Northern Ireland Women Will Be Led By Kris Lindsay For Their First Two World Cup qualifiers

Northern Ireland Women Will Be Led By Kris Lindsay For Their First Two World Cup qualifiers
Photo irishfacom

Kris Lindsay will manage Northern Ireland Women in their opening two qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup.

Lindsay has been appointed to the role of manager on an interim basis while the Irish FA seeks a permanent successor to Tanya Oxtoby, who stepped down in November.

Northern Ireland are set to face Switzerland, Turkiye and Malta in stage one of the European qualifiers for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil.

Lindsay will be in charge of the team for their League B Group 2 opener against group top seeds Switzerland away on Tuesday 3 March. And he will also be in the hotseat when Northern Ireland, who are second seeds in the group, take on third seeds Turkiye at home on Saturday 7 March.

Currently manager of the IFA National Academy, Lindsay previously took temporary charge of the women’s national team in 2023.

Lindsay told irishfa.com: “Managing your country at any level is a privilege and I’m delighted to be given this chance.

“I have followed the senior women’s team for some time. They have a fantastic leadership group and my role will simply be to add where I can. 

“These are two tough games to kick off our World Cup campaign and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Angela Platt, Director of Women’s Football, said: “Following Tanya stepping aside, it was important that we took the appropriate time to reflect and fully assess what the next phase for the senior women’s team should look like. That included building on the strong foundations established during her tenure and the significant work ongoing across the wider association.

“From the outset we were clear that appointing a senior international head coach is a significant and complex decision, and one that requires proper time and diligence. Our focus has been on clearly defining the needs, ambitions and long-term vision for the programme to ensure the next appointment is aligned with where we want the team to go, rather than being driven by short-term pressures.”

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