The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on Thursday appointed Belgian national Patrick De Wilde as the new head coach of the Nepali women’s national football team.

Wilde has over 20 years of experience with successes in national and international football. He also has a Bachelor’s in Sports Education and Pedagogy.

He began his coaching career in 1999 in the Belgian club competition. His first work abroad was in Ukraine in 2007 when he coached FC Metalurh Donetsk, a club that went bankrupt in 2015.

Ukraine opened the path to other parts of the world for Wilde. While he returned to Belgium for a season in 2008/09 to coach K.S.K. Beveren, he was in China helping Tianjin Songjiang get promoted to the second division in 2010/11.

He was the head coach of the U18 team of FC Red Bull Salzburg in 2011/12 and FC Lifering’s U23 squad the next year. He reached Tunisia’s top league in 2013/14, but was back in Belgium in 2015/16.

Wilde’s first national coaching duty was in 2016 when he was called to Algeria for the A team and the U23 team. He was also the coach of Hungary A in 2018 and a technical director for Lithuania in 2021. He was also an assistant for the China U23 during the Asian Cup last year.

Wilde’s recent role was in Nepal when he coached Kathmandu Rayzrs FC in the third season of the Nepal Super League.

His prior experience in the country is expected to offer him an advantage as he transitions into the national role.

The appointment was recommended by ANFA’s coach selection committee and comes ahead of Nepal’s participation in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers. Under Wilde’s leadership, Nepal will compete in Group F against Uzbekistan, Laos and Sri Lanka. Further, Nepal wants to participate in the World Cup by 2031.

Wilde becomes only the second head coach to officially take charge of the women’s national side. He received his appointment letter from ANFA general secretary Kiran Rai on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, Rai highlighted the strategic importance of the appointment. “With the AFC Qualifiers approaching, we needed someone familiar with the local football ecosystem,” he said. “Wilde brings both international experience and local understanding.”

Further details of Wilde’s contract, including its duration and financial terms, were not disclosed. Wilde will be revealed as the head coach to the media on Friday at a function where he will share his plans for the national women’s side.