90min

England manager Gareth Southgate in line for new contract beyond 2022

By Jamie Spencer

Gareth Southgate is expected to get a contract extension as England manager beyond his existing deal that expires in 2022
Gareth Southgate is expected to get a contract extension as England manager beyond his existing deal that expires in 2022 / Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
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England manager Gareth Southgate is in line for a new contract regardless of how his team perform against Germany in their Euro 2020 last 16 tie on Tuesday and how far they go in the competition, with the FA keen for him to remain in charge beyond the next World Cup in Qatar.

Southgate’s current deal as England boss runs until the end of 2022 and the completion of the 2022 World Cup cycle, with the finals in November and December, but FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has revealed there are already plans for extension talks.

The 50-year-old coach has made a significant impact since being appointed England manager on a permanent basis in late 2016. The Three Lions reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for only the third time ever in 2018 and went on to play in the last four of the 2019 UEFA Nations League.

Southgate has had plenty of public criticism in recent weeks over his team’s style of play at Euro 2020 so far. But even prior to England’s opening game there were already reports that his job would be safe no matter what the tournament was to bring.

The FA are impressed with Southgate and what happens in Euro 2020 won't have any bearing on the decision
The FA are impressed with Southgate and what happens in Euro 2020 won't have any bearing on the decision / Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Now, Bullingham has gone further and publicly stated that the plan is for Southgate to continue, not just until the 2022 World Cup in 18 months’ time, but beyond that into the next cycle.

“We’ll get into that formal conversation after this tournament. But if you ask me now I’d say ‘yes we’d like him to carry on [beyond Qatar]’,” Bullingham told the Daily Telegraph.

“I think he’s doing a brilliant job. I haven’t said that we’ve offered him a new contract. I haven’t gone into the details of that. But I think on the basis of everything we’ve seen so far he’s doing a great job and we’d like him to carry on doing that.

“We would love him to carry on, for sure, beyond this contract.”

Gareth Southgate
Southgate is likely to remain England manager until at least 2024 / Marc Atkins/Getty Images

A contract extension for Southgate at this point would make likely cover the next tournament cycle up to the end of Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany.

If he remains in charge until then he will have been England manager for eight years, matching the tenure of Sir Bobby Robson as the third longest serving England boss of all time behind only Sir Walter Winterbottom (16 years) and Sir Alf Ramsey (11 years).

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