The Boston Legacy Football Club revealed that Filipa Pato will take over as the team’s first head coach. If a visa is granted, Pat O will arrive in Boston in July.
From 2020 to 2025, Pat O, 36, managed Benfica’s women’s squad in her home country of Portugal. She organized a run to the quarterfinals of the 2023–2024 UEFA Women’s Champions League (the best finish for a Portuguese team in competition history) and guided Benfica to five straight league titles in the Campeonato Nacional, the top Portuguese league.
The club is scheduled to make its NWSL debut as an expansion team in 2026, so she will have a huge assignment in Boston. According to the club’s intentions, Legacy FC will play its home games at Gillette Stadium for the first season before relocating to a renovated White Stadium.
I can’t wait to travel to Boston. In a statement issued by the club on Wednesday morning, Pat O stated, “I am eager to arrive in the city, meet everyone, and begin working.” One of the reasons I took this project was because I enjoy competition, challenge, and motivating players to aim higher and better. The American league is very fierce. to change and constantly expect more of themselves.
She continued by saying, “I’m excited to create a new history with Boston fans, who are fervent about the city and their teams.”
Pat O’s attributes were mentioned by Legacy FC general manager Dom Guasch as being especially beneficial for a new squad.
According to the team announcement, Guasch stated, “We want to develop a technical identity and a clear style of play at Boston, but we also want a coach who thinks about more than just winning games.” I think Filipa is a coach that can help us create a wonderful culture where players know they are coming here to study and progress.
Now that the coaching search is over, Guasch (and Pat O) can focus on the impending roster-building task. There won’t be an expansion draft, as was the norm in the NWSL before, due to the league’s new collective bargaining agreement. Rather, Boston and Denver, the two expansion sides for 2026, will have access to more allocation funds.
At a recent event in June, Guasch stated that there will be player-side transfer news following the hiring of a head coach and that we would also have something in the upcoming weeks.
Since 2016, Hayden Bird has been employed at Boston.com as a sports staff writer. He covers every aspect of New England sports.
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