Kim Björkegren is out as head coach of Racing Louisville FC after two seasons, a National Women’s Soccer League source confirmed to The Equalizer. Racing Louisville’s regular-season record under Björkegren was 11-16-17 (W-L-D) in two seasons. The team finished ninth of 12 teams each year.
A representative for Racing Louisville declined to comment. The Athletic first reported the news on Thursday.
Björkegren was hired in late 2021 as the team’s second head coach. The stoic Björkegren initially brought a sense of peace to Louisville. He also brought experience coaching in several different countries, and he leveraged those experiences to make splashy international acquisitions, including a transfer for Uchenna Kanu that set a record for a deal between the NWSL and Liga MX. The goal was to mix the international experience with young talent like breakout star Savannah DeMelo, but it failed to pay off under Björkegren.
Racing Louisville picked up some important victories that appeared to signal progress—including late in the 2023 season over the defending champion Portland Thorns—but struggled to find consistency. It ultimately cost the team a place in a tightly contested playoff race.
“I think that this season honestly is a tale of two different teams,” Racing Louisville captain Jaelin Howell said after the team’s season-ending loss in San Diego earlier this month. “I think when we came out and played like we knew how to play and were tactically prepared and understood what needed to be done, and we came out with the right mentality, we were able to beat any team in this league. But then obviously we’d show up as a different team sometimes and it hurt us.”
A head-coaching vacancy in Louisville makes for five open jobs among the 14 teams expected to play in 2024, in addition to a Boston franchise that will hire at some point ahead of the 2026 season. The Washington Spirit, Houston Dash, Chicago Red Stars, and Angel City FC all need to hire head coaches.
