive work, to have a lot of the possession was really good," said McCabe post-match. "It was just about utilising it in the right areas.
"We did create some good opportunities and it was disappointing that we didn't capitalise on it."
