Lucy Rushton is the first general manager of the forthcoming Columbus NWSL expansion team that will begin play in 2028, and she told ESPN that the franchise plans to compete for trophies "from Day 1."
"With the ambition that the ownership has, with the investment that they are willing to make, this is gonna be elite," Rushton told ESPN.
"This is gonna be global. It's gonna be the place that players want to be, that staff want to be."
The Columbus NWSL team, which is yet unnamed, announced Rushton's hire on Friday. Columbus will begin playing in the NWSL in 2028 along with Atlanta City FC, bringing the league to 18 teams.
Rushton has held similar or high-level roles at Atlanta United, D.C. United in MLS, and Bay FC in the NWSL.
She was a consultant for the NWSL's Portland Thorns FClast year. Rushton has been through the expansion process before, and she becomes the first person to be the inaugural GM of two different NWSL expansion teams.
She was the first GM in Bay FC history ahead of the team's launch in 2024.
She hired the team's first coach, Albertin Montoya, and assembled that team's inaugural roster.
Rushton resigned three months into Bay FC's inaugural season, which she called "one of the hardest decisions of my life" in a statement at the time.
That experience will help her in Columbus, she told ESPN. "I feel like it definitely gives me a step up," Rushton said.
"I feel like there are so many lessons that I took from Bay that will make me better in this role than I was in that role, just because of the experiences I've had and what I gained from it.
"What to do, what not to do, whether that's roster building, whether it's staff, whether it's player personalities, whether it's the [salary] cap itself, whether it's the environment and the training ground and what that needs to be, how to create the culture.
"There are so many bits and learnings that I had from Bay that I feel made me the best version of myself as a GM and as a leader."
Rushton said that she believes that experience gives her an advantage in the unique situation of building an expansion team, because "there is no rulebook. You can go to school and learn this stuff."
Rushton will report to Haslam Sports Group (HSG) president of global soccer Tim Bezbatchenko.
HSG is the majority owner of the Columbus NWSL franchise and MLS' Columbus Crew.
Bezbatchenko said in a statement that Rushton is the "right leader for this opportunity" because of her deep knowledge of the NWSL.
"Lucy also has a proven track record of success with expansion clubs, which will accelerate our ability to attract top talent, build a comprehensive roster and establish an entertaining style of play as we strive to win trophies for Columbus and our supporters beginning in 2028," Bezbatchenko said.
"We are building a world-class environment for this club -- from our new training ground to our people -- and that starts with Lucy."
Rushton helped launch Atlanta United FC as an MLS expansion team ahead of the 2017 MLS season.
She was the team's head of technical recruitment and analysis from 2016 through 2021.
Atlanta reached the playoffs in its 2017 expansion season and won MLS Cup in 2018.
In 2021, Rushton became the general manager of D.C. United. She was the second woman in history to be the general manager of an MLS team.
"The people and the project" are what attracted Rushton to Columbus, she said.
Rushton praised the commitment to excellence of the entire ownership group, and their understanding that sports are also entertainment.
She said the team's forthcoming training facility will be one of the best in the world for women's soccer.
Rushton said her next steps are filling out the staff, including a technical director and a director of scouting.
She said that before the team hires a coach, she, Bezbatchenko and the staff must finalize a clear methodology and vision for what they want from a coach.
They will lean into data with everything they do, Rushton said.
NWSL experience will be preferred but not required of a coach, Rushton said.
Familiarity with the league is a must, but she said many international coaches already watch the NWSL.
"What I really want is a club that represents Columbus, that represents the community," Rushton said.
"This is a really hard-working [city] ... I think it's important that the brand of football you play represents the people you serve, your community and the lifestyles they lead, and the demographic you have.
"I feel like it's going to be something which is representative of them but which ultimately is entertaining."