Sam Allardyce is the new England manager, the Football Association has confirmed.
The 61-year-old leaves his post at Sunderland with immediate effect to succeed Roy Hodgson as England’s first-team boss. He has been handed an initial two-year contract.
Allardyce – an experienced Premier League manager with Bolton, West Ham and Sunderland – narrowly missed out on the job when it was given to Steve McClaren 10 years ago and has frequently spoken of his desire to manage his country.
Sky sources reported on Thursday that the FA’s three-man selection panel – chief executive Martin Glenn, technical director Dan Ashworth and vice-chairman David Gill – had told the FA board of their recommendation in a meeting, with Allardyce chosen for the role.
Allardyce’s first match in charge will be the World Cup 2018 qualifier against Slovakia on September 4 before back-to-back qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia in October.
Current and former Manchester United managers Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson are among those to have expressed their support for Allardyce in the role.
