Bay FC welcomes Head Coach Emma Coates to the Bay after she successfully guided England’s Women’s Under-23s and focused extensively on developing emerging talent in women’s football.
Coates’ time with the U23s was marked by clear success. The team went unbeaten in their 2023–2024 European league campaign, and more than 25 players reached the senior England squad during her tenure. She consistently emphasizes player development, believing that individual growth strengthens the team’s ability to win together. As she puts it, “My coaching style is based on people, it’s around how we can bring the best out of people.”
Emma Coates Coaching Record and Career History
Coates’ instinct for player development showed up long before she entered the Football Association (FA) system. Coates grew up in Yorkshire, England and started playing as a young kid while spending time at training sessions with her dad, who was also a coach. Her brother played at a high level too, which only deepened her connection to the game. Even then, she saw her future in soccer. As she got older, she gravitated toward coaching and began helping in informal ways before eventually earning her first coaching qualification as a teenager. She pushed forward despite being told to aim for something “more realistic,” choosing instead to carve a path in the sport she had been studying since childhood.
She established a clear and ambitious professional objective: to work full-time in football and secure her Elite Academy League (EA) license before reaching the age of 30.
Coates coaching path moved quickly. From 2010 to 2016 she worked as a Leeds United Academy coach. Then, she joined Doncaster Belles as a first-team coach in 2014 and became manager in 2016. By 2017 she entered the FA as head coach of England’s U19s, where she remained until taking over the U23s in 2023. Across those roles, she helped turn talented prospects into full internationals.
What Emma Coates Brings to Bay FC
Coates balances player autonomy while maintaining team connection. “I’m very driven by creating exciting football to watch, challenging players in terms of their decision making in the game, making decisions, and all sort of working together.” Beyond this, Coates prioritizes giving players freedom within a framework and empowering them to lead in their area of skills.
CEO of Bay Collective, Kay Cossington, sees Coates as a natural fit for where the club wants to go. “Emma is not only an excellent coach, but she also has a proven track record of developing players to compete at the highest levels of both the domestic and international game. She is an outstanding leader of people and culture and has the football vision we were looking for,” Cossington says. “Emma has consistently demonstrated an ability to bring players and teams to the next level with clarity, care and purpose. She understands what it takes to build environments where people thrive and perform at their best. Bay FC is gaining not only a great coach, but also someone that understands women’s football and female athletes inside and out.”
Emma Coates on Joining Bay FC
For Coates, joining Bay FC is a chance to build something meaningful in a community that already feels connected to its club. “I’m truly honored and super excited to build on the strong foundations that have already been established and to implement a clear identity both on and off the pitch,” she says. “This is a club that has already captured the hearts of so many people in the local community, and it’s a privilege to be part of that journey.”
Her move also represents a personal shift. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the FA, it has helped shape me both professionally and personally. Now, I feel ready and excited to challenge myself in a new environment, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone at the FA for their trust, support, and belief throughout my journey.”
Coates is excited to start working with Bay FC. “I’m eager to get back on the grass every day, to work closely with the players and staff, and to meet the fans at PayPal Park.”
Bay FC is entering a new chapter, and Coates arrives prepared to shape it with clear intent. Her philosophy will become integral to Bay FC’s identity as the club advances into its next NWSL season.
🎥 Watch more from Emma Coates:
