By Field Level Media
Nov 12 (Field Level Media) – Yolanda Thomas signed a multi-year agreement to become the permanent head coach of the Orlando Pride, the NWSL club announced Thursday.
She joined the Pride as an assistant coach before the start of the 2023 season, the year before the club won the NWSL Shield and NWSL championship. Thomas, 42, was named the interim head coach on Aug. 31 after coach Seb Hines was fired with eight games left in the season.
She is the first Black female head coach in league history.
“I am honored to lead a club that I care so deeply about and a group of players I believe in wholeheartedly,” Thomas said. “What we’ve built together over the last several seasons is just the beginning of something special. We have established a strong foundation and a championship standard, and I believe the potential of this club goes far beyond what we’ve already achieved.”
The Pride finished the season with an 11-16-3 record (36 points) and in 11th place, missing the playoffs.
“Throughout this process, it was clear that Yolanda’s leadership, experience and character made her the strongest individual to lead our club moving forward,” said Mark Wilf, the Pride’s owner and chairman. “She has already played an important role in the success this organization has achieved, and we are excited to see her lead the next chapter of the Pride.”
Thomas’ coaching experience includes leading two U.S. women’s U23 team camps in 2025, serving as a head coach in the Women’s Premier Soccer League and at Rogers State University in Oklahoma, and as an assistant coach at Tulsa and Oklahoma State, her alma mater.
She played professionally in the Damallsvenskan, the top division in her native Sweden, for seven seasons.
(–Field Level Media)
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