Hayes determined to make impact beyond winning games with USWNT

The former Chelsea boss is loving life across the Atlantic.

Team USA's Emma Hayes

Emma Hayes has outlined her broader vision for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), revealing that her goals extend far beyond winning games.

The former Chelsea manager, who took the helm of the USWNT last summer following a decorated 12-year tenure in London, has already led the team to Olympic glory in Paris, clinching their first gold medal since 2012.

Despite this triumph, Hayes is focused on establishing a legacy that goes beyond the pitch.

Hayes’ introduction to the USWNT came fresh from securing the Women’s Super League (WSL) title with Chelsea in May 2024, she then found herself celebrating Olympic success in August.

Now, with the Olympics behind her, Hayes is shifting her focus to the broader development of the team and its structures.

“I plan to do more than just win with this team,” she said. “Like, that’s not who I am. I’m a builder and I want to put in place a robust program with the right support so that hopefully the U.S. can always compete beyond my tenure but also set the bar for the global game off the field. That’s one of my big goals.

“I’ve sort of had to zoom out and reflect and say, ‘listen, last year was extremely intense’. Like that’s unusual to go from a club situation into a national team. But in the last six months I’ve really tried to stay zoomed out and say ‘okay well, what gaps can we close in certain areas?’

“One of those is developing more program opportunities, particularly at the under-23 level, as I really feel there’s like a lost generation that didn’t get a lot of cap-opportunities because they went from [under] 20s … and if they didn’t make the seniors, there weren’t a lot of opportunities there.

“So we’ve got to close the gap … whether that’s encouraging the players to keep pushing to play wherever they are, but also internationally create an U23 program so we can start to give them international experiences prior to them coming to the senior level. And of course, some may go from [under]20s to seniors, but I really feel there’s a missing gap that we’ve got to get right. And we’ve certainly addressed that and we are aiming to [start that] program from April.”

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Mitch Fretton

Mitch is a freelance sports journalist with experience working for LiveScore, GOAL and Colchester United. He has experience working from both his desk at home and in the press box at games covering the Champions League and international football.

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