Chicago (November 14, 2023) – The U.S. Soccer Federation named Emma Hess the 10th full-time head coach in U.S. Women’s National Team history.
Hayes, 47, is the long-time head coach of Chelsea FC, one of Europe’s most successful women’s teams, who began her coaching career at the turn of the millennium and is in charge of the competition two decades later. USWNT
“It’s an honor to be given the opportunity to coach the greatest team in the history of world football,” Hayes said. “My passion and connection to this team and this country is deep. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to coach the United States, so to have this opportunity is a dream come true. I know we have work to do to reach our goal of consistently winning at every level. To get there, I have the support of the players, the staff and the U.S. Soccer Federation.” It requires dedication, hard work and cooperation from everyone.
“Emma is an outstanding leader and world-class coach who sets high standards for herself and everyone around her,” said US Soccer President Cindy Plow Cohn. “She has great energy and a will to win. Her experience in the U.S., her understanding of our soccer landscape, and her appreciation of what it means to coach this team make her a natural fit for this role, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her lead our Women’s National Team forward.
US Soccer athletic director Matt Crocker led the international search process and made the final decision to hire Hayes as head coach. Hayes becomes the highest paid women’s soccer coach in the world.
Hayes will finish the 2023-24 Women’s Super League season in England and then officially join the U.S. team two months before the 2024 Olympics. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore will remain on the job and will then join the Hayes staff full-time as an assistant coach. Crocker, Kilgore and her staff are developing a plan to work with Hayes to ensure a successful transition.
When Hayes officially joins US Soccer, she will have four matches on the US bench before the Olympics, two in June and two in July.
“It’s a unique situation, but the team is in a safe position with Twila,” Crocker said. Her management will be critical this season as we focus on Olympic success. Emma has supported Twila, she will be a key part of Emma’s staff both coming and going forward, and we are excited for what is next for our USWNT program.
During the hiring process, Crocker developed a list of several different candidates before narrowing down the candidates. Candidates undergo a thorough and thorough interview process that includes psychometric and abstract reasoning tests, in-depth discussions of strategy, coaching philosophy and the current player pool, as well as pressures, culture building and relationships with players and staff. .
“Once the shortlist was narrowed down, we had great coaches and leaders to consider, but we felt strongly that Emma was the best person and coach to take the U.S. Women’s National Team forward,” Crocker said. “Her passion for the game, her coaching skills, her ability to promote players and staff, her commitment to coaching and her qualities as a person are unbelievably impressive. She has great admiration for the legacy of this program and embraces the big challenges ahead.
“I deeply appreciate Matt and our athletic department’s careful approach to the selection process. Emma is a highly respected and widely admired person in our sport,” said US Soccer CEO/Secretary JT Batson. “Her understanding of the global game, combined with her winning record, makes her an exceptional choice. Emma’s passion fuels her purpose. She is the perfect individual to grow our game and she knows her impact will be felt throughout the federation.”
Hayes comes to American Soccer having coached Chelsea FC Women for the past 11 seasons. Hayes was appointed manager of the Blues in August 2012 and has won six Women’s Super League titles, one WSL Spring Series title, five Women’s FA Cups and two FA Women’s League Cups. Chelsea also reached the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2021. Hayes was named the 2021 FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year and is a finalist for the award in 2023.
Hayes led the club to five WSL and Cup doubles, winning the League and FA Cup four times and the League and League Cup once. Chelsea won the treble in 2020-2021, taking home the WSL, FA Cup and League Cup.
Hayes lifted the Women’s FA Cup for the first time with Chelsea in the 2014-2015 season, as the club completed a historic and memorable double by winning the Women’s Super League. She was the only female manager in the league at the time. Hayes led Chelsea to a second domestic double of the FA Cup and WSL titles in the 2017–18 season, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second time.
In the year In 2019–20, the Blues won the WSL title and the League Cup, successfully defending both trophies the following season and reaching their first Champions League final. Those achievements led Hayes to be named the WSL’s manager of the season in successive campaigns, and she was awarded the FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year award in 2021. The wins in the 2021-2022 WSL season made Hayes the first coach to lead a team. Three consecutive WSL titles. Last season – 2022-2023 – marked another double when Chelsea won the league and FA Cups.
Hayes, who grew up in London and attended the University of Liverpool, came to the USA in 2001. At the youth level – working with players as young as 8 years old – he coached several clubs in the Long Island area and was a member of the New York Olympic Development Program and Region I staff. Her first head coaching stint was with the Long Island Lady Raiders in the USL W-League from 2001-2003. She became the league’s youngest female head coach and was named W-League Coach of the Year in 2002. Since 2003, she has been a regular presenter at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s current United Soccer Coaches Annual Conference. .
After the Lady Knights, Hayes coached freshman college soccer for four years at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, leading the Gaels to two conference championships and earning another Coach of the Year before returning to England as an assistant. Coach of Arsenal FC, a competitive women’s football club in England and Director of the Arsenal Women’s Academy.
During her time in North London, the Gunners achieved unprecedented success, winning 11 major trophies in three seasons, including three Women’s Premier League titles (a precursor to the WSL), three FA Women’s Cups and a UEFA Women’s Cup crown (a precursor to the UEFA Women’s Champions League). Her role in Arsenal’s backroom is combined with her role as academy director, overseeing the development of young players at the club, many of whom currently play in the Women’s Super League.
Hayes returned to the United States in 2008 and coached the Chicago Red Stars for the second time in the American Pro League when women’s professional soccer began. Before WPS’s first season, it selected Megan Rapinoe, a young forward from the University of Portland, with the second overall pick in the league’s inaugural draft. She has also been a coaching consultant for the Washington Freedom and technical director of the New York Flash, working with the team she helped win the WPS title in 2011. She returned to the UK in 2011 and eventually headed cAt Chelsea she is coaching more than 25 national team players.
“I understand how important this team is not only to the soccer community, but to the people and culture of the United States,” Hayes said. “I understand very well the place this group has in American society. I have lived it. I remember being a young coach working in the system in the US and watching all those young girls dream of playing on the US Women’s National Team. For me, the honor of building on that legacy is part of my motivation, no question.
Hayes was awarded an OBE – Order of the British Empire – in the 2022 England Football Service’s New Year’s Honors List. Hayes was named an MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honors List in June 2016 and was presented the following December. She will be inducted into the Women’s Super League Hall of Fame in 2021.
Hayes is only the second England player to lead the United States Women’s National Team, following Jill Ellis, who spent her entire coaching career in the United States. Hayes is the fourth full-time female coach in USWNT history. She holds a UEFA Pro license.
In college, Hayes studied European studies, Spanish and sociology. She speaks Spanish. She recently completed her Master’s Degree in Business Administration and holds a Master’s Degree in Intelligence and International Affairs. Hayes has a five-year-old son, Harry.