Jill Ellis, U.S. Soccer Agree To New Contract For Coach After World Cup

Jill Ellis will remain the head of the band she leads so well.

Ellis agreed to a new, multi-year contract to continue in her role as head coach of the United States women’s national soccer team, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Wednesday. Ellis led Team USA led Team USA to victory at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and she’ll now prepare the team for both 2016 Olympic qualifying and the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.

“To watch our players achieve their dreams and continue to inspire fans across the country and the world was one of the most satisfying experiences of my coaching career,” Ellis told USSoccer.com. “Nothing is ever easy, and everything in this game is always earned, but I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to continue to work with these great players with the tremendous resources that U.S. Soccer dedicates to the women’s game. We had a really exciting year, and we are looking forward to more exciting times ahead.”

Ellis, 48, replaced Tom Sermanni as head coach in May 2014 — just over a year before this summer’s World Cup.

Team USA will embark this fall on a 10-game victory tour of the country. Ellis then will focus on fine-tuning the U.S. for Olympic qualifying, which begins early next year.