Carla Ward, the manager of Aston Villa Women’s Super League team, has put pen to paper on a fresh two-year contract with the club.
At the age of 39, Ward initially extended her contract until the conclusion of the 2023-24 season back in January 2023, having joined Aston Villa in 2021.
Now, she has agreed to remain at the helm until the culmination of the 2024-25 campaign, with the possibility of an additional year’s extension included in the deal.
Villa’s head of women’s football Lee Billiard said: “This is tremendous news for Carla and the club.
The boss. ☄️@cwardy7 has put pen to paper on an extended contract! ✍️
— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) May 27, 2023
“We have continued to see substantial improvement in the team under her leadership, both individually and collectively, and this contract extension will allow her to continue progressing and building on our strategy to try to develop young players while putting Aston Villa at the heart of the women’s game in England at this exciting time.”
Ward arrived at Villa for the start of the 2021-22 season and guided them to an improved ninth-place finish in the WSL.
Last week’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Liverpool in their last home game of the season secured Ward’s side a fifth-place finish in the table.
Villa became the first side outside the WSL’s top four to register 10 league wins in a season and Ward, nominated for the manager of the season award, also won the WSL’s manager of the month award on three occasions.