The Football Association decided on the matter at Friday’s meeting in Kuopio.
Sakari Lund,
Jaakko Servo
13:03•Updated 13:39
Head coach of the men’s A national football team Markku Kanerva does not continue in his role. President of the Football Association Ari Lahti told about the decision after Friday’s board meeting.
– The unanimous decision of the board is that Markku Kanerva was released from the position of head coach. One cannot be satisfied with the results achieved, Lahti told the media.
The new head coach has not been decided yet. Lahti said that Kanerva’s successor will be known by mid-January.
Kanerva received criticism due to recent results. Huuhkajat lost all six matches in the autumn Nations League and was relegated to the C-League. This year, there was only one victory in the training match against Estonia in March.
– We had a specific goal that we set out to get under the leadership of “Rive”, and when we couldn’t reach them, we didn’t really have any options, Lahti said.
Earlier in the summer, Kanerva signed an extension contract that covered the World Cup qualifiers starting next year and the possible World Cup in 2026.
Kanerva started as the head coach of the A national team in 2016. The beginning went well and Kanerva historically guided Finland to the 2021 European Championships.