Sonia Bompastor appointed Chelsea Women head coach succeeding Emma Hayes (2024)

Sonia Bompastor has been confirmed as Chelsea Women's new head coach, signing a four-year deal.

The 43-year-old, who replaces Emma Hayes, joins Chelsea from Lyon after three years in charge at the French club where she won seven trophies, including three French league tiles and the Women's Champions League in 2022.

Bompastor won her third Division 1 Feminine in the 2023/24 season, but lost in Saturday's Champions League final against Barcelona.

Chelsea had a shortlist of four people to fill the head coach vacancy. It's understood Bompastor was always the preferred candidate and Lyon were due compensation, as she had another year left on her contract.

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Chelsea have continued to work on player recruitment during the process to bring Bompastor in, but their new head coach will now work on transfers.

Bompastor will be accompanied by her assistants Camille Abily and Theo Rivrin. Abily retired in 2018 after a playing career in which she made 323 appearances for Lyon and earned 183 national team caps for France.

Chelsea general manager Paul Green said: "The sporting directors and I conducted a thorough and considered recruitment process to identify Emma's successor.

"Sonia's vision, coaching philosophy and winning mentality made her the outstanding candidate. She is a world-class coach with a proven track record of success on the biggest stages that will instantly command respect from the dressing room."

Chelsea's co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley added: "Sonia is the ideal candidate to build on Emma's legacy and take the team forward.

"She brings a wealth of experience from managing at the highest levels and winning trophies as a player and a coach. Her ethos and values align with Chelsea Football Club. We are all looking forward to having her on board."

Hayes, who has joined the United States women's national team, left Chelsea after securing a record fifth Women's Super League title in a row.

It ended a 12-year spell in west London where she won 14 major domestic titles, including seven WSL titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups.

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Who is Sonia Bompastor?

There were two criteria that Chelsea were looking for when appointing a head coach to fill Hayes' impossibly large shoes.

Any new head coach must maintain the success of the club. Chelsea have dominated domestic football in England for years, and have begun to assert themselves in Europe too.

A female coach has also been high on their wishlist. In Hayes, Chelsea have had a trailblazer. One of the game's chief champions who has been responsible for growth and change - a major player in improving the overall health of the sport.

The fact she has done so from a female perspective is equally important. Hayes entered the game at a time when very few female voices were taken seriously - a gap in experienced female head coaches still exists to this day.

And Bompastor fits both - she is another woman managing at a top European club, with a proven track record of success.

"Sonia is another big personality," writer and analyst Abdullah Abdullah told Sky Sports. He has written books on both Lyon and Chelsea's journeys in European competition.

"She came into a Lyon dressing room that needed guidance after they lost their way a little bit under the previous manager. She is a legend of the club and French football so she was instantly respected and lauded internally.

"That gave her a foundation with the French players. This can be replicated at Chelsea with someone who is a legend, but has also played the game-winning Champions League and league titles."

Read the feature in full here.

Christensen: New head coach could be catalyst for CL success

Sky Sports' Izzy Christensen:

"Her record speaks for herself... I crossed paths with her at Lyon. She was the head of the academy and came to watch a lot of first-team training sessions.

"She comes with a degree of authority about her, but also really intelligent and exceptional knowledge of the game. It will be interesting to see how she does in England.

"What we could perhaps expect is a more structured system. Emma Hayes has been so successful with playing different formations and playing styles, and she's very adaptable as a coach. She's very good at in-game management in particular.

"With Bompastor, we'll see a more obvious style of play, maybe a 4-3-3 formation. I'm sure she'll come in with fresh ideas.

"They're tough boots to fill as the reigning champions of the WSL and I'm sure they'll want to continue that.

"The Champions League is an interesting one for an English club. It would mark success in the WSL if we go on and have an English team winning the Champions League in the coming years.

"I still think we're a little bit off that but bringing in a coach at Chelsea, who are probably the closest team to winning the Champions League in the WSL, who has that experience of winning it as a player… Bompastor knows what it's like to play the game at the highest level so her coming in, it has to be the ambition for Chelsea.

"They have the calibre of players in the squad to go on and win the Champions League - it's just a case of doing it. Changing up the brains behind the team with Hayes moving on, it could well be the catalyst.

"It will be quite difficult for the players to adjust, I think, but they need to be really open-minded and understand her methods as soon as possible so they can hit the ground running.

"I can't see them [Chelsea and Bompastor] not being successful. It's a challenge for every other team now who wants to compete at the top to keep with the pace of what Bompastor is going to come to Chelsea with."

Chelsea announce strategic growth plan

Alongside Bompastor's arrival, Chelsea also announced a "long-term strategic plan to accelerate the growth of Chelsea Women".

With NewCo set to take over the running of the WSL and Women's Championship from the FA next season, Chelsea are using the opportunity to take on a new structure to sit alongside the men's team, rather than beneath. It will include dedicated resources, management and commercial leadership focused solely on the women's team.

Chelsea are also looking for new investment for their women's side, with a club statement explaining: "Currently, any prospective investor into a WSL team is required to invest through a men's team.

"Having analysed the market and discussed with investors, there is a strong desire for an opportunity to invest solely into the women's game… BDT & MSD Partners, a global merchant bank, has been engaged as financial advisor on a potential minority investment in the club, inclusive of evaluating inbound interest related to Chelsea Women.

"The club ownership group will continue to be the controlling shareholder of Chelsea and is committed to further substantial investments that will enrich the squad, elevate player development, and ensure a world-class environment for our athletes and staff."