(Reuters) – According to reports, Tony Gustavsson has expressed his commitment to lead Australia’s women’s team until the next Olympic Games in 2024, despite rumors that he is being considered for the role of men’s national team coach in Sweden, his home country.
There have been claims that Gustavsson is one of the candidates being interviewed for the Swedish role, following the resignation of Janne Andersen after Sweden failed to qualify for the Euro 2024 finals.
The 50-year-old coach, who has seen his reputation grow after guiding Australia to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals, has emphasized that he intends to remain in Australia until the Games in Paris, which will take place in July and August next year.
“I’m passionate about the Matildas and, as I have stated before, I’m fully focused on qualification and participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics,” Gustavsson said in a statement released by Football Australia.
“Our team’s journey towards this goal is my primary focus and commitment.”
Australia successfully progressed through the second phase of Asia’s preliminaries for the Olympic Games with victories over the Philippines, Iran, and Taiwan at the beginning of November.
The team’s next challenge will be against Uzbekistan over two legs in February, with the winner securing a spot in the 12-team football tournament in Paris.
“Tony Gustavsson is currently under contract with Football Australia as the head coach of the Matildas, with his tenure extending until the Paris 2024 Olympics,” Football Australia said in a statement.
“Football Australia highly value his contributions to the team’s journey and achievements so far.
“We are aware of speculations about Tony Gustavsson and the Swedish men’s national team. Football Australia, however, does not comment on speculative reports or our staff’s potential future engagements outside their current contracts.”
The governing body also mentioned that discussions about extending Gustavsson’s contract would be “held at an appropriate time in the future, adhering to our standard procedures”.
“Football Australia’s immediate priority is the strategic preparation to qualify and participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics,” the statement concluded.
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
