Among the 3,423 crowd at Tallaght Stadium, on Tuesday, was the woman that will lead Ireland through the EURO 2021 Qualifiers.
Vera Pauw watched on as Ireland, managed by Tom O’Connor, defeated Montenegro 2-0 to start their qualifying campaign in style.
This morning, the FAI confirmed that Pauw would be taking over from interim boss O’Connor with immediate effect. The 56-year-old led her native Netherlands to the European Championship semi finals in 2009 and has also coached Russia, Scotland and South Africa.
FAI general manager Noel Mooney said Pauw’s appointment is in line with the association’s objective of finding ‘the best manager to lead our talented squad to EURO 2021 in England while continuing to build sustainable growth in the high-performance sector of the women’s game’.
“Vera is a top-class manager,” said FAI high performance director Ruud Dokter, “who will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our Women’s National Team while contributing to a healthier women’s game in Ireland. I am very much looking forward to working with her.”
