Emma Hayes officially has been named the next head coach of the U.S. women’s national team, U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday.
The 47-year-old from England is stepping down as Chelsea head coach at the end of the Women’s Super League season in May 2024. That announcement from the English club on Nov. 4 coincided with a flurry of reports connecting Hayes to the USWNT opening.
Hayes replaces Vlatko Andonovksi, who stepped down as USWNT manager in August in the aftermath of a disappointing World Cup run. Twila Kilgore served as interim head coach for the September and October training camps, and she will continue in that role before joining Hayes’ staff as an assistant coach.
Hayes joined Chelsea in 2012. In her 11 seasons at the helm, not including the 2023-24 season, she has won six league titles, five FA Cups, two FA League Cups and one Community Shield. While the club made a bid to keep Hayes, their offer could not match that of the USWNT, where her base salary reportedly will match that of men’s coach Gregg Berhalter, who earns $1.6 million per year.
“This is a huge honor to be given the opportunity to coach the most incredible team in world football history,” Hayes said in a news release. “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.”
Through six matches this season, Chelsea sit atop the WSL table with 16 points. And her current roster includes two up-and-coming USWNT stars in Catarina Macario and Mia Fishel.
Before joining Chelsea, Hayes worked in the United States as part of the Women’s Professional Soccer league, a precursor to the NWSL. Hayes served as the head coach for the Chicago Red Stars from 2008 through 2010 and then as the technical director for the Western New York Flash in 2011.
Hayes’ impending hire was met with cheers from across the women’s soccer world. England head coach Sarina Wiegman called it “good for the women’s game,” while USWNT star-turned-analyst Carli Lloyd is “excited” by the move. USWNT midfielder Kristie Mewis said Hayes is “exactly what we need,” while forward Tobin Heath referred to the choice as a “no-brainer.”
The praise comes even after Hayes called out issues within the U.S. program after the USWNT’s exit from the 2023 World Cup. She pointed to problems with the development system, which have helped leave the team “massively short of creative talent.”
“The realities are, it is going to be very, very difficult for the US to climb back to the top,” Hayes wrote for The Telegraph. “I’m not saying they won’t, with hard work and the right conversations around their model. They will have to respond to this World Cup.”
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
Kristie Mewis is excited to see what Emma Hayes will bring to the U.S. women’s national team.
While Hayes has yet to be announced as the team’s next coach, her impending departure from Chelsea has been confirmed. U.S. Soccer’s board of directors also has reportedly approved the hire.
In her 12 seasons with Chelsea, Hayes has led the club to six Women’s Super League titles and five FA Cup titles — including the last four WSL titles and the last three FA Cup titles. Mewis’ fiancée Sam Kerr has played under Hayes at Chelsea since 2020.
“She’s an outstanding coach and she has led Chelsea to so many championships and so many wins, and she’s a world respected coach,” Mewis said. “I’m super excited to see what she can bring to the team. She’s exactly what we need and I really just think that she’s going to take the team to the next level.”
USWNT forward Tobin Heath agreed, calling the hiring of Hayes a “no-brainer.”
“When I saw this announcement I thought to myself: ‘Great choice. No-brainer,’” she said. “Did I think she was available? No. So then I instantly kind of became a little confused as to the timing of when she would come. But when I think about Emma Hayes and the impact she’s had on the women’s game, and the success that she’s had at Chelsea, she’s a winner.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman, meanwhile, called the move “good for the women’s game.”
“For the bigger picture of the women’s game, I think it’s good,” she said. “What you hope is that with her visibility and with more coaches that are visible, that you get more female coaches that can do a great job. And whatever level you coach, we need more women in football. It’s a little bit sad for England and Chelsea, but it’s also good for the women’s game in general.”
And as far as who will lead Chelsea next, Hayes has said she’ll have a hand in picking the team’s next coach. It’s important to her that there is a succession plan in place to ensure that the team continues to dominate after her departure in May 2024.
“The time is right,” she said. “I will work with the club in the succession plan and do everything I can to make sure there is as good of a transition as possible so my successor can have the same level of success as I can.
