Brent Hills, head of The FA's women’s elite performance unit, is to leave The Football Association after 15 years at the organisation.
Hills, who has been overseeing the elite women’s pathway, was previously assistant coach to former England Women’s boss Hope Powell, winning a silver medal at the 2009 UEFA Women’s Euros.
He worked across more than 250 internationals including two World Cups and three Euros and he was part of the Team GB coaching staff at London 2012.
Hills took over as interim manager of the England Women’s team in September 2013, guiding them to four wins out of four in their 2015 World Cup qualifying camp, before Mark Sampson was appointed on a permanent basis.
He was then named head of The FA’s women’s elite performance unit and under his leadership the programme of youth international teams has been doubled and there has been a comprehensive restructure of the elite talent pathway, with the introduction of new Regional Talent Clubs.
Hills spent a decade as the head coach of the England Women’s U23 team and spent many years working in FA Coach Education, from the UEFA A Licence down.
Hills said: “I have been most fortunate to have worked in women's and girls’ international football for 15 years.
“As well as all the wonderful and challenging players, during that time I have also worked with many staff I consider to be real experts in their field, and I have gained so much from them in terms of my own learning.
“As well as the many current expert members of staff, those former staff include Hope Powell, Dawn Scott, Dick Bate, John Peacock, Steve Rutter, John Allpress, John McDermott, and many others besides.
“With continued leadership, support and investment from The FA, the future of women’s football in England looks increasingly bright and I fully intend to stay involved in some capacity.”
FA technical director Dan Ashworth said: “On behalf of everyone at The FA, I’d like to thank Brent for his 15 years of service.
“Brent has worked in many roles and capacities during his time at The FA, from coaching to development. Women’s football has improved massively in the past 10 years and Brent is one of the main reasons this has happened.
“His lifelong commitment to the game has been incredible and I’d like to thank him for his hard work and dedication and wish him the very best for the future.”
