The Republic of Ireland Women's team has been dealt a major blow today, just over two months out from their Euro 2021 qualifier campaign, as manager Colin Bell announces he's leaving his role.
The Leicester native is set to become assistant assistant manager of Huddersfield Town and he will become Jan Siewert's deputy at the recently relegated club immediately.
Bell has been in the role with the Irish team since February 2017, taking over in the height of the players' strike. He guided them to a third place finish in a tough World Cup qualifying group behind Norway and the Netherlands.
He leaves just over two months out from the Girls in Green's Euro 2021 qualifier campaign. They face Montenegro on Tuesday, September 3 before welcoming Ukraine on Tuesday, October 8 and then make a trip to Greece on Tuesday, November 12.
The Irish Women's side has never made it to a major tournament.
Republic of Ireland Women's National Team Head Coach Colin Bell has left his position to take up a role with Huddersfield Town
Full statement from the FAI here ➡️ https://t.co/nViHp0vLCw #IRLWNT pic.twitter.com/aSNDqln4Iu
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) June 29, 2019
FAI High Performance Director Ruud Dokter paid tribute to Bell today and thanked him for his service saying;
"Colin has done a fantastic job in his time with Ireland and I want to thank him for that. He has introduced new players to international football and brought our team to a new place.
"The World Cup qualifying campaign saw him bed in his ideas very quickly and the players responded with high level performances.
"His passion, commitment and desire to develop women’s football in Ireland was exemplary and I wish him well at Huddersfield. The challenge now for the new management and the players is to qualify for the European Championships."
Bell retired from playing in 1989 and managed in a number of German clubs between then and 2017, before he took up the role with the Irish Women's National team, replacing Sue Ronan.
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