Former head U.S. Women’s National Team soccer coach Jill Ellis is joining the Topps Company’s Board of Directors. Ellis, who won back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, “will be a guiding force as the company continues to scale its efforts in global football.”
The trading card business has boomed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which is good news for the collectibles manufacturer. Topps created a limited-run card for Dr. Anthony Fauci after he threw the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game on July 24 — it sold a record-breaking 51,512 units.
Elis stepped away from the USWNT in July 2019, just weeks after winning her second World Cup. News of her appointment to the Topps board comes as Ellis has been rumored to be a preliminary candidate to take over as manager for MLS team D.C. United, which would make her the first female manager in the league’s history.