.jpg) Powell in April 2018, managingBrighton & Hove Albion | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hope Patricia Powell | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-12-08)8 December 1966 (age 59) | ||
| Place of birth | Lewisham, England | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Birmingham City (technical director) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1987 | Millwall Lionesses | ||
| 1987–1989 | Friends of Fulham | ||
| 1989–1991 | Millwall Lionesses | ||
| 1991–1994 | Bromley Borough | ||
| 1994–1998 | Croydon | ||
| International career | |||
| 1983–1998 | England | 72 | (17) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998–2013 | England | ||
| 2012 | Great Britain Olympic | ||
| 2017–2022 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| 2023– | Birmingham City (technical director) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Hope Patricia PowellCBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach and former player who is the Women's Technical Director atBirmingham City.
As a player, Powell won 72caps forEngland, mainly as an attackingmidfielder, scoring 17 goals. She made her England debut at the age of 16, and went on to play in the1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, England's first World Cup appearance. She was alsovice-captain of her country. At club level, Powell played in fourFA Women's Cup finals andcaptainedCroydon to a League and Cupdouble in 1996.
The Football Association (FA) appointed Powell as England's first-ever full-time national coach in 1998. She led the team at the2001,2005,2009 and2013 editions of theUEFA Women's Championship. After failing to qualify in2003, she guided England to the quarter-finals of theFIFA Women's World Cup in2007 and2011. England's best results, reaching the final of the UEFA Women's Championship in1984 and 2009, both featured Powell. She was a player at the former and coach at the latter.
As well as managing the England senior team, Powell oversaw the whole structure from Under-15s to the Under-23s, a coach mentoring scheme and The FA's National Player Development Centre atLoughborough University.[1] In May 2009, Powell's administration implemented central contracts, to help players focus on full-time training and playing, without having to fit it around full-time employment. Initially, 17 players signed contracts.[2] In 2003, Powell became the first woman to achieve theUEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification available. She also managed theGreat Britain women's Olympic football team during the2012 Summer Olympics andBrighton & Hove Albion from 2017 to 2022.
Powell made newspaper headlines when FA rules banned her from representing her school team beyond the age of 11. The teacher running the team had appealed against the ban, not, according to Powell, because he was interested ingender equality, but because of a pragmatic desire to field his strongest team.[3] Powell moved on to play club football forMillwall Lionesses when she reached 11.
At Millwall Lionesses, Powell came under the influence of coach Alan May. A senior manager withBritish Telecom, May taught Powellpeople management skills and remained a major inspiration throughout her career, including when she moved into coaching herself. May was employed as Powell's headscout when she became England manager.[4]
As the club grew to be one of the most successful in England, Powell left for London rivalsFriends of Fulham. A two-year spell with Friends of Fulham culminated in an appearance at the 1989 Women's FA Cup final. Powell scored twice and is reported to have played exceptionally well, but her team were beaten 3–2 byLeasowe Pacific. The match was played atOld Trafford but attracted only 914 spectators, although it was also broadcast onChannel 4.[5]
In the aftermath of that defeat, Powell returned to Millwall Lionesses, where she became the team's all-time record goalscorer. In 1991, they reached the Women's FA Cup final and beatDoncaster Belles 1–0 atPrenton Park to win the Cup for the first time. Millwall Lionesses also won the Greater London League to qualify for the inaugural National Division in the1991–92 season.[6][7]
The team broke up in the aftermath of that success and Powell moved with teammateSue Law to form a new clubBromley Borough. Beginning in the South East Counties League, the club quickly progressed through the divisions. After adding England playerBrenda Sempare in 1992, Bromley Borough won all 16 matches in the South East Counties League Division One, scoring 142 goals in the process.[8] The team also reached the semi-final of the Women's FA Cup, where they lost 2–0 totreble-winningArsenal.[9]
