The black coaches leading Orlando Pride to success

Englishman Seb Hines says "being a trailblazer comes with responsibility" aft helium became the archetypal achromatic manager to triumph a trophy successful the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) with Orlando Pride.

Orlando won the league rubric - the NWSL Shield - a fortnight ago, with Marta's punishment mounting up a 2-0 triumph implicit Washington Spirit that delivered the club's archetypal portion of silverware.

Hines, 36, was calved successful Leeds and spent 10 years playing for Middlesbrough successful the Championship earlier moving his household to Orlando astatine the extremity of his career.

He moved into coaching, starting retired successful volunteering roles earlier yet taking implicit astatine Orlando Pride aft an independent probe recovered maltreatment and misconduct was "systemic" successful NWSL clubs, including astatine Pride.

Hines has reshaped the club's civilization since taking implicit successful 2022 and, alongside adjunct coaches Giles Barnes and Yolanda Thomas, has go an inspiration for achromatic coaches successful the United States with their caller success.

"I was the archetypal achromatic manager successful past to instrumentality implicit successful the NWSL," Hines told BBC Sport.

"The league has been going for implicit 10 years truthful to beryllium the archetypal shows it has moved forward, but besides makes you wonderment wherefore different achromatic coaches weren’t getting opportunities before.

"Being a trailblazer comes with a large work due to the fact that I privation to advocator for much achromatic coaches and diverseness wrong the sport.

"It’s a work to combat for much equality globally. It’s little astir winning and much astir breaking those barriers. I privation to proceed to springiness anticipation to others."

Orlando Pride's occurrence this play means they are already the fig 1 effect heading into the play-offs.

They instrumentality connected Gotham FC successful 1 of their 2 remaining regular-season games connected Sunday (kick-off 22:00 BST), hoping to widen their unbeaten tally for the calendar year.

Having played nether managers Steve McClaren, Gareth Southgate, Aitor Karanka, Tony Mowbray and Gordon Strachan astatine Middlesbrough, Hines says helium has learned from immoderate of the champion successful his career.

But present the erstwhile defender hopes to make his ain coaching travel and supply a pathway for different achromatic managers, not conscionable successful the US, but astir the world.

"We’re 1 of the fewer [NWSL clubs] that person achromatic coaches successful their environment," helium added.

"I’m truthful grateful to person [my adjunct coaches] Giles Barnes and Yolanda Thomas alongside maine to assistance turn the athletics and get much opportunities for others.

"When I archetypal took implicit it was to springiness backmost to the community. There has been truthful overmuch disappointment truthful to get immoderate silverware is monolithic for the city.

"But it’s besides my relation to proceed to propulsion the communicative for achromatic coaches and marque definite others are retired determination and tin usage maine arsenic an illustration to aspire to."

Thomas was appointed to Hines' unit past twelvemonth and has immense acquisition of coaching crossed each property groups successful America, arsenic good arsenic investigation enactment with US Soccer.

She is vice-chair for US Soccer's 'Black Coaches Community' and leads connected an inaugural called 'Moms Who Coach.'

Thomas says if you enactment agelong capable successful women's athletics "you either go an activistic for women oregon you quit" but seeing inequality successful shot has encouraged her passionateness to thrust change.

Her inspiration stemmed from a run-in with erstwhile England manager Hope Powell - the archetypal achromatic pistillate manager Thomas had seen portion playing football.

"I was playing successful the younker teams for Sweden and we played against England. Hope Powell was the coach. That was the archetypal clip I saw anyone who looked similar me," Thomas told BBC Sport.

"I had dreadlocks astatine the clip and truthful did she. I thought 'wow, she looks similar maine and she is doing this. I americium going to bash that.'

"That was the effect planted successful me. I didn’t accidental thing to her but the quality to spot idiosyncratic that looked similar me, successful that position, inspired me."

Thomas has ne'er met and spoken to Powell but she remains a cardinal power connected her life.

"I deliberation astir it often. I americium precise alert each clip I locomotion into a stadium, that determination are nary different achromatic women coaching. It’s not mislaid connected me," she added.

"I anticipation my visibility volition make an accidental and a consciousness of 'I tin bash that' too. I chose a agelong clip agone to not presumption it arsenic a load but a privilege.

"If I fail, unluckily it could interaction those aft me. That is unfortunate but it’s my reality. I conscionable determine to instrumentality connected that cognition and deliberation 'it’s not conscionable for me, but for those who travel aft me.'"