Chelsea Women head coach Emma Hayes will take over as the new head coach of the USA Women's team at the end of the season, the U.S. Soccer Federation has announced.
Following the Blues' 6-0 Women's Super League win over Aston Villa on November 4, Chelsea announced the shock news that Hayes would be ending her glittering tenure at Kingsmeadow at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Chelsea said that the 47-year-old would be stepping away from the WSL to "pursue a new opportunity outside of the WSL and club football", and rumours soon began to swirl surrounding a potential USA appointment.
Now, the U.S. Soccer Federation has confirmed that Hayes will become the four-time World Cup winners' new head coach, succeeding Vlatko Andonovski who departed after the 2023 World Cup.
"This is a huge honour to be given the opportunity to coach the most incredible team in world football history," Hayes - who will become the best-paid women's coach in the world with the Stars and Stripes - told ussoccer.com.
She's headed Stateside 🇺🇸
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) November 14, 2023
U.S. Soccer has appointed Emma Hayes as the 10th full-time head coach in #USWNT history » https://t.co/sR7qfSnWVx
Welcome, Emma! pic.twitter.com/WYn6Sg9RmX
"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."
U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone added: "Emma is a fantastic leader and world-class coach who sets high standards for herself and for everyone around her.
"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."
Before commencing their quest for a third successive Women's World Cup title, USA took home a bronze medal from the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics under Andonovski, who replaced Jill Ellis after their triumphant 2019 World Cup run.
© Reuters
The 2023 edition saw the USA post their worst result at the World Cup to date, though, as they went down to Sweden on penalties in the last 16, and Andonovski resigned from his role as head coach not long after.
Twila Kilgore took over on an interim basis, and the USA have also announced that the current caretaker manager will continue in her role until two months before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics, at which point she will become Hayes's assistant.
"Once the list of candidates was narrowed down, we had a group of excellent 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," USA Sporting Director Matt Crocker explained.
"Her passion for the game, her coaching acumen, her ability to galvanize players and staff, her dedication to continue to evolve as a coach and her qualities as a person are all incredibly impressive. She has a great appreciation for the legacy of this program and embraces the big challenges ahead."
Hayes - who previously managed Chicago Red Stars between 2008 and 2010 - has collected 14 major honours with Chelsea since being appointed their head coach in 2020, including six WSL titles.
The 47-year-old also led the Blues to a Champions League runners-up medal in 2021 - the same year she was named the Best FIFA Women's Football Coach - and she is a six-time WSL Manager of the Season winner.
