England women's football team coach Phil Neville to leave job in July 2021, confirms FA

England women’s head coach Phil Neville will leave the job in July 2021 at the end of his contract, the English Football Association (FA) said in a statement on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_7196421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Phil Neville. Reuters[/caption] Neville, who took the job in January 2018 and guided the team to the World Cup semi-finals in France last year, was set to lead England in the Women’s Euros on home soil next year as well as the British team at the Tokyo Olympics. Both events have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has shut down world sport. “In light of the impact of current global events on the sporting calendar and in the best interests of the England women’s team, both parties were in agreement that our shared priority was to ensure the Lionesses have continuity of coaching going into the home Euro and looking towards the 2023 World Cup,” FA director of women’s football Sue Campbell said. “Once football returns after this difficult period, Phil will continue his work with the Lionesses on the further development of his squad. I will support him fully with that important task while moving forward with the crucial succession planning process. “We’ll now discuss next steps with the British Olympic Association and the home nations with regard to Team GB Football and we’re not in a position to make any further comment at this time.” Neville has struggled to get the best out of his players since the World Cup, with England losing seven of their last 11 games. Neville said he was looking forward to returning to work with the team as soon as possible. “We have a fantastic squad of players and there is plenty to work on as we look to progress as a team going into 2021,” the former Manchester United and England defender said.