Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has been named the new head coach of the United States in a record deal that will make her the highest-paid women’s soccer coach in the world, the FA announced on Tuesday. of football.
Hayes, 47, revealed earlier this month that she planned to leave Chelsea at the end of the season after a trophy-laden spell in charge of the English club.
“It is a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to coach the most incredible team in the history of world football,” Hayes said in a USSF statement confirming his appointment.
US Soccer did not release details of Hayes’ contract, but said she would become “the highest-paid women’s soccer player in the world.”
ESPN, citing a source with knowledge of contract negotiations, reported that Hayes’ deal would last through 2027 and would allow him to earn a salary “close if not equal” to the $1.6 million the football coach earned American male Gregg Berhalter.
Hayes will serve with Chelsea in the WSL, then officially take up duty in the United States next year, two months before the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where the Americans will look to regain the gold medal they have last won in 2012.
Hayes is one of the most respected figures in the world of women’s football, leading Chelsea to six WSL titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups as well as other trophies. In 2021, she led Chelsea to the Women’s Champions League final and was named FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year.
The England manager, who began her coaching career in women’s club football in the United States in 2001 after a promising playing career was cut short by injury, will now be handed the task of bringing the States back -United at the top of women’s football.
– ‘I lived it’ –
The Americans have dominated international women’s soccer for much of the past decade, winning back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019.
However, the Americans were eliminated from the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in August during the round of 16 – the team’s worst performance ever at a World Cup.
Hayes said his appointment to the US post was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, adding that it was simply impossible to turn down the post.
“I’ve dreamed of doing this job since I was coaching in my early 20s,” Hayes said. “You can’t turn down the United States women’s national team.”
US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said Hayes was chosen after the federation reviewed “a long list” of candidates.
“We had a group of great coaches and leaders to consider, but we were confident that Emma was the best person and coach to move the U.S. Women’s National Team forward,” Crocker said.
Hayes, who began her coaching career as a relative unknown with the Long Island Lady Riders in 2001 before later working with the Iona Gaels and the Chicago Red Stars, said her formative years in the United States had given her a solid understanding of the importance of the American women’s team.
“I understand the importance of the team to the people and culture of the United States,” she said. “I experienced it.
“I remember being a young coach coming up through the ranks of the U.S. system and seeing all these young girls aspiring to play on the U.S. women’s national team.
“For me, the honor of building on this legacy is part of my motivation, without a doubt.”
