United States head coach Emma Hayes has been inducted into the English National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame joining the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Bob Paisley and Brian Clough, among others.
Hayes, who led Chelsea to seven Women’s Super League titles in 12 years at the helm, became USWNT coach in 2024 and led the side to a gold medal at Paris Olympics a year ago.
She was inducted at the National Football Museum in Manchester on Tuesday.
“I think it’s a proud day for me and my family and one where I think, once you’ve taken time from the work I’ve done at Chelsea, I get the opportunity to reflect on that. I’m really happy to be here,” Hayes said.
“But when I think about individual honours, I always think about teams and players. So, as I step into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, I do so with all the players and staff I’ve worked with over my career, and I’m sincerely appreciative of all of them.”
As well as Chelsea’s WSL domination during her time at the club, Hayes also guided the club to five FA Cup trophies, two League Cups and a treble in the 2006-07 season before making the jump to international management, a move she has enjoyed.
“It [managing the USWNT] has been incredible, it really has,” Hayes said
“It is like becoming a grandparent, international football. You don’t get to see them [the players] all of the time and you send them back to their parents — or their clubs — at the end of that period.
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“I didn’t think the transition would be what it is. It’s been thoroughly enjoyable and I’m enjoying life as an international coach.”
Hayes also paid tribute to former Liverpool head coach Matt Beard, one of the most prominent figures in the growth of the women’s game, who died aged 47 on Sept. 20
“Players loved him. He cared about them, he developed them, he built a winning team at Liverpool,” Hayes said. “He has influenced so much of the ecosystem [in women’s football] and he did it before anybody else was looking, he did it when he didn’t have any money.
“His sacrifice was so huge that his legacy will be so many things that it’s important we continue to shine a light on the struggles that human beings can have and remember that Matt Beard and the community he created is unique in a lot of ways and one we have to protect in honour of his legacy.”
