5 Women Coaching Women’s Soccer To Watch This Year

January 10, 2024
By Salma Ahmed

It’s a new year, and it is time to look ahead at some of the top women coaching women’s soccer this year. Last year was great for many coaches, but five women stood out and will be the ones to watch this year. One thing we wish for this year is to see even more women coaching women’s soccer. It is time to give women more chances because they have often shown what they are capable of. Here are our top five picks.

Casey Stoney

San Diego Wave FC’s Casey Stoney deserves to be on our list. Stoney had a great year last season and won the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year. This year, Gotham FC’s Juan Carlos Amorós took the award home, but Stoney was one of the finalists; this is still a great achievement amid tough competition.

Stoney also led the San Diego Wave to first place in the NWSL standings for 2023 with 37 points and 11 wins. The question is whether she will manage to keep her team at the top or not. The NWSL Shield is also considered the team’s first regular-season title in the club’s history. Therefore, the club’s fans will be looking to create more records, especially with the success the club has found so far under the leadership of Stoney.

Laura Harvey

OL Reign’s Laura Harvey is, without a doubt, one of the best in the game. Her team finished in fourth place in the NWSL standings with 32 points; five points separated them from the San Diego Wave. Harvey was one of the contenders for becoming the USWNT’s coach after their poor run at the Women’s World Cup. Despite the position going to Emma Hayes at the end, Harvey was still a favorite for many USWNT fans.

One thing that is certain is that Harvey contributed to making OL Reign the great team that it is today. For example, during the regular season in 2022, the team took first place in the standings and won the 2022 NWSL Shield. On June 3, 2023, Harvey was announced as the first coach in NWSL history to coach 200 regular season games. She also holds the record for wins in the regular season.

After all of this, Harvey is a winning model for the NWSL coaches. She still has more to offer, and OL Reign can see that as they extended her contract until 2025. “Laura is the most successful coach in league history and has accomplished so much for our club over the last decade,” said OL Reign CEO Vincent Berthillot that. So, it is no surprise that Harvey is one of the best women’s coaches in the game.

Emma Hayes

It is impossible to mention the top five women coaching women’s soccer without mentioning Emma Hayes. Hayes’ performance with Chelsea has been extremely consistent in the past few years. The numbers speak for themselves–with Chelsea, she has won six WSL titles, five FA Cups, two League Cups, and the 2020 Community Shield. She even led Chelsea to the Champions League final, but they lost against FC Barcelona then. She also won The Best FIFA Women’s Coach in 2021.

During the six seasons Hayes won, she has been named the WSL’s manager of the season, which comes as no surprise with her team’s performance. With all the records that Hayes broke with Chelsea, the manager felt it was time for a new challenge. This new challenge will start with the USWNT as Hayes has been announced as the new head coach, replacing Vlatko Andonovski. She will be the world’s highest-paid women’s soccer coach.

“The feelings and connection I have for this team and this country run deep. I’ve dreamed about coaching the USA for a long time so to get this opportunity is a dream come true. I know there is work to do to achieve our goals of winning consistently at the highest levels. To get there it will require dedication, devotion and collaboration from the players, staff and everyone at the US Soccer Federation,” she said about her new position.

Sarina Wiegman

Sarina Wiegman has had a great few years with the Lionesses, making her one of the best in the game. With Wiegman, England won the Women’s Euro in 2022. Wiegman’s success with England didn’t stop there; she also led them to the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. The Lionesses had a great run despite losing 1-0 to Spain. Her great performance and effort also made her one of the dream candidates to coach the USWNT, but back then, she made it clear that she was happy with England.

Last year, Wiegman won The Best FIFA Women’s Coach award. And again, this year she is one of the finalists. If Wiegman were to win it this year, it would be her fourth time. This will only prove more why she is one of the best. She also won the UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year this year for the second successive year. She dedicated the award to the Spanish team at that time.

England also won the Arnold Clark Cup after defeating Belgium this year. Then we saw the Lionesses defeat Brazil and win the inaugural Finalissima.

“She is the missing ingredient England were looking for. She has brought us all together. She is a special person and puts us first as human beings,” Leah Williamson said before about Wiegman. This respect between the Lionesses coach and her players is one of the reasons why they keep succeeding.

Sonia Bompastor

OL Féminin’s Sonia Bompastor has been taking steady steps with the team since she was first hired in 2021. She won the IFFHS Women’s World Best Club Coach in 2022. The main reason is that they won the Women’s Champions League after defeating Barcelona 3-1. They also won the league last year. Bompastor even became the first woman to win the UWCL title both as a player and coach.

While this year, Bompastor is still contributing to her team’s amazing performance. We can tell that she has her eyes set on success once again. Lyon is on top of their UWCL group. They were the first team this year to qualify for the quarters. Lyon also has a perfect record at the D1 Arkema, as they won all of their games. They are at the top with 33 points so far. Their closest opponent having 25 points makes this even better. Lyon also defeated Paris Saint-Germain and won their third Le Trophée des Championnes last September. Bompastor keeps proving that people shouldn’t underestimate her and her team.

Featured image via Getty Images