Football: Emma Hayes’ appointment as USWNT head coach is gold for all of us - Alice Soper

Emma Hayes directs Chelsea team during the Uefa Women's Champions League final against Barcelona. Photo / AP

The biggest coaching job in women’s team sport has been filled this week, with Emma Hayes confirmed as the next head coach of the United States Women’s National Team, known as the USWNT. Like the All Blacks are to men’s rugby, the Americans are to women’s football. They are the brand, the myth, the legend and so of course come with an almost unhealthy dose of expectations.

The writing was on the wall for their last coach, Vlatko Andonovski, before the whistle blew time on their first pool match. They won that World Cup opener against Vietnam 3-0 but it’s not enough for this team to win, they have to dominate. A sentiment that may feel familiar to All Blacks fans. It’s a wonder any coach was bold enough to put their hand up for this job.

It’s an even tougher recruitment at this particular moment in time. There is a changing of the guard, with veterans of the game hanging up their boots and many questions as to whether the United States has the best system to develop their successors.

The inadvertent poster child for the success of Title IX, women’s soccer exploded after the Government’s introduction of equal funding for their college programmes in 1972. This early innovation is now an albatross, entrenching challenges around geography, class and race with the pathway to the national team marched through the university gates.

While this team spent time fighting valiantly for equal pay, other nations put more money into their domestic competitions. With many now operating professional leagues, more talent is meeting more opportunities than ever. The predictable result is that the gap between the United States and the rest of the world is closing.

When speculation began on Andonovski’s replacement, Hayes wasn’t a name on the shortlist. Referred to by some as the Sir Alex Ferguson of the women’s game, few could imagine her on the sideline of any team but Chelsea. Given all of the expectations and challenges laid out in this job description though, there is no one better suited than Hayes.

First and foremost, this nation state of capitalism needed to consider its brand when appointing its team’s head coach. With the retirement of Fox News’ favourite villain, Megan Rapinoe, they needed to continue to tell a story of equity and excellence. Hayes’ CV writes the next chapter effortlessly.

Under her tenure, Chelsea switched out the modifier “ladies” for “women” and adopted individual training plans structured around period cycles. Hayes enlisted a pelvic floor physiotherapist to support a pregnant player’s return to play and required new coaches to undergo unconscious bias training before joining the women’s environment. This is what the sport’s research and countless culture reviews tell us to do but still, few real-world applications have been seen.

These innovations helped shape a safe and successful environment. Hayes’ Chelsea side have won the Women’s Super League six times. It’s not just soft skills though, she has the tactics to boot. Here she employs the other seemingly obvious yet improbable thing, she uses talent and context to develop her game plan. Rather than the bad coaching habit of developing plans first and application later.

The most exciting thing about her appointment to this highly-visible head coaching job is that Hayes seems to be a genuinely good egg. It feels like a watershed, not because she is a woman but because she represents the new school in coaching. One that listens to and respects both research and players. One that sees the whole picture and the part they play in its progress. It’s good for the United States, it’s great for football and it’s gold for all of us.