| Hannah Dingley | |
| Birth Date: | 19 July 1983[1] |
| Birth Place: | St Albans, England |
| Manageryears1: | 2019– |
| Managerclubs1: | Forest Green Rovers academy |
| Manageryears2: | 2023 |
| Managerclubs2: | Forest Green Rovers (caretaker) |
Hannah Dingley (born 19 July 1983) is a Welsh football coach who is the academy manager of club Forest Green Rovers.
, she was the first and is the only woman to have been in charge of a professional men's team in English football. Dingley holds a UEFA Pro Licence.[2]
Born in St Albans, Dingley was raised in Carmarthenshire, Wales, moving there at the age of four as her parents were from the area.[3] As a youth, football was her passion and a "strong part of her family culture". As her school did not have a girls' team, she played for the local boys' club.[4] She began coaching men's teams at aged 17.[3] She attended Loughborough University and coached teams there, including boys' university teams and men’s non-league football.[4] She also undertook work experience at Swansea City.[3]
Dingley earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Sport and Exercise Science and Masters of Science (MSc) in Coaching from Loughborough.[5] In a work experience role with Swansea City, Dingley would observe manager Jan Mølby training the team and during match days. This experience strengthened Dingley's desire to work in a managerial role in football.[6]
Dingley worked as a course leader at Loughborough College in Sport & Exercise Science [5] at the University of Wolverhampton in Sports Coaching Practice.[4] She began her professional coaching career in 2011 with the Notts County under-9 boys team and Lincoln Ladies, later choosing to work exclusively with the ladies team.[7]
In 2013 while working as a coach for Gresley, Dingley was subjected to verbal abuse by Northwich Victoria manager Lee Ashcroft, resulting in Ashcroft receiving a 10 match ban for using abusive and/or insulting words.[8] She also worked at Shepshed Dynamo and Leicester Nirvana.
In 2013, she joined Burton Albion as an academy coach.[1] From 2016–19, she was a coach for their senior men's team.[9] [10]
In 2019, Dingley was hired as an academy manager at Forest Green Rovers, making her the first woman to take charge of a men's academy team in England.[9] [11] In 2021, she launched a girls' academy for Forest Green.[6]
On 4 July 2023, she was appointed caretaker manager of Forest Green following the sacking of Duncan Ferguson.[12] This move made Dingley the first woman to take charge of a men's senior English professional football team.[13] Of the new role, Dingley said, "I've coached men for 20-odd years. This isn't different to me and I've never had a problem with players. They just want good coaching and a good programme."[14] Forest Green owner Dale Vince noted, "It was a very simple decision. Hannah was the most qualified person at the club for the job. Nothing else came into frame."[14]
She left her role as Rovers' caretaker manager on 17 July 2023, being replaced on a permanent basis by David Horseman.[15] She returned to her role as the head of the academy.[3]