Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has said the “time is right” to leave the club after 12 years in charge of the six-time Women’s Super League (WSL) champions.
Sources have told ESPN that Hayes is set to be appointed as the new head coach of the United States women’s national team after the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) approved her hiring.
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Hayes will leave Chelsea at the end of the season “to pursue a new opportunity outside the WSL and club football,” the club announced in a statement last Saturday.
The longest-serving manager of a WSL team by eight years, Hayes has been at the forefront of the development of women’s football in England and has pushed the boundaries of professionalism. But after over a decade in the role, now with a young son at home, Hayes said the timing has been key to her decision to accept a new challenge.
“I’ve been in the post for 12 years, and I’ve dedicated my life to this place [Chelsea],” Hayes said in a news conference on Friday. “I drive four hours to this place six days a week for 12 years.
