Jitka Klimkova and the Football Ferns: Why the exit of the former coach is a mess, a mystery, and a muddle

Former Football Ferns head coach Jitka Klimkova. Photo / Photosport

Jitka Klimkova’s resignation as Football Ferns head coach brings a bizarre – and rather sad – chapter to a close.

Her departure – which was confirmed on Friday – had always looked the most likely scenario since she stood down from her role for the Paris Olympics campaign in late June.

But it has been far from straightforward.

The Herald understands that there have been extended negotiations and discussions over the past few months, in an attempt to find a workable solution.

There was a sense that her time was up – with a divided playing group – but she was also contracted until the end of the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup.

It’s believed that contractual situation is why Klimkova is staying on for the next six months, in an as-yet-undefined role “supporting the high performance department and national team activity”.

That’s a curious scenario and an unusual position for a head coach who has lost her job.

But nothing surprises anymore with New Zealand Football (NZF) in the high performance space.

In the last two years we have seen the departure of NZF high performance manager Gareth Jennings – after a brief period – and All Whites coach Danny Hay, despite a campaign review that was mostly positive.

And the Ferns have now had four head coaches since 2018, if you include Michael Mayne’s spell in Paris.

The Klimkova episode remains slightly mysterious, given the chain of events.

On May 21, Klimkova named the squad to face Japan in Spain, then did interviews about the team.

On May 26 came the first bombshell, with a statement that the Czech native would miss the Japan series (set to begin just five days later), opting to take “a leave of absence for this tour” pending “an investigation into an employment-related matter”.

After a multi-faceted investigation, overseen by an independent workplace investigator and involving players, NZF management staff and board members, and the New Zealand Football Players Association, Klimkova was apparently in the clear.

On June 8, NZF announced she would return “with immediate effect”, after her “temporary leave of absence”.

The statement added that the findings of the investigation would remain “strictly confidential” but Klimkova had been cleared.

However, 20 days later, “after consultation with NZF”, Klimkova was gone again, standing down for the Olympic campaign, due to concerns in relation to the team environment, Klimkova’s wellbeing and a restorative process that was yet to be completed, according to the NZF statement.

Former Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova. Photo / Photosport

The writing was on the wall from there, with the final act completed on Friday.

So where to from here?

It’s hard to know. NZF refused any public comment on Friday, with chief executive Andrew Pragnell unavailable for media.

It’s likely they will conduct an external process to find the next Ferns coach, though they will also be a bit gun-shy, given their track record, with the search for Hay’s successor becoming a lengthy soap opera – with the back and forth around John Herdman and some other candidates – before they eventually settled on Darren Bazeley.

Before this process started, Klimkova had been under pressure. There had been concerns ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup – with the poor run of results – though everything turned around with the amazing 1-0 win over Norway at Eden Park. That was an incredible result – and performance – but the Ferns couldn’t capitalise, with the shock loss to the Philippines then a frustrating draw with Switzerland.

As the Herald has previously reported, there has been tension in the environment since that tournament, with dissatisfaction from a cohort of players, mainly at a senior level. There was a feeling – from some – that Klimkova wasn’t the right person to take the team into the next cycle, though that wasn’t a universal sentiment.

Out of this messy situation, there must be some sympathy for Klimkova. She came into the role charged with changing the culture of the team, who had massively underachieved for many years and slipped a long way from a true high performance environment.

That was always going to be difficult given the power and influence of the senior players, whose positions had gone unchallenged for years, and the shake-up in the group that was needed never really came. She also had to deal with the challenges of the Covid pandemic and didn’t move to New Zealand months into her tenure.

But the learning curve always seemed steep – given her lack of senior head coaching experience – and Klimkova was unable to settle on her best XI, often appearing indecisive with her overall selection policy. Ultimately that meant she – and NZF – were unable to make the most of the golden opportunity that was the home World Cup.

Still, the circumstances of her departure will cast a shadow. Whatever anyone thought of her, being denied a chance to coach at the Olympics at such short notice would have been a massive personal blow, especially with the underlying reasons still being unclear.

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.