USWNT Emma Hayes calls for more female head coaches across global game

CHESTER, Pa. – As the United States and Spain square off for the second time on Tuesday at Subaru Park, Emma Hayes reflected on a notable moment that the sport provides, even if it comes at times far from deserved.

Hayes has been a trailblazer since launching her coaching journey with the Long Island Lady Riders before building a powerhouse around Chelsea’s Women’s Super League side, and her trajectory concluded with managing the USWNT on their path to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. With this insight into how the game evolves, the recent matchup outside Philadelphia offered clear evidence of those shifting dynamics.

“I’ve never hidden the difficulty facing women in this arena—securing interviews, landing jobs, and retaining positions remains harder than for their male peers. Standards seem stacked against us, yet we often miss out on subsequent offers after leaving or finishing a role,” Hayes explained.

“However, I also recognize the exceptional work of coaches such as Sonia Wiegmann and Sonia Bompastor, and their contributions deserve official acknowledgment. Greater gender diversity is essential, and I support initiatives requiring at minimum one technical assistant node to be a woman,” Hayes added. “My ambition extends further—I’d like to see many more female head coaches at international club level, given how entrenched the challenge remains.”

With Hayes championing such structural reforms, the broader soccer ecosystem reveals longstanding inequities. Historically, unconventional figures—such as Landon Donovan, Richie Burke, and Chris Armas—have been entrusted with women’s‑team leadership despite lacking prior experience guiding female squads. Already, eleven of the sixteen NWSL franchises operate under male heads.

Those former executives leveraged established playing legacies and networks, assets typically absent in today’s emerging pool of women who possess neither. Despite undeniable progress, the momentum persists: raising awareness matters, but only sustained institutional commitment can force decisive change—a commitment that requires meaningful investment in hiring women to steer teams worldwide.

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