Meet the only English coach nominated for a Ballon d’Or - and find out why the category should be rethought

Emma Hayes is probably one of the most grudgingly respected coaches in English women’s football. For those unfamiliar with her work - think of Pep Guardiola, who has taken his club to unprecedented heights of success, winning four top-flight titles in a row, and establishing unparalleled dominance.

Now imagine a coach who has done all that in the face of constantly having to fight for her profession to be respected, her players to be fairly treated, and having to help shape the very club structure that allowed her success. Oh - and add a fifth consecutive league title.

Without even mentioning Hayes’ advocacy work off the pitch in women’s health and her importance in driving up professionalism and standards across the WSL, her trophy cabinet speaks for itself. Seven WSL titles, two league cups, and five FA Cups are nothing to be sniffed at, and she capped off an incredible 12 years at Chelsea with that fifth WSL title in a row this year.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, she then took on what could have been a poisoned chalice at the helm of the US Women’s National Team. The USWNT is one of the most successful national sides ever - winning four World Cup titles in 28 years, only bettered by Brazil’s men’s five in 44 years. A coach of Hayes’ calibre had nowhere to hide in this setup: the depth of talent in the US roster was unmatched and a failure to win (as her predecessor Vlatko Andonovski found out in 2023) would have her out on her ear.

However, she had huge work to do to restore the side’s confidence as they had plummeted to their worst ever place in the Fifa rankings and recorded their worst ever performance at a World Cup. She also only had two months to do so before the Paris Olympics, and it was her first ever national team coaching job. Despite the obstacles, her effect has been huge.

The USWNT emerged from Paris as gold medal winners and are unbeaten in all ten fixtures under Hayes. They have reclaimed their place on top of the world rankings and their status as the team to beat (alongside European champions England and World Cup winners Spain).

Hayes’ time has not been without controversy - her decision to include Korbin Albert in the Olympics, who was criticised for anti-LGBTQ social media posts, was met with backlash that will not and should not be ignored when looking at her eventual legacy. However, on Hayes’ footballing impact alone, the Ballon d’Or nomination she has just received will not be a surprise.

In fact, her achievements are an example of why we should question how the coaching award is set up.

The Ballon d’Or awards for coaches are new for this year, with UEFA saying they aim to recognise “the invaluable contribution of coaches to success on the pitch.” The accolades are split into Men’s Coach of the Year and Women’s Coach of the Year - but should they be? On the face of it, if the aim is to recognise the contribution of coaches to their team, there is no particular reason that the categories should be separated.

Drawing direct comparisons between men’s and women’s football is always dicey, but it’s unquestionable that, for example, Pep Guardiola and Emma Hayes both achieved unprecedented managerial feats in English football this year. Both had a massive impact on their team’s success. Is it worth questioning why they’re not considered for the same accolade - and could merging the categories actually bring benefits to the women’s game?

Merging categories to make them gender-neutral has sometimes been criticised (such as in the case of the Brit awards) for leading to all-male shortlists - but that is still actually a possibility in the current format of these new coaching awards. The gender in the award title refers to the gender of the team that is being coached, not of the coach themselves, hence why Arthur Elias and Jonatan Giráldez are included under Women’s Coach of the Year. That means that of the 12 coaches nominated overall, only four are women.

Trying to improve the number of female coaches in football is something Hayes herself has highlighted as a problem. In this year’s WSL, only four of the 12 teams are managed by women.

In the men’s game in England, a female manager is largely unheard of. There were whispers that Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman could replace Gareth Southgate on the men’s side, but she has been clear she remains committed to the women’s team. However, she told the BBC in November 2023 that it would be a ‘matter of time’ before there was a female manager in English men’s professional football. Could raising the profile of female coaches - such as by platforming them in a joint award with male coaches - help break stereotypes and improve equality?

It would require a change in the way the awards are judged, as currently the men’s and women’s team coaching awards are decided by the same juries as the men’s and women’s playing categories. The men’s jurors might not have the same expertise about the coaches on the women’s side and vice-versa, which would present problems in reaching a fair conclusion.

Perhaps the creation of a coaching-specific judging panel would be a better solution. In either case, the inclusion of a Women’s Coach of the Year award will bring greater recognition to the work of the four female coaches who are nominated this year. It is a welcome step forward in giving young girls role models in football management to look up to - but if in future organisers can be encouraged to make a bold move and merge the categories, it could boost recognition even further and help solve the wider problem of female coaches feeling welcome in the game.