A successful spell has ended for Emma Hayes at Chelsea, but it was reportedly tiresome for the wrong reasons. In significant parts of her coaching career, the USWNT coach had to undergo multiple trials including health issues. And it now looks like her journey could have been made smoother. Gender bias is one thing that is claimed to have got Hayes weary, despite talking about it and its frequency. However, her recent statement indicates the severity of the issue in the Beautiful Game alarming the soccer world to be more alert.

Speaking on the Sports Agents podcast, Hayes revealed that rampant sexism made her spell at the London club hugely stressful. She said, “I think everybody could tell I was exhausted of it by the end. I had enough of it. I’d had enough of what I felt like years of it. And I was the spokesperson for the game, so everybody came to me on a regular basis which was exhausting in itself,” initially speaking about her previous assertion that the issue was more at higher levels.

In addition to the already handling the responsibility, Hayes further said, “But the casual sexism, much like the casual racism and the casual homophobia takes place you know in a commonplace way for all of us, all of the time. But it used to shock me.” Citing it to be everywhere, the English coach anyway confessed that she didn’t experience it at the players’ level. But right from TV work to the higher-ups in the sport, Emma Hayes implied that it has plagued the sport.

The 47-year-old has also touched on the issue earlier, making another claim that the problem was more prevalent in England than in the USA. Claiming male privilege to be detrimental, Hayes earlier stated that women were regularly facing misogyny and bullying. Meanwhile, apart from such issues Emma Hayes also had to carry additional burdens during the latter stages of Chelsea’s career.

Emma Hayes opens up about the struggles she had to undergo as a woman

The USWNT boss has landed a record deal with the national team from a revolutionary move for equal pay. But that doesn’t take away the regret for the 47-year-old, which she feels many women carry. Emma Hayes recently revealed that after her childbirth in 2018, she cut short her maternity leave. This was due to the fear of losing her job as a Chelsea manager despite the support from the club. Despite struggling with additional medical and stressful issues, she was back within eight weeks fearing the possibility of Chelsea going for an alternative taking her place.

Hence, understanding that women soccer players could face such fear, Hayes advocated for better leaves for mother athletes. In addition, the London-born also hinted that women should be given more opportunities to lead men’s teams apart from taking a jab on the equal pay disparity across the globe. Overall, the task seems to be far from done. While Hayes leads the USWNT forwards, Emma will continue to raise awareness.