In the 1993–94 season, Bromley Borough won theNational League Division One South by ten points, securing promotion into the top flight of English women's football. Despite this, they were handed a chastening 10–1 defeat by Doncaster Belles in the fifth round of the Women's FA Women's Cup. For the 1994–95 season, the club entered a partnership withCroydon and enlisted Powell's England teammateDebbie Bampton asmanager. Powell was one of six Croydon players who represented England at the1995 FIFA Women's World Cup.[10]
With Powell ascaptain and Bampton asplayer-manager, Croydon won a domesticdouble in 1995–96. In the[11] FA Women's Cup final againstLiverpool atThe Den, Powell equalisedKaren Burke's opening goal then scored from the spot as Croydon won apenalty shootout.[12] A farcical end of season fixture backlog saw Croydon play five games in ten days, winning four and drawing one to erode Doncaster Belles' 13-point lead,[13] and win the National Premier Division ongoal difference.[14]
In the 1997–98 season, Croydon lost both domestic Cup finals to Arsenal. The 1998 FA Women's Cup final was lost 3–2 and, despite scoring Croydon's second goal, Powell missed out on her third winners' medal. She had agreed to take over as England coach and retired from playing.[15]
Martin Reagan gave Powell her England debut againstRepublic of Ireland, in a 6–0Euro qualifying win staged atElm Park inReading, Berkshire on 11 September 1983.[16] Aged 17, Powell played in the final of the1984 European Competition for Women's Football as England were beaten bySweden onpenalties. The two-legged final had seen England recover a one goal deficit atKenilworth Road inLuton, in muddy conditions described by Powell as "absolutely shocking".[17]
She was allotted 61 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England's inaugural international.[18][19]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 17 March 1985 | Preston,England |  Scotland | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1987 European Competition for Women's Football qualifying |
| 2. | 25 May 1985 | Antrim,Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | ?–? | 8–1 | |
| 3. | 17 August 1985 | Ramsey,Isle of Man |  Wales | ?–0 | 6–0 | |
| 4. | ?–0 | |||||
| 5. | 22 September 1985 | Cork,Ireland |  Republic of Ireland | 2–0 | 6–0 | |
| 6. | 16 March 1986 | Blackburn, England | Northern Ireland | 9–0 | 10–0 | |
| 7. | 10–0 | |||||
| 8. | 12 October 1986 | Kirkcaldy,Scotland | Scotland | 2–0 | 3–1 | |
| 7. | 11 April 1987 | Leeds, England | Northern Ireland | ?–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 8. | 17 March 1990 | Ypres,Belgium |  Belgium | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 1991 qualifying |
| 9. | 2–0 | |||||
| 10. | 17 April 1994 | Brentford, England |  Slovenia | ?–0 | 10–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 1995 qualifying |
_(cropped).jpg)
Powell had passed the FA's preliminary coaching award at the age of 19. During her later playing career she had worked as a development officer forLewisham London Borough Council and inCrystal Palace FC's community outreach scheme. She had also been a volunteer coach at soccer camps in the United States. Ted Copeland encouraged Powell to complete the FA's new female coach mentoring scheme and obtain her 'B' licence while she was still playing.[20]
England were unfortunate to be drawn in a1999 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification group with Norway and Germany, the reigning World and European champions, respectively. Copeland quit as manager after a 1–0 defeat to Germany atThe Den in March 1998, which Powell had started.[21]
At 31, Powell became the youngest ever coach of any England national football team, as well as the firstwoman and the first non-white person to hold the office.[22][23]
On 26 July 1998, Powell managed England for the first time in afriendly against Sweden atVictoria Road,Dagenham. After entering the game as asubstitute, Swedish debutantMalin Moström scored the only goal on 84 minutes.[24] Powell's first competitive fixture in charge was the 2–0 defeat to Norway inLillestrøm the following month, which consigned England to last place in the group and meant they faced a relegation play-off againstRomania. Had England lost they faced being demoted to B level and therefore unable to qualify for major tournaments. Powell described the situation as "very much do-or-die" since a substantial reduction in funding was at stake.[25] A 6–2 aggregate victory kept England's place among the elite.
