FA has a plan if England manager Southgate departs, chief executive says

Southgate leaves this summer, chief executive Mark Bullingham told reporters.

England are about to participate in the 2024 UEFA European Championship in Germany under Southgate, who has managed the Three Lions since 2016. However, in an interview with German newspaper Bild this week, the 53-year-old said he "probably won't be here" if they don't win the title at Euro 2024.

Southgate's current contract with the FA expires in December. According to ESPN, the association wants him to continue to manage the team through the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the Watford native wanted to delay extension negotiations until after the Euros. There were rumors that Manchester United had interest in hiring Southgate to succeed Erik ten Hag on the touchline, but the club confirmed on Tuesday that the Dutchman will remain at Old Trafford next season.

"There have been no approaches [for Southgate]. What I would say is Gareth has been really, really clear that he wants to talk about that after the tournament," Bullingham said. "I don't want to provide any distraction for him and the team. I want to respect the fact that they want to talk about the future after the tournament."

Bullingham spoke highly of Southgate's work as an England manager who has "won about half of our knockout games, which is a measure we really use" since 1966. Nonetheless, he also noted that the FA has a potential plan for the future in place.

"The other point I'd make that this, I've seen some things about have we got a plan, or haven't we, I have said before that any organization really has a succession plan in place for their top employees, and we are no different to that," Bullingham said. "This succession plan normally includes everything from what you do for short-term cover, through to a process you follow to candidates. We have that for top employees."