The Changing Dynamics of hiring a Head Coach in Women's Football
Introduction
Hiring a head coach is among the most critical decisions a football club can make. Head coaches are key figures in any club as they are responsible for the team's overall performance and style of play, as well as often being the primary public face for the organisation. On the pitch and off it, a head coach blends and manages the collective (ranging from high-profile players to academy graduates), working to foster a harmonious locker room and achieve sporting success. For such a crucial role, clubs must meticulously evaluate various factors, from playing styles through to leadership qualities and cultural fit. As these factors have evolved with the world of women’s football in the last few years, not only do head coaches have to meet the immediate needs of the team, but they also have to adapt their approaches to the changing landscape.
Here at Sportsology Group, we have uncovered insights into head coach dynamics in the women's football market through extensive data collection, market mapping and in-depth research. Using values from a five-year dataset of head coach changes in women’s football (NWSL and select top European leagues), we have derived observations such as head coach migration patterns within the women’s game. We have also looked into data from head coach hires in men’s football from the past season (in the top 7 leagues in Europe) to understand how such trends may differ from what we know in the men’s game.
Internal vs External Hires
A coach's past experience can significantly impact the squad's playing style and cultural cohesion. Examining the difference between internal hires (when someone is hired/promoted from within the club) in women’s football compared to the men’s game, we found that 36% of Women’s Head Coach hires from the 23/24 season were internal. Often, this percentage is made up of Assistant Coaches (e.g. Utah Royals hiring Amy Rodríguez in 2023) or Academy Managers (e.g. Olympique Lyonnais Women’s hiring Sonia Bompastor back in 2021). In comparison, during the same period, only 16% of Head Coach hires in the men's game were internal.
This significant difference may be due to already understanding cultural fit, team dynamics, and familiarity with the women’s game, all of which are high priorities when hiring a new head coach. This was shown in the summer of 2021 by Olympique Lyonnais Women who looked internally for their new head coach. Eventually, they appointed Sonia Bompastor, the club’s academy director. Having recently joined Chelsea WFC, Bompastor concluded a three-year stint that yielded three Division 1 Féminine titles alongside a 2021/22 Champions League triumph. An internal hire like Bompastor helped Lyon eliminate the time needed to assimilate a new hire to the club, as she already had familiarity with the club’s culture and philosophy. Getting such hires right may not only help an organisation function more efficiently, but also provide credible candidates for promotions later in the process.
Casey Stoney, exploring the next step in her career following a three-year stint with Manchester United Women’s, took charge of the San Diego Wave in 2021. An instance of an NWSL club’s external hire, Stoney led the Wave to the 2021 NWSL Shield and was herself named the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year*. Another notable external hire came in Europe when Tommy Stroot took over from Stephan Lerch at Wolfsburg Frauen. Coming off an Eredivisie League title win with FC Twente Vrouwen, success has since followed Stroot to Germany. After winning both the Frauen Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal in his first season, Wolfsburg went on to win two more DFB Pokal trophies as well as reaching a Champions League Final. With consistent success over a tenure of three or more years, externally hired head coaches can see their success translated to foreign countries, whether by establishing an expansion team like San Diego or maintaining dominance like Wolfsburg Frauen.
Domestic vs International Experience
Historically, women’s teams largely prefer to hire a head coach with extensive experience in their respective domestic leagues. A recent example of this would be David Aznar who, with 18 years of experience, had yet to manage outside of Spain. At the start of the 23/24 season, he was hired as the head coach of the Liga F side Athletic Club, with whom he achieved 5th place and a 57% win rate.
At Sportsology, we believe that many more women’s clubs are starting to look internationally in an effort to scout talented head coaches, as specifically observed in the NWSL. Head coaches with experience beyond each team’s domestic leagues may offer a fresh perspective on tactics and training methodologies that can give a club a competitive edge.
Looking beyond the domestic market, the Washington Spirit hired Adrian Gonzalez as an interim coach for the first half of the NWSL season. Prior to landing in D.C., Gonzalez was the Head Coach of Espanyol Femenino and had yet to manage outside of Spain. Since the hire, Adrian Gonzalez has achieved a 71% win rate, with the Spirit currently sitting third in the NWSL despite his lack of experience in the US. Gonzalez is one of many Spanish coaches, such as Juan Carlos Amorós and Fran Alonso, who have jumped from European football to the NWSL. With the arrival of another Spanish coach, Jonatan Giraldez from Barcelona, Adrian Gonzalez will take the role of his assistant coach at the Spirit. The success of Spanish women’s football, notably the national team’s 2023 World Cup triumph and FC Barcelona’s 2023/24 Champions League win, might make Spain such a hotspot for head coach searches for domestic and international clubs alike.
Leagues and Divisions among External Hires
Among the 216 external head coaching hires across the NWSL and the European top leagues in the last five years, 32% came from teams in the same league. The rest came from outside the league (whereas the previous section examined the hiring of coaches based on international/domestic experience, this one looks at the league level).
Coaches who joined from federations are also included in this category. Among hires from those national entities, almost half (48%) coached at a youth level before joining a top European or NWSL club. Also, while the majority of federation hires came from top European and North American nations, four came from smaller countries: Hue Menzies and Lorne Donaldson both came to the NWSL from Jamaica, Angel Villacampa became the head coach of Athletic Club (Liga F) after coaching in China, and Scott Booth jumped from coaching the youth section of Scotland to Glasgow City.
We looked into the upward mobility from lower divisions for external hires from other national leagues. We found that roughly 50 hires came from a non-top division of any given country, and, among those hires, only six came from non-top divisions in foreign countries: Tommy Stroot (SV Meppen in Germany to FC Twente in the Netherlands) and Adrian Gonzalez (Espanyol Femenino in Spain to Washington Spirit in the U.S.) count themselves among these 6, alongside Hans Schrijver (St. Pauli in Germany to SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands) and Olli Harder (Sandnes Ulf in Norway to West Ham United in England). This would show that while top-division clubs are willing to seek out head coaches from lower divisions, such appointments would typically come from the same country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our insights suggest that internal hires are significantly more prevalent in women’s football than men’s football and, similarly, domestically experienced coaches are traditionally preferred for the same reasons. However, our data suggest a change in attitudes towards the women’s game, with many more international coaches moving to foreign leagues to develop their playing styles in a different environment. Examples such as the numerous Spanish coaches heading to the US and Dutch coaches, such as Tommy Stroot and Robert De Pauw, attracting interest from German and English clubs respectively further prove this point.
Overall, utilising quantitative metrics is essential when selecting a head coach for a football club. Statistics provide a comprehensive view of a candidate's past performance, tactical preferences, and, partially, roster quality, a very prominent factor in driving sporting success. However, while stats reveal much, they do not paint the entire picture. Critical factors such as leadership qualities, communication skills, and cultural fit with the club are evaluated qualitatively, rather than quantitatively. Therefore, at Sportsology Group, we understand the importance of blending statistical analysis with qualitative assessments in creating a good process for hiring head coaches. Especially in the rapidly growing landscape of women’s football, the ability to develop a clear, professional process to hire head coaches can set teams apart.
Moreover, gathering information on women’s football presents unique challenges compared to men's football. Data availability and media coverage are often more limited, making it harder to obtain a complete profile of potential candidates. By leveraging our extensive network and industry knowledge, we help navigate our clients, derive learnings from previous hirings, formulate clear criteria and find the optimal path towards sporting success.
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*Casey Stoney left San Diego Wave after 14 games in the 2024 NWSL season.
Contributions by: Steven Houston, Pien Gillhaus, Remo Buccianti, Sen Nguyen
