Gemma Davies

Gemma Davies (born 1 July 1991) is an English football manager who is the former manager of Aston Villa Women and as of 2023 coaches the England women's under-23 team.

Early life
Davies began coaching aged 15 for Erdington Ladies under-10 and under-12 youth teams, where her sister played. She later gained an Master of Arts in Sports Science from Loughborough University.

Aston Villa Women
After working towards her UEFA A License and acting as assistant head coach for Birmingham City Women in the 2017–18 WSL 2 season, Davies was appointed head of Aston Villa Women in June 2018, while continuing in her role as Head of Women’s Football at the University of Birmingham.

In the 2019–20 Women's Championship, after gaining two wins from the opening games, Davies was awarded the Manager of the Month award for August 2019. League Managers' Association chair Marieanne Spacey-Cale commented this was due to "the work Gemma and her team has done over the summer, bringing in new signings and technical work on the training pitch...". After the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davies led Aston Villa in an unbeaten run to promotion to the Women's Super League (WSL), with a record 13 wins and 1 draw. In doing so, she became the youngest head coach in the WSL, and was subsequently awarded the Women's Championship Manager of the Season award.

In May 2021, Davies was sacked as Villa manager in a shock decision, while in competition for the role with then interim manager Marucs Bignot. They were both replaced soon after by former Birmingham City Women manager Carla Ward.

England women youth teams
In October 2021, Davies became the head coach for the England women's under-19 team, beginning with 2022 U19 Championship qualification. In April 2022 she led the team to successful qualification for the final tournament, where they exited in the group stage of the tournament.

In the summer of 2023, Davies joined former footballers Remi Allen and Anita Asante as coaches of the England women's under-23 team.

Managerial honours
Aston Villa Women


 * Women's Championship: 2019–20

Individual


 * Women's Championship Manager of the Month: August 2019, December 2019
 * Women's Championship Manager of the Season: 2019–20