Emma Hayes hired as USWNT head coach

After a couple weeks of reporting, it’s finally official! Today, U.S. Soccer announced that they have hired Emma Hayes as the 10th permanent head coach in U.S. Women’s National Team history.

Hayes will take over on a full-time basis after the conclusion of Chelsea FC Women’s season in late May. U.S. Soccer added that current USWNT interim coach Twila Kilgore will continue on until Hayes takes over, and she will then join Hayes’ staff as an assistant coach. Between now and late May, Kilgore will work with Hayes “to ensure a successful transition.” Hayes will be on the bench for 4 matches - 2 in June and 2 in July - before the team heads to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

“This is a huge honor to be given the opportunity to coach the most incredible team in world football history,” said Hayes in a statement. “The feelings and connection I have for this team and for this country run deep. I’ve dreamed about coaching the USA for a long time so to get this opportunity is a dream come true. I know there is work to do to achieve our goals of winning consistently at the highest levels. To get there, it will require dedication, devotion and collaboration from the players, staff and everyone at the U.S. Soccer Federation.”

“Emma is a fantastic leader and world class coach who sets high standards for herself and for everyone around her,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone added in a statement. “She has tremendous energy and an insatiable will to win. Her experience in the USA, her understanding of our soccer landscape and her appreciation of what it means to coach this team makes her a natural fit for this role and we could not be more pleased to have her leading our Women’s National Team forward.”

An important development is that Hayes will become the highest paid women’s soccer coach in the world, smashing all records with her salary. Reports indicate that she will earn $1.6 million per year, the same salary as USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter. She will be tasked with taking the USWNT back to the top of the rankings and atop the podiums at the Olympics and the 2027 Women’s World Cup in an effort to re-establish the program as the world’s best.

“I understand how important this team is to the people and culture of the United States, not just the soccer community,” Hayes said. “I fully understand the place this team has in U.S. society. I’ve lived it. I remember being a young coach working my way up through the system in the U.S. and watching all those young girls aspire to play on the U.S. Women’s National Team. For me, the honor in building on that legacy is part of my motivation, no question.”

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