South Korea terminates women's coach Bell's contract

The Korea Football Association (KFA) has terminated the contract of women's team head coach Colin Bell by mutual agreement, the governing body said on Thursday.

Englishman Bell joined South Korea in 2019 and led them to the final of the 2022 Women's Asian Cup.

South Korea have had a string of poor results over the past year, exiting the 2023 Women's World Cup without winning a group stage match, losing in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games and failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

"The Korea Football Association judged that the women's national team currently needs changes for a new leap forward and that it would be better to prepare for it now," the KFA said in a statement.

"Coach Bell also decided to finalise his contract with six months left, considering his future plans and personal plans."

The KFA added that it would begin the process of hiring a manager who can lead a "generational change" and make the women's team more competitive.