How USWNT coach Emma Hayes is rebuilding U.S. Soccer's women's program through female lens ahead of World Cup

The head coach led the second annual herLENS conference at the USSF’s national training center and expanded on her big-picture views

The head coach led the second annual herLENS conference at the USSF ATLANTA — When Emma Hayes took the job as U.S. women's national team manager in 2024, she took it head-on, knowing the clock was ticking toward the 2024 Summer Olympics. She and the USWNT achieved quick success and made history by returning to the top of the Olympic podium for the first time since 2012, with roughly 80 days officially on the job. After the gold medal win, and between planning for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, Hayes has done more than coach players; she has built an ecosystem dedicated to the growth, support, and development of women and young girls in soccer.

This isn't exactly breaking news. Hayes has been vocal about her broader ambitions in her current role to push the game forward. She launched the strategy "The WNT Way" in 2025, a vision that began by centering women at the heart of all processes in U.S. Soccer and beyond. Before the USWNT gathered for training camps ahead of friendlies against Spain, Hayes and U.S. Soccer co-hosted the 2026 herLENS conference, a two-day event highlighting the work already underway with sessions on research and data. Whenever building culture, part of that is through developing and educating the principles, and in the