Ryan Walsh named as new England Deaf Women's team head coach

Ryan Walsh has been appointed as the new head coach for the England Deaf Women’s Futsal team as the Para Lionesses look to build on their success earlier this year.

The Para Lionesses were crowned as European champions in March, under the stewardship of former head coach Steve Daley who has now stepped aside from the role which he was fulfilling alongside his work as the FA’s Para Talent Manager.

Walsh was previously the assistant coach to Daley but will now step up to take charge of the squad as they begin the new season with their first training camp in September.

A former England Futsal international, Walsh has also worked with the men’s partially-sighted squad and is now looking forward to continuing his coaching journey with England.

“Throughout the last few years, we've had conversations about the next steps in my journey and continuing my coach development, which the FA have been supporting me on,” he revealed.

“We knew that Steve was coming to an end as head coach after the most recent European Championship, so from then there were conversations around the next steps and if I'd like to apply for the role, which I said I would.

“I wanted to make sure that I deserved the job, not that it was just handed to me, so I put in the work and I’m obviously delighted that I’ve now been appointed as the head coach.

“Our first camp is in September and that will be good to get the squad back together and our first focus will be on fitness and physical testing to make sure that they're all in the right place at the start of the season.

“Then, we’ll start looking at introducing what I believe are the fundamentals of the game. We're in a fortunate position in that our next major tournament is in three years, so we actually have a large amount of time that we can build towards an entire model.

“It gives us a real chance to make sure that we improve from the European Championship and make sure that we're the number one in the world by the time the next competition comes around.”

Speaking about the appointment, our head of para performance Cath Gilby, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Ryan Walsh into the role of head coach of the England Deaf Women’s Futsal team.

“Ryan brings a passion and commitment to developing players and creating high-performing environments. We are excited about the future under his leadership as we continue to build on the strong foundations that have been established within the team.

“At the same time, it is important to recognise and thank Steve Daley for his outstanding contribution to the team. Steve’s dedication, expertise and leadership played a significant role in the development of the Deaf Women’s team, culminating in the team’s recent European success.

"On behalf of everyone involved in England Para Football, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for everything Steve has done.

“We look forward to supporting Ryan as he leads the team into its next chapter, while continuing to build on the standards, culture and success that Steve helped to create.”