The Utah Royals have named former U.S. national team star Amy Rodriguez head coach ahead of the club’s 2024 expansion season.
Rodriguez served as captain of the previous iteration of the Royals, playing three seasons with the club between 2018 and 2020. That franchise would relocate to Kansas City in 2021, where it would eventually become the Current.
Earlier this year, the NWSL confirmed Utah would be awarded an expansion team for the 2024 season, which will once again use the Royals name and colors.
“Returning to Utah is a dream I never knew I had and it is with the utmost humility that I step into this role as your club’s head coach,” Rodriguez said in a club statement.
“My time with the Royals is among the greatest years of my professional career. The Utah community fully embraced my family and made this state feel like home for not just myself, but my husband and kids as well. We were devastated to leave and I left feeling like there was still unfinished business on the table. I cannot put into words just how excited I am to get to work and bring Royalty back to this community.”
During a storied playing career, Rodriguez earned 132 caps for the USWNT, winning Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2015.
Utah will be one of two expansion teams joining the NWSL next season, with the league awarding a new team to a Bay Area group earlier this month.
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