“I think it will be so Chelsea of us to succession-plan my exit, so of course I will be involved in those conversations. It’s important that we really take the time to evaluate what the best fit will be.”
Gotham FC celebrated the first NWSL title in franchise history in raucous fashion, and midfielder Kristie Mewis chronicled all the action.
After defeating OL Reign, 2-1, in the championship match, Gotham players marked the occasion in the traditional manner: a team dogpile, followed by the trophy presentation and locker room party. But they added their own twists, throwing in a toss of retiring captain Ali Krieger, an on-field conga line and an improvised slip-and-slide.
A connoisseur of championship bashes, Mewis established her credentials in the aftermath of the Houston Dash’s 2020 Challenge Cup tournament victory. And she brought that experience to bear Saturday at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.
She documented the celebration in a series of videos posted to her Instagram Stories, with teammates Kelley O’Hara and Lynn Williams among those featured. She also posted a photo and a video with just one caption between them: “Dudeeeeeeeeee.”
From Midge Purce receiving the match MVP award to Ali Krieger hoisting the new NWSL championship trophy to Gotham players attempting to drink from said trophy, check out some of the best scenes from the post-victory revelry.
Preview the 2023 NWSL Championship by tuning into the Just Women’s Sports Super Show Presented by State Farm, featuring surprise guest appearances by NWSL stars. Watch here.
Both teams competing in Saturday’s NWSL Championship final had key players return from injury during the playoffs.
OL Reign’s Rose Lavelle and Gotham FC’s Kristie Mewis missed long stretches of the regular season. But in the postseason, each has made her presence known on the pitch.
After not playing since Sept. 3 due to a nagging knee injury, Lavelle made her return on Oct. 21 in OL Reign’s first postseason win since 2015. In the Reign’s following game — the NWSL semifinal against the San Diego Wave — Lavelle assisted on Veronica Latsko’s game-winning-goal.
“It’s been really nice to build back my minutes, I’m feeling good,” Lavelle said Thursday. “Hopefully I can shake a little rust off, but I’m happy to be back in a position where I can help on the field.”
HOW DID THAT GO IN?!? 🤯@V_Latsko12 gives @OLReign the lead from an impossible angle! pic.twitter.com/YUiKbPhrfY
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 6, 2023
Mewis made her own return from a lower-leg injury in Gotham’s semifinal game against the Portland Thorns in similar fashion to Lavelle. In Mewis’ first appearance for Gotham since she played for the U.S. women’s national team in the World Cup, she assisted on Katie Stengel’s game-winning tally to send their club to the final.
“Obviously, I’ve been out for a bit so I do feel a little bit rusty, but I feel really good. I’m not in pain anymore, which is a huge deal for me. . . I’m just excited to help the team in any way that I can and play whatever role I need to play,” Mewis said.
KATIEEEEEEE STENGELLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) November 6, 2023
also, welcome back Kristie Mewis. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/WPSdHvCQY1
Both Lavelle and Mewis are expected to be available for the NWSL Championship at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, when either Gotham or OL Reign will emerge as first-time champions.
“I think the team has been so incredible and has absolutely carried everybody to this point,” Mewis said of her squad. “I’m feeling good, I think the team feels so good. We’re in such a good spot mentally and physically right now, so I’m so excited to see what we bring on Saturday.”
U.S. women’s national team midfielder Kriste Mewis and Australian striker Sam Kerr have confirmed their engagement after weeks of speculation.
On Oct. 24, Mewis posted a collage on Instagram that features many pictures of herself and Kerr — and one that clearly showed an engagement ring on her finger.
Weeks passed without any confirmation of an engagement from the soccer stars, but a People Magazine exclusive broke the news Friday morning. The announcement came just ahead of Saturday’s NWSL Championship, in which Mewis will compete with Gotham FC.
The couple began dating in 2020 but kept their relationship quiet until 2021, when they were photographed together at the Tokyo Olympics. They rooted for each other throughout the 2023 World Cup as well, and Mewis told People that Kerr is her “biggest supporter.”
