The appointment follows information received by the BHA that the June 2017 IHF Emerging Nations tournament will be an U24 event, with maybe some over-age player allowances. While the news has yet to be fully confirmed, the BHA has decided to go ahead with this appointment to allow time to prepare for the tournament. The GB men’s programme will be self-funded.
The decision was taken because the BHA Performance Group has agreed to focus on a young GB squad for this event, with a view to building for the future. Vasconcelos, who is also currently GB U21 coach, will run the two squads in tandem.
Vasconcelos will work on the senior GB programme with Bill Baillie as assistant coach and Kevin Matthews as team manager, also on an interim basis. During the first quarter of 2017, the BHA will launch a formal recruitment process for the GB men’s head coach position to be in place by Summer 2017.
Commenting on his appointment Ricardo Vasconcelos said "It's with great pride and joy that I assume this position of great responsibility. I feel honoured for the opportunity and I'm eager to start working alongside this knowledgeable and experienced staff team to help creating the basis of what, we expect, will be the medium/long-term success of Great Britain men's team."
BHA Chair Paul Bray added “Ricardo is a highly experienced and qualified coach, who has done an excellent job with the GB U21 programme. His appointment makes perfect sense given that we want to focus on gaining experience for the future and enter a young GB team in the 2017 IHF Emerging Nationals Tournament”.
