The FAW have announced the appointment of Rhian Wilkinson as Wales Women’s National Team Head Coach until 2027.
Wilkinson has been a coach since retiring from playing in 2017, most recently at Portland Thorns where her side won the NWSL Championship in 2022. Prior to joining the Thorns, Wilkinson was the Head Coach for the Canada U17 and U20 youth programs and was an Assistant Coach for England, Team GB at the 2021 Olympic Games, and for Canada at the 2019 FIFA World Cup. As a player, Wilkinson represented Canada 183 times, playing in four World Cups and three Olympic games. Wilkinson is a UEFA A License and Canada A License holder and is currently on the FAW’s UEFA Pro License programme.
Speaking about her appointment, Wilkinson said: “It’s an incredible honour to be taking on the role of Cymru Head Coach. 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. 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.”
FAW President Steve Williams said: “I am thrilled to welcome Rhian to the FAW as the Women’s National Team Head Coach. After the growth of the team in recent years, we now look forward to seeing that progress even further, as the team aims to put Wales on the world stage with major tournament qualification for the first time.”
The FAW’s Chief Football Officer, Dr. David Adams, also welcomed Wilkinson’s appointment: “We undertook a thorough recruitment process for the new Head Coach, and we were very impressed with the high quality of the candidates. The FAW has made good progress across the women’s game in Wales over recent years and Rhian’s appointment puts us in the best place possible for qualification to next summer’s EUROs and the period beyond. Qualification for a major tournament would be a turning point for the women’s game across Wales, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Wilkinson will be in Dublin for Wales’ fixture tomorrow evening (Tuesday 27 February) and will then take charge of the squad for the first time during the April international window, which will mark the start of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 qualifying campaign. Wales will discover their opponents at the draw in Nyon, Switzerland on Tuesday 5 March.