Mewis knows that she hasn’t been subtle when it comes to sharing her relationship online, but that is a purposeful decision. She hopes that her relationship with Kerr can be an inspiration to others.
“I love to share my relationship on social media,” Mewis told told soccer lifestyle magazine Gaffer. “So I think if we can change the way one or two people feel about themselves, they can look at us and see that we’re happy and we’re trying to be as successful as we can and we’re an out gay couple. I think that that’s so important.”
The Gotham FC bench came up big in extra time in Sunday’s NWSL semifinal win over the defending champion Portland Thorns.
In Gotham’s 1-0 victory at Portland’s Providence Park, the lone goal came off the foot of forward Katie Stengel, with an assist from midfielder Kristie Mewis.
Both Mewis and Stengel came on as substitutes, with Mewis replacing Esther González in the 80th minute and Stengel replacing Delanie Sheehan in the 100th minute. They provided a the difference in a rain-soaked, defensive battle.
In the 107th minute, Mewis directed a failed Thorns clearance to Stengel at the top of the box. Stengel nudged the ball to her left to set up her shot, then used her left foot to send it flying over several Thorns defenders and into the top left corner of the net.
The shot went against the usual advice of head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, who tells his players to keep the ball “on the floor,” Stengel said.
“So I thought: Let’s do the exact opposite,” she said. “And it worked out!”
KATIEEEEEEE STENGELLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) November 6, 2023
also, welcome back Kristie Mewis. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/WPSdHvCQY1
Stengel joined Gotham on loan from Liverpool in July, a move which became a permanent transfer in September. The 31-year-old forward has signed with the New Jersey-based club through the 2025 NWSL season.
In eight appearances for Gotham in 2023, Stengel has three goals, including Sunday’s game-winner. Her first goal for the club this season, which came in her very first appearance, also came against Portland.
“When I was here even temporarily, it felt like a more of a home,” Stengel said. “It felt like everyone was a part of this team, family environment. … So I was sold early on, just with the team culture and professionalism on and off the field, and it was great to be part of — and even better that we get to go to the final now.”
Mewis played her first minutes for Gotham FC since playing in the 2023 World Cup with the U.S. women’s national team. The 32-year-old midfielder has been out with a lower leg injury, and she was listed as questionable on the availability report ahead of the semifinal.
“What we’ve shown, and what they’ve shown, is: This is a squad of 25, 26 players, where everyone is important and key at certain points of the season,” Amorós said.
Jenna Nighswonger stepped into a Gotham FC roster full of U.S. women’s national team veterans and current stars. And the NWSL Rookie of the Year candidate still made a name for herself.
The 22-year-old credits her success to her teammates, who put her at ease as soon as she stepped onto the field — even as she navigated a position change.
Drafted out of Florida State as a forward, Nighswonger made her name in her first season as a fullback, becoming a mainstay for Gotham in her new role. While she is still working on her defensive skills, she has enjoyed bringing an attacking mindset to the position as well.
And her fellow players, including Gotham FC captain and defender Ali Krieger, have been “so helpful” in her finding her confidence on defense, she said Thursday. Even if it was a little intimidating at first.
“I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is I was just quite nervous to come into a team with names like Ali Krieger, Lynn Williams, Kelley O’Hara,” she said Thursday. “Just because I didn’t really know. I [had] never met them before.”
But in meeting the international stars on the Gotham FC roster for the first time, Nighswonger found them to be “such good people.” The roster for the New Jersey-based club features not just Krieger, Williams and O’Hara but also USWNT players Midge Purce and Kristie Mewis, as well as Nigeria’s Ifeoma Onumonu, Spain’s Esther González and Brazil’s Bruninha.
“Everyone on the team is just amazing and they’ve been so welcoming,” she said, noting that she’s grown more comfortable with time. “I hope everyone else feels [comfortable]. We just have such a great group of girls and I think that we’re all willing to work so hard for each other and do whatever it takes to get to the final. I think it’s just amazing how in a matter of like a few months I just feel so comfortable with a whole new group of girls.”
