An accomplished business leader and former member of the U.S. National Team and standout collegiate and professional player, Yael Averbuch was named interim General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations of Gotham FC in August, 2021 and officially took over the position four months later.

Born in New York City and raised in Montclair, N.J., Averbuch developed as a player in youth programs in her home state before reaching the first of her two goals in the game: play for the University of North Carolina.

In her time at UNC, the Tar Heels won national championships in 2006 and 2008. Averbuch set the school record by starting 105 consecutive games, and she scored the fastest goal to begin a game in women’s college soccer history (four seconds, against Yale in 2006). Among several honors during her collegiate career, Averbuch was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2006, ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s soccer in 2007, and was voted First Team All-America three times by the NSCAA coaches. Averbuch received the ultimate honor when North Carolina retired her No. 17 after her senior year.

Averbuch achieved her other childhood dream by earning 26 caps as a member of the U.S. National Team between 2007 – 2013. When she took the helm at Gotham FC in 2021, Averbuch became the first former women’s national team player to be named general manager of an NWSL club.

Averbuch was selected by Sky Blue FC with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 WPS Draft and went on to help lead the club to the league championship that year. She won another WPS title with the Western NY Flash in 2011.

After two years playing in Russia and Sweden – which included competing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2012 – Averbuch played in the NWSL for five years between 2014 – 2018. This included an NWSL championship in 2015 during her three seasons with FC Kansas City, and one season each with the Washington Spirit and Seattle Reign.

While still playing in the NWSL, Averbuch began her career as an entrepreneur and business leader. In 2016, she launched Techne Futbol – an innovative app providing personal training for soccer players of all ages, experience and skill levels – and remains owner of the business today. In 2017, she founded the NWSL Players Association and served as the organization’s first president and, later, its first executive director.

Now that she has come full circle as GM and Head of Soccer Operations for NJ/NY Gotham FC, Averbuch has returned to Montclair, where she lives with her husband and two children.

Yael Averbuch on the web and social media:

Personal website and blog: yaelaverbuch.com

Techne Futbol: technefutbol.com

Twitter: @Yael_Averbuch

Instagram: @yaelaverbuch