The U.S. women’s national team’s leadership shakeup will continue with general manager Kate Markgraf set to leave her role at the end of this month, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The Equalizer was the first to report the news.
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Sources confirmed that Markgraf’s contract expires at the end of August, and her decision not to return was made prior to the Women’s World Cup.
The news that Markgraf, 46, won’t return comes a day after manager Vlatko Andonovski resigned his position.
The USWNT was eliminated in the round of 16 by Sweden via a penalty shootout, though there continued to be conversations with U.S. Soccer about Markgraf possibly staying on. The World Cup exit was the earliest in USWNT history, and appeared to seal her decision.
Markgraf was the first person the U.S. Soccer Federation appointed to the position of general manager of the USWNT in 2019, and her first decision was the hiring of Andonovski. That decision was followed by two sub-standard performances in major tournaments, including the recent World Cup and a bronze medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
