We have seen Emma Hayes face flak throughout this Olympics for not making enough substitutions, while USWNT stars cut a fatigued figure. Time and again, Hayes defends herself and she recently even said she wants her players to suffer. The British coach thinks so because that’s the only way her players will learn to thrive in tough games. However, in a surprising take, Hayes urged the Olympic committee to avoid setting a crammed fixture for the upcoming summer games in Los Angeles.

Speaking on a pre-game presser before Saturday’s gold medal game against Brazil, Emma Hayes and USWNT captain Lindsey Horan spoke about vibrant off-the-pitch activities they do to relax and bond as a team. Thus, Hayes urged the Olympic committee to carefully evaluate and prevent a congested timetable for the LA Summer Games.

“It’s important that the players have space to breathe and relax and not have everything so formal. When we work, we work. And when we have joy, we have joy. That’s so important,” said Emma Hayes.

“There’s plenty of time to maybe adapt the schedule or look at that and give more time. Player welfare should always come first,” the former Chelsea boss added, referring to the 2028 Olympics.

Thereafter, both Hayes and skipper Lindsey Horan detailed how the Team USA stars taught themselves to overcome the obstacles posed by the crammed schedule at the Paris Olympics.

Emma Hayes reveals USWNT’s struggles amid extensive travel and crammed schedule in Paris

PSG’s home ground, the Parc de Princes, is the only Paris-based soccer stadium, for this year’s Olympics. Most games were held in stadiums outside Paris, in cities such as Marseille and Nice, among others. Having played the extra time in two knockout games, Team USA had to battle the additional burden of commuting outside Paris and returning to the French capital.

Emma Hayes lamented this chaos and hinted players’ safety should always be the top priority for the Olympic organizers.

Meanwhile, captain Lindsey Horan said her teammates have convinced each other to “embrace the suck” of the congested schedule and hectic travel. Indeed, Team USA has thrived well in these harsh circumstances, just like Coach Hayes wanted. Now they are a game away from denying Brazil its first Olympic gold and clinching a record fifth gold for themselves.

While it is great that Team USA has weathered several storms at the Olympics, Hayes knows it is not the ideal way to look at all tournaments. So she badly wants the LA Summer Games to be player-friendly.