Klimková returns as Football Ferns head coach after employment probe

Ford Football Ferns has announced the return of Jitka Klimková as head coach after she took a temporary leave of absence amid an employment investigation.

In a statement over the weekend, New Zealand's national women's football team said Klimková will return "with immediate effect."

Her return follows the conclusion of an employment-related investigation commissioned by New Zealand Football and carried out by an independent workplace investigator.

"As is standard in workplace investigations and employment matters, findings of the investigation are strictly confidential to the related parties," the team said in its statement.

Klimková took a leave of absence in late May and missed the team's June 2024 tour in Spain, where they lost both of their games against Japan under interim head coach Michael Mayne.

The Ferns are now preparing for the Olympics, Radio New Zealand reported, with the team to be announced soon.

Klimková, who is from Czechoslovakia, was appointed as head coach of the Ferns in September 2021. She is the first woman appointed for the position on a full-time basis.

Andrew Pragnell, NZ Football chief executive, previously said Klimková had a "a real passion for and connection with New Zealand."

This was "always going to be important for us if we were appointing some who currently wasn't based in New Zealand," according to Pragnell.