wiegman.jpg
Getty Images

England's Football Association intends to keep manager Sarina Wiegman on the payroll as long as possible ahead of her team's first appearance in a Women's World Cup final, regardless of the high-profile vacancies in the game.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said Thursday that approaches from other organizations to sign her as their new coach would be "100% rejected," per the BBC, and added that "she's someone we'd like to have with us for a very long time."

Wiegman apparently feels the same way. Ahead of England's Women's World Cup final against Spain, she told the Sky News, "I want to stay with England."

"I'm very happy with my job. I'm happy how the FA treats me. And I'm getting ready for the Spain game."

Though no details have emerged yet about U.S. Soccer's coaching search following the resignation of Vlatko Andonovski as the women's national team head coach on Thursday, many believe Wiegman should be the top choice for the job. Wiegman is widely considered the best coach in the women's game and has the accomplishments to back it up -- she will coach in her fourth major final in five years when England face Spain in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday. She previously led her home nation of the Netherlands to the Euro 2017 final and the World Cup final in 2019 and also took England to the Euro final last year. Wiegman won both European titles but lost the World Cup to the USWNT in 2019.

Bullingham also suggested that Wiegman "could do anything she wants in football" following the World Cup and in theory, could coach England's men's team. The comment is not seen as an indication that the current men's team coach, Gareth Southgate, will be out of a job anytime soon, though.

"Firstly, I think it's a bit disrespectful to the Lionesses to project it as a step up," the executive said. "People always say it is 'the best man for the job'. Why does it have to be a man? Our answer is always 'it's the best person for the job.'"

That said, it is unclear what the FA will do should an attractive offer ever comes Wiegman's way. The FA pays Wiegman £400,000 a year per The Independent, well short of the £3 million Southgate reportedly earns as a base salary. Bullingham defended the pay disparity, citing market conditions.

"I understand the question. If you look at the disparity in the market and the income coming in, that's why you've got a difference," he said. "We don't talk about people's remuneration but I would say that Sarina is, within the market she operates, well paid. If you look at the comparison in the men's game, it's a different market. I really want those markets to merge over time but we're not there yet. That is the long-term objective and where we have got to get."

The wage disparity exists for players, too. Though England's men's and women's players have received the same base salary since 2020, the women's team is in the midst of a dispute with the FA over World Cup bonuses. The players paused conversations to focus on the competition, but discussions are expected to restart sometime after Sunday's final. The FA has so far refused to pay the players additional World Cup bonuses outside of the money FIFA promised each competitor at the tournament. FIFA, though, walked back its guarantee that players will directly receive bonuses on the eve of the World Cup.

"They had a very strong case before the World Cup and a very strong case after, but the reality is there's a discussion to be had," Bullingham said.

Bullingham said the FA could not resolve the issue before the World Cup because FIFA only announced the prize money months before the tournament began, which did not leave enough time for the FA to make its decisions. This is not an issue that has plagued U.S. Soccer, for example, which came to a resolution on pay and bonuses early last year.

"That meant we didn't get the chance to finalize the agreement with the players before we came out here," he said. "They then asked to park it until after the tournament, so that's what we've done."