In 2003, Powell became the first woman to be awarded theUEFA Pro Licence, studying alongsideStuart Pearce.[1] She had become England coach in 1998, and led the national team to the final of Euro 2009 where they lost to Germany. It was speculated that Powell would become the first female manager in English men's football when she was linked with the vacant managerial role atGrimsby Town in October 2009, however caretaker managerNeil Woods was appointed on a permanent basis.[26]
At the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, England suffered a quarter-finalpenalty shootout defeat toFrance following a 1–1 draw. Powell controversially attributed "cowardice" to the players who had failed to volunteer to take a penalty.[27] After England's disastrous showing atUEFA Women's Euro 2013, there was a clamour for Powell to be sacked. However, despite the first round exit, she retained the support of the FA.[28]
In July 2013, rival coachKeith Boanas made an outspoken attack on Powell's record as England manager and publicly called on her to resign. Boanas who had also applied for the job in 1998 but was not granted an interview said he suspected that the selection of the relatively unqualified Powell was "a political appointment to cover all bases". He criticised Powell's role in the international retirement of his wifePauline Cope and suggested that anyone could match or surpass Powell's achievements, given a similar level of support.[29]
On 20 August 2013, Powell was sacked as manager of the England women's team.[30]
On 19 July 2017, Brighton & Hove Albion announced that Powell had been appointed as first-team manager of the club's women's team.[31] On 31 October 2022, Powell stepped down from the role with an 8–0 defeat toTottenham Hotspur being her final match in charge.[32]
On 19 May 2023, it was announced that Powell would join theEngland men's U20s as a technical advisor at the2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[33]
On 20 July 2023, Powell was announced as the new Women's Technical Director atBirmingham City.[34]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Brighton | 19 July 2017 | 31 October 2022 | 136 | 51 | 14 | 71 | 171 | 253 | −82 | 037.50 | [35] |
| Career totals | 136 | 51 | 14 | 71 | 171 | 253 | −82 | 037.50 | |||
Powell was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2002 Birthday Honours for services to association football,[36] and promoted toCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2010 Birthday Honours for services to sport.[37][38] In 2003, she was inducted into theEnglish Football Hall of Fame in recognition of her talents.[16]
In 2009, she was awarded anHonorary Doctorate byLoughborough University.[39] Powell was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by theUniversity of East London in 2011.[40] She was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Sport by theUniversity of Chichester in 2018.[41]
Powell was born and raised in London to a family of Jamaican descent.[42] In 1990, Powell graduated fromBrunel University inLondon with adegree inSport Science andHistory.[43]
In August 2010, she was named in 68th place onThe Independent newspaper's annual Pink List of influentialLGBT people in the UK.[44] Her entry was subsequently redacted from the online version of the article[why?] and her name was absent from the 2011 and 2012 lists. Powell was included in a rival World Pride Power List compiled bySquare Peg Media in association withThe Guardian; reaching fifth place in 2011 and 48th place in 2012. Commenting about her relationships with men, she said they were "intrigued" to discover that she was a footballer.[45]
In an October 2005 interview withDiva magazine, Powell commented about lesbians in football: "There's always been that stereotyping of female footballers asbutch, dykey and unattractive, so maybe it's just best left alone."[46]
Powell's autobiography,Hope: My Life in Football, was published in 2016.[47]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Was it coincidental that the newly appointed captain, Bampton, was accompanied by five fellow members of Croydon, even though they were not a Premier League side? [sic]
Croydon completed the Women's Football Association league and cup double last night by beating Arsenal 2–1 to deny Doncaster Belles the Premier League Championship on goal difference.
The England women put up a spirited performance against Sweden yesterday in Hope Powell's first match as national coach, having the better chances in the first half at Dagenham and Redbridge only to lose to the former European champions and World Cup bronze-medal-winners by an 84th-minute goal by Malin Mostrom
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