Photo courtesy of NWSL Columbus
National Women’s Soccer League expansion Columbus, which will begin play in 2028, announced Friday that Lucy Rushton has been named the first general manager in club history. With nearly 20 years of experience in the NWSL, Major League Soccer and English soccer, Rushton will oversee all areas of Columbus’ sports operations, including roster strategy, scouting and recruiting, support staff development and player performance. He will report to Haslam Sports Group’s President of Global Soccer, Tim Bezbatchenko.
Columbus was announced earlier this year in April as the NWSL’s 18th franchise and has yet to be named. The club has partnered with Haslam Sports Group (HSG), Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards. They will start with Atlanta City FC in 2028.
“When we began our global search for our first sports business, we prioritized General Manager candidates who shared our values of putting the Club before the individual, humbly pursuing high ambitions, and elevating our team, our players and Columbus through the game. Lucy embodies these traits and is the right leader for this opportunity, bringing an incredible passion for our women and a deep knowledge and experience of SL. soccer worldwide,” Bezbatchenko said in the announcement. “Lucy also has a proven track record of success with expansion clubs that will accelerate our ability to attract top talent, build a comprehensive roster and create an entertaining style of play as we strive to win trophies for Columbus and our supporters starting in 2028.”
The aforementioned experience building expansion teams came when he served as Bay FC’s first general manager from 2023-2024. This team became only the second team in league history to make the playoffs in its first year with the head coach it hired and the roster it built. He becomes the first person to be the first GM of two different NWSL expansion teams.
He resigned from Rushton Bay FC three months into his first season, calling it “one of the hardest decisions of my life” in a statement at the time. Now, he believes the experience has given him a unique advantage when it comes to building an expansion team with no rulebook, Rushton told ESPN.
“I feel like it’s definitely going to give me a step up,” Rushton said. “I feel like there are so many lessons I’ve learned from Bay that will make me better in this role than I am in this role, just because of the experiences I’ve had and what I’ve learned from him. Dos and don’ts, roster construction, personnel or not, player personalities, player personalities or not [salary] the cap itself, the environment and whether it’s the training ground and what it should be, how to create the culture. There is so much I have gained and learned from Bay that I feel has made me the best version of myself as a GM and leader.
For the past two years, he has served as a consultant and strategic advisor to the Portland Thorns (2025) and Gotham FC (July 2024-January 2025), focusing on the long-term planning, scouting and recruiting processes.
Prior to that, in April 2021, Rushton became the second female general manager in MLS history when she was appointed to the role at DC United. He previously served as Head of Technical Recruiting and Analysis for Atlanta United from 2016-21, helping launch Atlanta United FC as an MLS expansion team prior to the 2017 MLS season. Atlanta made the playoffs in the 2017 expansion season and won the MLS Cup in 2018.
Rushton said his next steps in his new role are to fill out the staff, including a technical director and director of scouting.
“What I really want is a club that represents Columbus, that represents the community,” Rushton said. “It’s really hard work [city] … I think it’s important that the brand of football you play represents the people you serve, your community and the lifestyle they lead and the demographic you have. I feel like it’s going to be something that represents them, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be fun.”
