IMAGE: England manager Gareth Southgate will see his existing contract run until 2024. Photography: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
England manager Gareth Southgate has decided to stay on and lead the 2024 European Championship campaign, the Football Association (FA) announced on Sunday.
The popular 52-year-old led England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, where they were eliminated by France, and said he was ‘conflicted’ over his role and that he was thinking about it.
He had signed a new contract until the end of 2024 in November last year.
“We are delighted to confirm that Gareth Southgate will remain as England manager and will lead our Euro 2024 campaign,” FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement.
“Gareth and (assistant coach) Steve Holland have always had our full support, and our planning for the Euros starts now.”
Southgate, who previously coached England Under-21s, was appointed manager in 2016 after Sam Allardyce was sacked.
His tenure began during a difficult time for England, the day after their shock exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland.
Over the next two years, the former England international managed to transform the fortunes of the team, leading them to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup before qualifying for the Euro 2020 final the year last.
However, the past few months have been less successful for Southgate, with England relegated to second place in the Nations League earlier this year after a run of six games without a win and five games without a goal in open play.
Some backlash from fans then left him and his players upset, although they were widely praised for their World Cup campaign, performing impressively and narrowly losing 2-1 to France with a missed penalty by Captain Harry Kane.