Gemma Grainger (born 17 July 1982) is an English football manager and former player who manages the Norway women's national team. She previously managed at club level with Leeds United and Middlesbrough.[1]

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Gemma Grainger
Personal information
Full name Gemma Grainger
Date of birth (1982-07-17) 17 July 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Middlesbrough, England
Team information
Current team
Norway (manager)
Managerial career
Years Team
2010–2011 Leeds United
2012–2013 Middlesbrough
2018–2019 England U17
2021–2024 Wales
2024– Norway
Close

Managerial career

Early club career

Grainger was appointed manager of Women's Premier League club Leeds United for the 2010–11 season.[2] After a poor start she parted ways with the club in January 2011.[3] She was appointed manager of Northern Combination club Middlesbrough for the 2012–13 season, leading the club to a fourth place finish.[4] Grainger left the club in 2013 due to commitments to the England development teams.

England development

A UEFA Pro Licence 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 senior coaching team for UEFA Women's Euro 2017.[5]

Grainger was appointed England under-17 manager in September 2018.[6] Her first match was a 6–0 win against Moldova.[7] England were unbeaten in qualification to the 2019 UEFA Under-17 Championship, winning all games, but were eliminated in the group stage of the final tournament on goal difference.[8] In total she managed more than 90 England international fixtures in 11 years with the Football Association.

Wales

Grainger was appointed Wales manager in March 2021 on a four-year contract.[9] Wales began their 2023 World Cup qualification with a 6–0 win against Kazakhstan.[10] The team qualified for the play-offs, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 in the first round,[11] but losing 2–1 to Switzerland in the second round.[12]

On 9 July 2023, the team travelled to San Jose, California, for a friendly with world champions the United States, losing 2–0.[13]

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.[14]

Managerial statistics

As of 16 July 2024[15]
More information Team, From ...
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L GF GA GD Win %
Wales 19 March 2021 10 January 2024 32109133935+4031.25
Norway 10 January 2024 Present 8341154+11037.50
Career totals 401313145338+15032.50
Close

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.