soccer

Ellis Excited to Join San Diego's Vibrant Soccer Scene

Her franchise will join the National Women's Soccer League in 2022.

NBC Universal, Inc.

Jill Ellis is excited to start the next chapter of her career in San Diego. There are plenty of people who would like to give the former United States Women's National Team head coach some company.

"People have reached out left and right," Ellis told NBC 7. "I've been hit up a lot from people I haven't heard from in a while for jobs, which is all good. At the end of the day we want to bring talent to this team and we obviously want to bring talented people into our mix."

That process is underway, although Ellis isn't ready to share all the details quite yet. She expect the franchise team to announce its first head coach in the coming weeks. Other important items like the team's name, crest and colors should also be out before long.

Earlier this month the NWSL announced the addition of a San Diego franchise in 2022, with Ellis serving as Team President. The two-time World Cup winning head coach appreciates the opportunity to join the city's vibrant soccer community.

"It's the location, it's the people and it's the sport I love," Ellis explained. "I think soccer is just so popular there. The players that have been produced in that environment. The club soccer there is such a high level, that's why everybody comes from all over the country to recruit players from the area. So I think it's the soccer, it's the people in and around the San Diego area and obviously the opportunity to have a women's professional team there, a competitive team. I think people are really going to enjoy hopefully coming out and watching us play on the field."

Her group will likely include players she coached at the international level. NWSL rosters are full of players with World Cup experience for the United States and beyond.

"I think we'll have an incredibly talented team."

They've already drawn interest, which is sure to build as their debut season nears.

"Even the general interest and the buzz about our team has been fantastic," Ellis said. "We've had a lot of agents reach out about the potential of players coming here. So some exciting pieces that we're gonna certainly put together in terms of the technical side of what we're doing."

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