Jacob Neestrup extends FCK contract until 2029
Jacob Neestrup has extended his contract at F.C. Copenhagen until 2029.
The head coach recently oversaw his 100th game in charge of the Lions, having been in charge of the first team for the past two years.
Neestrup took over the FCK team in September 2022, and has gone on to win the Danish title, the Danish Cup, and compete in two UEFA Champions League group stages. Last season he guided FCK out of the group stage and into a last-16 quarter-final against Manchester City. Most recently, he helped the club secure qualification for the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
"I am of course happy about this extension," says Neestrup.
"There is no doubt that we have had a difficult 2024 at times, but I am still full of energy and have real motivation to lead our players and staff, so that together we can fulfil our common ambitions at F.C. Copenhagen.
"I am very satisfied with the cooperation with the squad, the staff and my sports director, and therefore I am also optimistic about the future. Ahead of us are many tough and exciting challenges both domestically and in Europe, and I look forward to doing my absolute best to help further develop and release the great potential we have both as a team and as a club.
"This extension also pays testament to a particularly high degree of mutual trust between the club, the management and myself as head coach. You can't always take that for granted in this world, and I would like to emphasise that I personally appreciate that enormously.
"I hope and believe that I can once again help give all F.C. Copenhageners new experiences that will be remembered for many years.”
Sune: Important to keep the right man
F.C. Copenhagen's sporting director, Sune Smith-Nielsen, has had no doubts about the importance of Neestrup’s extension. It has been a top priority for some time.
"When we have the right coach, we are also obliged to make sure that he stays with us for as long as possible,” says Sune.
"It was a top priority to extend Neestrup’s agreement. He has proven himself to be of the level of an international coach at a very early age. He has shown that he can also be a skilled coach in difficult periods of adversity.
"Neestrup is a modern leader, a strong communicator and at the same time professionally skilled. He is great at working with individual players and in the tactical work with the team.
"Furthermore, he has an extraordinary vision for the club as a whole, and he understands it. We attach great importance to all these areas at F.C. Copenhagen, and we cannot get a better man at the head of our Superliga team.
"Together with the rest of the staff, he has helped to further develop our young players from FCK Talent completely in line with the strategy. This has meant that we have seen talented young players move up to the first team and at the same time contributed to us sending players to Europe who grew up at FCK.
"Stability and continuity in our coaching staff will help to strengthen our competitiveness in the short term and also the long term. We are convinced that with Jacob, and the team around him, we can deliver our sporting ambitions in the coming years.”
Neestrup was both assistant and head coach of F.C. Copenhagen's U17 team and then assistant coach for the first team, before he was hired as head coach at Viborg FF in 2019. He returned to FCK in January 2021 before becoming head coach.
