Gemma Grainger (born 17 July 1982) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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and former player who manages the Norway women's national team. She previously managed at club level with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, and at international level with

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Managerial career

Early club career

Grainger was appointed manager of Women's Premier League club

for the 2010–11 season. After a poor start she parted ways with the club in January 2011. She was appointed manager of Northern Combination club

for the 2012–13 season, leading the club to a fourth place finish. Grainger left the club in 2013, due to commitments to the England development teams.

England development

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

since holder 2016, Grainger coached various England women's development teams, including at the 2014 U-20 World Cup, 2016 U-17 World Cup and European finals at under-19 (twice) and under-17 level. She was also part of the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

senior coaching team for

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship organised by UEFA for the ...

. Grainger was appointed England under-17 manager in September 2018. Her first match was a 6–0 win against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. England were unbeaten in

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to the 2019 UEFA Under-17 Championship, winning all games, but were eliminated in the group stage of the final tournament on goal difference. In total, she managed more than 90 England international fixtures in 11 years with

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

Wales

Grainger was appointed

manager in March 2021 on a four-year contract. Wales began their 2023 World Cup qualification with a 6–0 win against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. The team qualified for the play-offs, beating

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

1–0 in the first round, but losing 2–1 to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in the second round. On 9 July 2023, the team travelled to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, for a friendly with world champions the

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, losing 2–0.

Norway

On 10 January 2024, it was announced that Grainger would leave her post with Wales to take on the head coaching role with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grainger, Gemma 1982 births Living people English women's football managers Wales women's national football team managers Female association football managers Sportspeople from Middlesbrough