Emma Hayes has rightfully earned her status as a pioneer for women’s soccer around the world.
The newly appointed U.S. women's national team manager has never shied away from speaking out about the challenges facing women in sport, whether that’s juggling motherhood or opening up about how menstrual cycles impact performance.
However, it’s only now as an international manager that she has the time to properly enact change, and build a future that's built on equality. Upon her return to England, for the first time since moving across the pond, Hayes revealed her plans to “develop a framework where everything is seen through a female lens”.
“Coaching in international football is so different because you have these large chunks of time in between camps,” she said to the media last month. “I used to think what they are doing, there’s only so many games you can scout at and watch, but what I’ve realized is that I’m a builder.
“When I think back to building anything from my 10 years when I’ve been in the U.S. to being at Chelsea, I really enjoyed putting together an infrastructure together, so that when I leave it still stays solid.”
Hayes isn't the only woman in the U.S. who wants to rally change, she's also got an ally in Michelle Kang. The businesswoman is the owner of NWSL side Washington Spirit as well as several top women's clubs. She pledged $30 million to U.S. soccer last month, aimed at advancing women's and girls' soccer over the next five years.
The USWNT coach said the donation means she "can put in place the youth development program that I think we need, in order to close the gap at the youth levels."
“I get to use my brain in a different way and I get to use all that experience and knowledge that I’ve developed over a long period of time, to put into good use for future generations of Americans,” Hayes said. "We could use more players for the senior level, plus most importantly build a strategy that is centered around the female lens.
“That’s where my biggest passion has always been and I hope to develop within a federation a framework, so that everything from commercial to marketing and technical performance and analysis is all seen through a female lens. I’ve spent too much time frustrated about why we don’t have the knowledge around female physiology because we only invest 5% of that around women.
“Let’s put a commercial strategy together that the women want to partner with, and these are partners that are fitting with us as women to the type of environment we want to create. I feel like I’ve got the space now to really build that out once we move to the national training center in Atlanta."
It's clear that Hayes has every intention of going above and beyond during her time in the States, and soccer players and fans alike, should be very excited to have her in their space. "Hopefully we’ll partner up with universities to develop education courses at the degree level around coaching females,” she said.
“Coaching is where my passion is and I’ve realized even more so being away from the day-to-day that this is where my strengths lie and I’m looking forward to doing that.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as With Emma Hayes at the Helm, Women’s Soccer Is in Safe Hands.
