May 23 Chris Coleman has agreed a new two-year contract to stay as Wales manager until 2018.
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Coleman’s deal was due to end after this summer’s European Championships but he will now take the team through qualifying for Russian Federation 2018 and, if all goes well, into the finals.
Wales start their World Cup qualifying campaign at home to Moldova in September and also line up against Austria, Serbia, the Republic of Ireland and Georgia in Group D.
But in March he suggested Welsh football needed to change behind the scenes, saying: “It is not just about my personal contract but what we see with the structure and whether we do the things we need to do to make sure it is not a one-off”.
“Everyone knows what managing Wales means to me”, Coleman said.
Coleman succeeded the late Gary Speed, a fellow former Wales worldwide, in January 2012.
‘We didn’t agree on everything, then things were up for debate and you got to a point where you said, “We’ll concede a bit here, as long as we can have this in that place”.
“This is not the time to sit back and enjoy the moment”.
“This is a one-off for me, and the fact there’s such a good group and a good feeling is not something I want to hand over to someone else really easily”. This is the time where we push on, break boundaries and do something special’. “I’m very happy to be sitting here knowing that I have another campaign to look forward to”.
FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford said: “We wanted to acknowledge the fantastic work Chris has done with his staff in ensuring qualification to the Euros in France this summer”.
“I look on it as an opportunity to improve on my first campaign [World Cup 2014 qualifying] which wasn’t a successful one”.
His side open their Euro 2016 group campaign against Slovakia in Bordeaux on June 11.
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Ford added: “There is no one better qualified than Chris to lead Wales into its first World Cup in 60 years”.
