CHICAGO, IL - Former Iona University women's soccer head coach Emma Hayes was named the 10th full-time head coach in U.S. Women's National Team history, it was announced by the U.S. Soccer Federation on Tuesday. Hayes coached the Gaels from 2003-2006 and was highly successful in her tenure in New Rochelle.

EMMA HAYES AT IONA

During Hayes' time as head coach of Iona, the Gaels won 22 games, the most in a three-year stretch in program history. Inheriting a team that won two games the year before her arrival, Hayes' first season saw mild improvement with a three-win season. In her second and third years, Iona posted a 19-16-4 record, including 11-5-2 in MAAC play and two MAAC Championship berths before being eliminated by the eventual tournament champions both years. In 2004, her second season, Hayes was named MAAC Coach of the Year after a six-game improvement from a season before. Hayes was responsible for recruiting and coaching some of the top players to perform in Maroon & Gold including, among others: Liz Allan, Sherry Black, Eleri Earnshaw, Emily Martin, Jessica Martin, Sara Monarch, Catherine Nathans, Stephanie Sommers, Megan Teixeira, and Devon Whalen. Several of her players went on to NCAA coaching positions following graduation.

COACHING CAREER (FROM U.S. SOCCER RELEASE)

Hayes joins the USWNT after leading the Chelsea FC Women for the last 11 seasons. Hayes was appointed as the Blues manager in August of 2012 and has won six Women's Super League titles, one WSL Spring Series title, five Women's FA Cups and two FA Women's League Cups. In addition, Chelsea made the UEFA Women's Champions League Final in 2021. Hayes was named The Best FIFA Women's Coach of the Year for 2021 and is a finalist for the award in 2023. 
 
Hayes led the club to five WSL and Cup doubles, winning the league and the FA Cup four times and the league and the League Cup once. Chelsea won the treble in 2020-2021, taking the WSL, FA Cup and League Cup trophies.
 
Hayes, who grew up in London and went to university in Liverpool, came to the USA in 2001. She coached at the youth levels – working with players as young as Under-8s – with numerous clubs in the Long Island area, coached in the New York Olympic Development Program and was a member of the Region I staff. Her first head coaching job was with the Long Island Lady Riders in the USL W-League from 2001-2003. She was the youngest female head coach in the league and was named W-League Coach of the year in 2002.
 
After the Lady Riders, Hayes began her Iona tenure. She returned to the UK in 2006 where she became an assistant coach for Arsenal FC, the trailblazing club for women's pro soccer in the UK, and the Academy Director for Arsenal Ladies.
 
During her time in North London, the Gunners achieved unprecedented success, winning 11 major trophies during a three-season spell, including three titles in the Women's Premier League (the precursor to the WSL), three FA Women's Cups and the UEFA Women's Cup crown (the precursor to the UEFA Women's Champions League). Her role in the Arsenal backroom staff was combined with her position as Academy Director where she oversaw the development of young players at the club, many of whom currently play in the Women's Super League.
 
Hayes returned to the United States in 2008 and coached the Chicago Red Stars during the start of Women's Professional Soccer, the second iteration of a pro league in the United States. Before her first WPS season, with the second overall pick in the league's inaugural draft, she chose a young attacking player from the University of Portland named Megan Rapinoe. She also had stints working as a coaching consultant for the Washington Freedom and as the technical director at the New York Flash, which won the WPS title in 2011 with a team she helped assemble. She returned to England in 2011 and was eventually named head coach at Chelsea, where she has coached numerous national team players from more than 25 different countries.  
 
Hayes was rewarded with an OBE – Order of the British Empire – in 2022 on the New Year's honors list for services to soccer in the UK. Hayes was named an MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire – on the Queen's 90th birthday honors list in June of 2016 and was presented with it the following December. She was inducted into the Women's Super League Hall of Fame in 2021. 
 
Hayes is the second England-born coach to head the U.S. Women's National Team, after Jill Ellis, who spent the entirety of her coaching career in the United States. Hayes is also the fourth full-time female head coach in USWNT history. She holds a UEFA Pro License. 
 
In college, Hayes studied European Studies, Spanish and Sociology. She is conversational in Spanish. She recently completed her work towards a master's degree in Business Administration and has a master's in Intelligence and International Affairs. Hayes has a five-year-old son named Harry.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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