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England head coach Sarina Wiegman has appointed Janneke Bijl and Arvid Smit as her new assistants.
WSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official press release from The Football Association just a short time ago.
The pair will begin their new roles after this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO. They will replace outgoing assistant head coach Arjan Veurink who recently landed the job as head coach of The Netherlands.
Both Bijl and Smit will join England after playing a part in the Dutch coaching system. Bijl has been with The Orange Lionesses since 2023 while Smit has been on The Netherlands’ coaching staff for six years.
In other news, Geraint Twose will move into a position of England’s lead transition coach, Gavin Step will become interim women’s technical director and Emma Coates will take on interim leadership of women’s development teams.
Speaking following this afternoon’s announcement, England boss Wiegman said “I am delighted to add Janneke and Arvid to our coaching staff. They both have significant coaching experience at national-team level which will be vital to our mission of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The bar is being raised with every tournament and we need the very best approach if we are going to continue challenging the top teams.
“As well as the quality they will bring to our training sessions and match planning, I have real trust in how they work and how they can complement the rest of the technical team and our environment. I know they are excited by the challenge ahead and I am sure the players will also enjoy working with them.”
England continue their preparations for this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO with UEFA Women’s Nations League fixtures against Portugal and Spain in the coming weeks.