Nighswonger and her Gotham FC teammates will face the No. 2 seed Portland Thorns at 7 p.m. ET Sunday in the NWSL semifinals with a shot in the championship match on the line.
U.S. women’s national team midfielder Kristie Mewis added fuel to the engagement rumors swirling around herself and Australia striker Sam Kerr.
In an Instagram post, Mewis featured a photo of herself holding a drink with her left hand, with a diamond ring prominently displayed on the third finger of her hand.
That photo led a collection of assorted snapshots, which Mewis captioned: “Some old and some new,” featuring Mewis in training, Gotham FC and USWNT teammates Kelley O’Hara and Lynn Williams, as well as Mewis and Kerr together. Kerr commented on the post with a heart emoji.
While neither Kerr nor Mewis have made any announcements about an engagement, eagle-eyed fans began to speculate after spotting the diamond ring on Mewis’ left hand in social media posts at the end of September.
The pair have been dating since 2020, but they did not go public with their relationship until they made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They supported each other throughout the 2023 World Cup, with Mewis attending the Matildas’ matches after the USWNT’s Round of 16 elimination.
“Thank you babe for always being my everything every step of the way and I’m so proud of you and thankful for you,” Mewis wrote to Kerr in an Instagram caption after the USWNT’s World Cup exit.
NWSL Decision Day was a nerve-racking day for everyone involved, fans and players alike, as Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams shared on the most recent episode of their “Snacks” podcast for Just Women’s Sports.
Mewis, who is out for the season with a knee injury, tried to “watch three games at a time.” All 12 teams played simultaneously Sunday, with four playoff spots up for grabs on the final day of the season.
“I did the TV, iPad, phone situation. I mainly was watching the Gotham-Kansas City game, that was my main focus of the day,” she said. Mewis is under contract with the Current, while her sister Kristie plays for Gotham FC.
“But I also had the NC-Spirit game up for a little bit, especially at the end … So I was trying to watch all the games. They all had implications on each other.”
While Williams was on the field for Gotham FC, her injured teammate Kristie Mewis told her that both she and Kelley O’Hara were pacing around in their box as they watched their teammates fight to the finish. Mewis and O’Hara both were sidelined with lower leg injuries for the 2-2 draw, which clinched a playoff berth for their team.
“All I know is Kristie was telling me when they were watching upstairs, ‘We just kept moving all over the place,’ and she was like a nervous wreck,” Williams said.
Sam Mewis called the movement of the table “wild.” Ultimately, Gotham FC finished in sixth place, while Angel City FC finished in fifth.
“I watched you guys go from No. 3 to No. 6 because Angel City scored a fourth goal,” she said. “Or Orlando’s? It was wild, I don’t even know what happened.”
“There’s a funny video of Kelley outside screaming at us in the box,” Williams said. “And all of a sudden, they forced her to go inside because she had to watch by herself because she was all out of sorts watching. So they were like, ‘Get inside. We can’t handle you right now.’”
New photos are fueling rumors of an engagement between U.S. women’s national team midfielder Kristie Mewis and Australia striker Sam Kerr.
The pair have been dating since 2020, but they did not go public with their relationship until they made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They supported each other throughout the 2023 World Cup, with Mewis attending the Matildas’ matches after the USWNT’s Round of 16 elimination.
“Thank you babe for always being my everything every step of the way and I’m so proud of you and thankful for you,” Mewis wrote on Instagram after the USWNT’s World Cup exit.
While neither Kerr nor Mewis have made any announcements about a possible marriage proposal, eagle-eyed fans have started to speculate after spotting a diamond ring on Mewis’ left hand in recent social media posts, including several from her NWSL club Gotham FC. Kerr has been visiting Mewis in the United States before her club season begins with Chelsea in England’s Women’s Super League.
An honor to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the “Battle of the Sexes'' victory, alongside the iconic @BillieJeanKing herself. Thank you for having us, @people and @elfcosmetics as we celebrated Women Changing the Game, equal play, and equal pay. ☺️ pic.twitter.com/gQiyBJYGtF
— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) September 21, 2023