Photo
LONDON — Emma Hayes, the former Chelsea Ladies head coach who won the FA Women’s Football Cup and the Olympic title, was appointed as Brighton & Hove Albion’s new manager on Friday.
Hayes, who had been considering retiring after last season ended, was pictured wearing a Brighton jersey in a promotional shoot on the club’s official website.
The 42-year-old, who began her playing career with Brighton Ladies before transferring to Arsenal, will replace Gus Poyet, who stepped down in the summer after four years in charge.
Hayes wants to see more women in roles at football clubs.
“I’m immensely excited about joining the staff at Brighton & Hove Albion FC,” she said. “I am very happy at the progress the club has made and very excited about being involved in moving the club and the whole game forward. It will be an incredible challenge and a huge honour to be given the opportunity to lead such a historic club.”
Hayes, who will become Brighton’s fifth manager in the past two seasons, has a reputation for taking women’s teams to new levels.
She joined Chelsea Ladies in 2005 and led them to three FA Women’s Super League titles before resigning last November following a series of attacks on players that followed their failure to win the Premier League.
First Published: Aug 26, 2021 19:36 IST