Chicago Stars FC hire former USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski for front office role amid rebuild

The former USWNT head coach joins a franchise in a rebuilding mode

Sep 17, 2026 at 3:34 pm ET • 4 min read

Chicago Stars FC made a massive hire to lead the club's rebuild. Vlatko Andonovski, former USWNT head coach and winner of multiple NWSL titles and Coach of the Year honors, is Chicago Stars FC Chief Soccer Officer, the club announced on Thursday.

Andonovski's arrival comes just days following his departure from Kansas City Current and Stars FC's elimination from NWSL playoff contention. The new hire signals a clear statement amid a club restructuring in year three of new ownership led by Laura Ricketts. He'll be the club's first-ever CSO and will lead all technical and sporting strategies. 

"Joining the Chicago Stars was an easy decision after the conversations I had with ownership and leadership," Andonovski said. "We had the opportunity to talk in depth about the direction of this club, their vision, and values. Everything I heard aligns with the way I believe the game should be played and what the club needs to be successful. One of the things that excites me the most about this club is there is so much opportunity, and I can't wait to be around the staff and players and
start pushing forward."

Andonovski's impressive resume

Andonovski is an executive in a rare group. He has been involved in league roles since the NWSL was founded and won two NWSL Championship titles with FC Kansas City, Kansas City Current's predecessor. Andonovski also won NWSL Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and 2019, and won the NWSL Shield title in 2025 with the Current.

He also served as head coach of the U.S. women's national team after Jill Ellis' departure in 2019. Under Andonovski's tenure, the program returned to the Olympic podium with an Olympic bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but also faced a historic round-of-16 exit at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

While his time at the national team level left mixed results, there are few doubts about his NWSL pedigree. Kansas City Current announced Andonovski's dismissal as Sporting Director on Labor Day, without the fanfare of a celebrated release. Ultimately, they offered 78 words wishing him well and no acknowledgment of his successes. 

Current and former players took to social media to celebrate his time in Kansas City where the club fell short of acknowledging that.

The former head coach is a prominent figure in Kansas City soccer, with ties to the area dating back to the early 2000s when he first coached the Kansas City Comets before taking over FC Kansas City in 2013.

After delivering back-to-back NWSL Championships, Seattle Reign hired him as head coach in 2018 after FC Kansas City folded and relocated to Utah. After two more NWSL semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2019, his reputation and record led to the USWNT manager role through the 2023 World Cup, and eventually led to a homecoming with Kansas City in 2024 as head coach.

He was given a dual title as head coach and sporting director, and took Kansas City Current from a near last-place finish in 2023 to the 2024 NWSL playoffs. The group built on that momentum in 2025, winning the inaugural NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, and the NWSL Shield in a record-setting fashion with 21 wins and 65 points. 

Despite winning the league, the squad was eliminated in the 2025 NWSL quarterfinals, and Andonovski moved solely to the sporting director role ahead of the 2026 season. 

Lateral Midwest move

Though Andonovski's Kansas City return was brief and memorable, he'll now be just a 90-minute flight to Chicago from his adopted hometown. Chicago Stars hope he can help turn the club around in a similar fashion. 

"As we've navigated our club's challenges, ownership and executive leadership has been steadfast in their understanding that any future head of our sporting initiatives must be a proven winner with a thorough understanding of this league, its mechanisms and standards, and what it takes to be a serious contender for titles," said Chicago Stars FC president Karen Leetzow. 

"Vlatko brings demonstrated experience in each of those areas, and we're looking forward to his impact as we continue to build, expand our sporting structure, and bring this club up to the level of our ambitions."

The club is in year three of new ownership and still building toward a longer-term vision as they approach a second consecutive last-place season. They parted ways with former general manager Rick Feuz in May, and dismissed former head coach Martin Sjogren and first assistant Anders Jacobson midseason. 

There is currently no update on the general manager role or head coaching position, as the search and interviews remain ongoing. 

New era for Chicago women's soccer

The move to land Andonovski also brings a breath of fresh air to a club and its fanbase that's been trying to exorcise its demons for years. Once a perennial playoff contender, the club operated under duress and shoestring budgets under former owner Arnim Whisler, alongside a former head coach now banned from coaching in the league. 

While change can be slow, undoing a decade of front office disarray is a unique challenge, and one that can't simply be rebranded over. Nailing a "soccer head" hire feels like a real first step the club has been waiting for since new ownership arrived. 

"Chicago Stars fans, I hope you are excited. You're going to see a team that will be exciting to watch. You're going to see a team that will compete. You will see a team that will represent this city and everything that the city stands for. Just come, see it, and let's do this together," he said in a club video.

Chicago Stars FC have seven games remaining in the 2026 regular season. They will face Washington Spirit on Sunday.