Whether it’s women’s football club managers or international managers, they have been active in recent years. But who are some of the top names in the game right now?
Sarina Wiegman –
Sarina Petronella Wiegman is a Dutch football manager and former player who currently manages the England women’s national team and formerly managed the Netherlands women’s national team. Wiegman is the only manager— men’s or women’s —to reach five consecutive major international tournament finals.
Honours:
Netherlands Women:
- Led the Netherlands to a FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in 2019 (Runner-up)
- UEFA Women’s Championship: 2017
- Algarve Cup: 2018
England Women:
- FIFA Women’s World Cup Runner-up: (2023)
- UEFA Women’s Championship: 2022 and 2025
- Women’s Finalissima: 2023
- Arnold Clark Cup: 2022, 2023
Individual Accolades:
- The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2022 2025
- Women’s Football Awards Manager of the Year: 2024
- Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy: 2025
- Dutch Coach of the Year: 2025 (first woman to be awarded this)
- FWA Tribute Award: 2026
Jill Ann Ellis
Jillian Ann Ellis is an English-American football manager. She coached the United States women’s national team from 2014 to 2019 and won two FIFA Women’s World Cups in 2015 and 2019, which made her the second coach to win two consecutive World Cups. Ellis currently serves as the chief football officer of FIFA, since her appointment in December 2024. Ellis was the head coach of the United States under-21 women’s national football teams, coaching a team to win the Nordic Cup title in Germany in 2000 and in Sweden in 2005. In 2011, Ellis was appointed by U.S. Soccer as development director for the U.S. women’s national teams. She was appointed as the interim coach for the first time in 2012, following Sundhage’s departure.
Honours:
Youth Teams:
- Nordic Cup title at Germany 2000 under-21 tournament
- 2010 under-20 CONCACAF title
An assistant Coach of the Senior Team:
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Gold medal
As Head Coach of the Senior Team:
- 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship (1st place)
- 2015 Algarve Cup (1st place)
- FIFA Women’s World Cup: 2015, 2019
- 2015 CONCACAF Women’s Coach of the Year
- 2015, 2019 FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year
Pia Sundhage
Pia Mariane Sundhage is a Swedish football manager and former player. Sundhage was a coach of the USWNT from 2008 to 2012 and led them to two Olympic golds and finished as runner-up at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She later even coached the Swedish women’s football team. Sundhage currently manages the Haiti national team. She got her start in coaching as a player/manager when she was with Hammarby IF from 1992 to 1994. She then took assistant jobs with Vallentuna BK (1998 to 1999) and AIK Fotboll Dam (2000). Sundhage also served as an assistant to Marika Domanski-Lyfors for the China Women’s national team during the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was announced as the United States women’s national team head coach on 13 November, 2007.
Honours:
United States Women:
- Olympic Gold Medal: 2008, 2012
- FIFA Women’s World Cup: runner-up 2011
- Four Nations Tournament: 2008, 2011
- Algarve Cup: 2008, 2010, 2011
Sweden Women:
- Olympic Silver Medal: 2016
Brazil Women:
- Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino: 2021
- Copa América Femenina: 2022
Individual Accolades:
- FIFA World Women’s Coach of the Year: 2012; finalist 2010, 2011, 2013
- Best FIFA Women’s Coach: finalist 2016
- 2003 WUSA Coach of the Year
Sonia Bompastor
Sonia Bompastor is a French football manager and a former player who currently manages the Chelsea women’s team. She is the first person to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League as a player and as a manager. In April 2021, she took over as manager of Lyon’s first team, where she managed the team for four seasons. In 2024, Bompastor was appointed by English club Chelsea, where she managed to win the domestic treble in her first season.
Honours:
Lyon:
- Division 1 Féminine: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
- Coupe de France féminine: 2022–23
- Trophée des Championnes: 2022, 2023
- UEFA Women’s Champions League: 2021–22, runner-up: 2023–24
Chelsea:
- Women’s Super League: 2024–25
- Women’s FA Cup: 2024–25
- FA Women’s League Cup: 2024–25, 2025–26
Individual Accolades:
- Women’s Super League Manager of the Season: 2024–25
- WSL Manager of the Month: September 2024, November 2024, January 2025, September 2025
Emma Hayes
Emma Carol Hayes is an English professional football manager who is currently the head coach of the United States women’s national team. Previously, she managed the Chelsea women’s team from 2012 to 2024, where she won an impressive 7 WSL titles; five of those were consecutive from 2020 to 2024. In 2024, Hayes led the USWNT to a gold at the Summer Olympics. Subsequently, she was awarded the inaugural Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy that year as the best coach in the women’s game. Chelsea hired Hayes in 2012, and she managed her first match with Chelsea on 18 August 2012 in a 1–0 win at Doncaster Rovers Belles.
Honours:
Chelsea Women:
- FA Women’s Super League: 2015, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
- FA WSL Spring Series: 2017
- Women’s FA Cup: 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
- FA Women’s League Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21
- Women’s FA Community Shield: 2020
- UEFA Women’s Champions League runner-up: 2020–21
United States:
- Summer Olympics Gold Medal: 2024
Individual Accolades:
- FA WSL Manager of the Season: 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
- LMA WSL Manager of the Season: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
- FA WSL Manager of the Month: October 2019, January 2020, February 2020, January 2021, March 2022, November 2022, January 2024
- Women’s Super League Hall of Fame: 2021
- The Best FIFA Football Coach: 2021
- FWA Tribute Award: 2024
- Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy: 2024
- IFFHS World’s Best Woman National Coach: 2024
- PFA Merit Award: 2025
