REPUBLIC OF IRELAND under-21 manager Jim Crawford has signed a contract extension with the FAI.

The new deal will see Crawford lead the team for the 2027 European Championship qualifying campaign. He took charge as Stephen Kenny’s successor in April 2020.

Crawford has guided Ireland to an all-time high U21 Uefa ranking of 16th, a rise of 14 places since his appointment. The team have also achieved a record points tally of 19 in the last two campaigns, with 10 players progressing to the senior international team from the U21s.

“To manage, lead and coach the U21s team is a huge privilege and a massive honour so I’m over the moon to extend my contract,” said Crawford.

“The staff and players who I’ve worked with since my appointment have given me everything and the by-product of this is there’s a real belief in Irish football that one day our Under-21s can go on, achieve history and reach a first-ever European Championships.

“Work has already begun to develop the next generation of Under-21s, we capped 15 players since our game against Iceland who qualify for the next qualifiers and we had a brilliant week with a group in Marbella in November which saw us beat Sweden.

🇮🇪✍️ FAI agree contract extension with Under-21 Head Coach Jim Crawford

Crawford will take charge for 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship qualification campaign 🇮🇪

Ireland have risen from 30th to 16th in the UEFA rankings under Crawford ⬆️

Full details ⤵️

— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) January 10, 2025

“It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to a new challenge, with a new group.”

“We are delighted to secure the services of Jim Crawford for another U-21s campaign,” FAI Chief Football Officer Marc Canham added.

“While the main focus of the U21s is player development, Jim has proven his quality by developing players and remaining a challenger for European Championship qualification over the last few years.

“One of the Jim’s biggest achievements has been his ability to nurture the pathway from the U-21s to the senior team and in the most recent senior squad, more than 50% of the players (twelve) had played under Jim during his time as Head Coach of the U-21s. 

“This has helped establish a strong relationship between our underage and senior set-up, and has expanded the pool of players experiencing high-level international football for the senior men’s team under Heimir Hallgrímsson.”