List of longest managerial reigns in association football

The longest managerial reign in association football belongs to Englishman Jimmy Davies who was manager of Waterloo Dock for 50 years.

Second to this, Fred Everiss was manager of Football League team West Bromwich Albion for over 45 years, starting his reign in 1902 and ending when he retired in 1948.

[10][11] As the secretary role was largely clerical and often occupied by one of the directors, they tended to remain in post for many years regardless of results in the short term.

[16][17][18][19] As in the earlier era, the director would often have a tenure of several years to oversee the overall progress of the club, while the head coach would typically keep their job only for as long as the on-field results were positive.

For the purpose of this list, a separation has been made between pre-World War II reigns, which includes many secretary-managers, and the period after the conflict ended when regular competitions resumed in most countries, and longer managerial/head coach appointments became far less commonplace.