Jack Rutter appointed as new England Cerebral Palsy head coach

Jack Rutter has been appointed as the new head coach for the England Cerebral Palsy team, as the Para Lions head into 2026 with high ambitions.

 A former captain of the team, having represented the Para Lions as a player between 2013 and 2018, Rutter makes the step up from his previous role as assistant coach to Andy Smith.

As a player, he featured in two IFCPF World Championships and a European Championship with England as well as captaining Team GB at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.

With England starting their preparations for a year which includes the IFCPF World Championship and then the IFCPF European Championship in 2027, Rutter’s first camp with the squad will come next week when a selection of players from across the England para collective will head to Tenerife for a multi-squad training camp.

“It has been some journey, and to be in a position where I'm trusted as the head coach of an England team is just an incredible honour,” said Rutter, following his appointment to the role.

“It's now up to me to work as hard as I can and be as prepared as possible to deliver the best outcome for the team, which is of course performing well in major tournaments and working towards trying to win medals.

“Obviously it's a special moment as well because, from a young age I always knew I could play football, but I never really thought about coaching.

“So to develop on my coaching journey and be on the FA pathway with the development team up to the senior team and now leading the team, is just an incredible honour.

“To play for England was incredible, wearing the Three Lions shirt with my name on the back and then to be named as captain for four hopefully brought out some good qualities with my leadership and my communication.

“From 2018, I worked with the [Cerebral palsy] development team and did my B and A Licence and then I was given the opportunity to be Andy's assistant which was amazing, because he’s an amazing coach and more importantly, a really, really good guy and a great manager of people.

“It’s now a big transition for me in terms of being the head coach, but it's a transition I feel I'm ready and prepared for.

“I'm lucky enough to have played the game, understand the game, know the opposition and their threats and qualities, but also hopefully their weaknesses that we can exploit.

“I have a good relationship with the players, from the development team pathway up to the senior team and a good relationship with all of the staff, so I feel like it's a nice fit for me to just try and stamp my own identity on things, and hopefully, we can perform at this year's World Championship.”

Speaking about the appointment, our senior technical lead for para football James Watkins, added: "We are delighted to appoint Jack as head coach of the England CP Team.

"Jack was an outstanding CP player and captain and is respected as a worldwide ambassador of the game.

"His journey has been incredible and his transition from player to coach is impressive.

"We believe Jack can lead the team to future success and his appointment will inspire other players’ journeys into coaching roles at all levels of the pathway."