FAI confirm Stephen Kenny’s reign as Irish manager has ended

Stephen Kenny in the Johan Cruijff ArenA

Stephen Kenny in the Johan Cruijff ArenA Credit: Conor Ryan (ETPhotos)

After three and half years in charge, Stephen Kenny will be leaving his post as Irish manager after an FAI board meeting on Wednesday night.

The FAI have confirmed this evening that Stephen Kenny will not be offered a contract extension and will depart as manager of the Republic of Ireland mens national team after a disappointing Euro 2024 qualification campaign.

An FAI statement that, “Following a meeting this evening and a presentation to the board by CEO Jonathan Hill and director of football Marc Canham, the FAI board has decided that Stephen Kenny’s contract will not be renewed following the conclusion of the Euro 2024 qualification process,”

“Having reviewed the qualification campaign in its entirety, and recognising how difficult the group was, the results needed to realise our goal of qualification for the tournament were not achieved.

“The board agrees that now is the right time for change ahead of the friendly matches in March and June 2024 and the next Nations League campaign starting in September 2024.”

CEO Jonathan Hill said, “Over the period of his tenure, Stephen and his staff have worked tirelessly to create the right environment to support the development of our senior men’s team, and we are hugely grateful for that considerable contribution.

“Stephen has also overseen an important period of transition for our senior men’s national team and has given debuts to a significant number of new and younger players and this will serve as a solid platform for whoever now takes this group of players forward.”

FAI president Gerry McAnaney added, “The Board and all at the FAI would like to sincerely thank Stephen and his staff for their hard work, professionalism and unwavering dedication to the team, the fans, and to Irish football. We wish Stephen every success for the future.”

After a lacklustre draw to New Zealand on Tuesday night, Kenny after the match conceded it was unlikely he would earn a new contract to take the national team into 2024. 

More to follow. 



About Luke Jordan

Luke joined the extratime.com team in 2022 and is the current host of the extratime.com podcast.

He’s been a follower of the league since 2007 after the FAI Soccer camps gave out … View Full Profile