Emma Hayes is a significant architect of modern women's football, having transformed Chelsea women from part-time to one of the elite professional powerhouses, setting new standards for the game.
During her 12-year tenure at the club, she established herself as a dominant figure in the culture, winning seven WSL titles, five of which were consecutive: five FA Cups and two League Cups.
Upon her arrival in 2012, she transformed the team's infrastructure, along with Paul Green, who was brought in in 2013, and brought in full-time staff and dedicated training facilities to create a professional setup from the ground up.
She learnt from her time as an assistant manager at Arsenal during the quadruple season of 2007 how to build a successful team, and also that a club invests in its women's team.
She is known for her in-game adaptability and for recruiting elite talent, including Sam Kerr. She secured 16 major trophies at Chelsea. Her teams were known for their attacking flair, high-pressing, and defensive solidity.
She is not an elite advocate on the pitch, but also off the pitch. Hayes has been a leading voice in advancing research into female-specific issues, including pelvic floor health, after she experienced a child's birthday and understood the physical impact it has on a woman's body. She increased research in menstrual cycles and ACL injuries, advocating for training to be tailored to female physiology rather than using data and research.
Hayes has influenced the growth of the women's game by raising standards in professional environments, advocating for better commercial deals, increased broadcast coverage, and greater investment in the game's development.
She established a culture where Chelsea became "the team to beat," with the club's success, particularly winning five consecutive league titles, forcing other clubs to raise their standards.
Hayes used her charisma and tactical acumen to bring mainstream attention to the women's game. She fostered a winning mentality, pushing her players to "never stop asking 'what can we do better?'"
She has championed a "female lens" in coaching, arguing that women's football needs to move away from "copy and paste" methods from the men's game.
She was insistent on professional standards, forcing rival clubs to modernise, contributing directly to the rapid evolution of WSL. This included performance analysis, specialist coaching roles, and sports science integration, which were pioneered and normalised under her leadership.
Hayes proved that women's football can match the tactical complexity of the men's game she challenged the outdated perceptions that women's football lacked nuance or elite coaching standards.
Her work helped legitimise the idea that female athletes require bespoke sports science and medical care.
After her time in England, she became the head coach of the UWNT and immediately led them to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, after a rocky few years for the team.
Her achievements have not gone unnoticed; she was awarded an MBE in 2016, which was upgraded to an OBE in 2022. She has won multiple Best FIFA Football Coach awards. In 2025, Hayes was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.
She has reshaped the ecosystem of women's football. By professionalising environments, raising competence and tactical standards, advocating for women's health and becoming a powerful voice for progress. She has left a lasting imprint on how the women's game is played, coached and valued.
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