Emma Hayes is a "visionary leader" who has "figured out her lane and nailed it", and will inspire more women to strive for similar positions, according to Portland Thorns general manager Karina LeBlanc.
The 47-year-old recently took charge of the United States following a decorated 12-year spell with Chelsea, who she guided to seven Women's Super League titles and five FA Cup triumphs.
Hayes has certainly hit the ground running with the Stars and Stripes, leading them to a record-extending fifth Olympic gold in Paris last month with victory over Brazil in the final after an undefeated tournament.
But LeBlanc believes Hayes' successful impact will extend much further than just on the football pitch.
Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, she told Stats Perform: "I've known Emma for many years. It's so exciting to have somebody who's a visionary leader come into the country.
"The thing about women's football is that there weren't so many people at that level where you had conversations. So, the conversations I've always had with Emma were: 'You figure out your lane, and you figure out how to nail it and impact', and that's what Emma's doing.
"When I walk in a room with other women, my first thing is, how can we impact together? So for me, I'm her biggest advocate. I'm her biggest ally because I know how she's going to lead this next generation.
"It's important you have that position. You have that platform, [but] what are you going to do with it? What's exciting is, in such a short time, she got [Olympic] gold for the US because she's figured out her lane, and she's nailed it.
"What every player on that team will see and learn from her is, yes, the technical skills of how to win and how to play better football, but they'll also see a woman who figured out her lane, and figured out: 'I'm going to just nail it so that I can impact others'.
"So, the impact that she will have is not just on gold medals; the impact she'll have is the importance of seeing it and believing it.
"The players in that locker room would then be like: 'I can do big things, too'. And I think that's why it's so important to get women in leadership positions."
Rogers pens long-term Aston Villa deal
Morgan Rogers has signed a new contract to keep him at Aston Villa until the end of the 2029-30 season.
Rogers, newly minted as a full England international after making his debut against Greece last week, joined Villa in February from Middlesbrough.
He swiftly established himself as a regular in Unai Emery's set-up, and has played 22 times in the Premier League, making 19 starts.
The 22-year-old has netted six goals and provided three assists in the top flight.
Rogers has also started each of Villa's four Champions League matches this season.
His tally of nine chances created in the Champions League is the most of any player in Villa's squad, five more than next-best Ollie Watkins.
Test cricket will 'die' without Australia, India and England efforts, warns Clark
Test cricket will "die" without regular meetings between Australia, India and England, former Aussie bowler Stuart Clark warned.
Australia face India in five Tests between 22 November and 7 January, with the first match set to begin in Perth later this week.
India will be looking to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after triumphing 2-1 on home soil in the teams' last series in 2022-23.
But Clark, who represented Australia between 2006 and 2009, believes the upcoming series has even greater significance due to the growing popularity of short-form and franchise cricket.
Speaking exclusively to Stats Perform, the former bowler warned the traditional format needs competitive meetings between Australia, India and England to maintain fan interest.
"If you compare to what we've just seen with this one-day series, people are still pretty interested in Australia – or at least in England and India – about Test cricket," he said.
"But there's a bigger story around Test cricket in that the international summer is only important to those three countries, whereas a lot of these other countries around the world, they're actually funded by their T20 tournaments, that's where they make their money.
"Whereas Australia, England, India it's in reverse. I think for the the greater good of the game, Australia, India and England need to really try and promote Test cricket and that's the biggest story to all of this.
"You know the Ashes will always exist because there's such a big rivalry and they want to beat Australia.
"But the bigger problem is what happens if India or Australia become weak and don't want to play one another? Or England become weak and don't want to play India?"
With Australia set to host the next Ashes series in 2025-26, Clark is aware of the need for Pat Cummins' team to test themselves against top-calibre opposition.
"If Test cricket doesn't remain the priority for those countries, then test cricket really dies. That's what no one wants to see, and the players are pretty adamant about that as well," he continued.
"Look at South Africa, look at West Indies. This series out here against India is a really big series, as it should be.
"Hopefully it's competitive and hopefully Australia win, but what we want it to be is competitive to try and grow that game.
"It's such an important series. These next two summers really set the tone for the following two summers, which are usually pretty dour."
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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