2 min read
20th Jan 2023
Claire Hakeman has made a return to Wolves, four-and-a-half years after closing out her playing career with the old gold.
Hakeman surpassed 200 appearances for her beloved Wolves Women and re-joins the club, this time in the off-field role of academy operations and administration assistant.
Primarily, Hakeman will lead on all operational aspects for the women and girls’ section, while also working across the boys’ section and professional development phase in her new position.
Despite hanging up her boots in 2018, Hakeman has remained a regular face around Molineux, featuring on Wolves TV as a co-commentator on men’s, women’s and under-21s fixtures.
The former defender checked back into Compton Park at the turn of the year and has already been getting stuck into the logistical challenges faced when it comes to working through the fixture calendar and day-to-day schedule at the academy.
“I’m really proud to be here as a Wolves employee,” she said. “I did my work experience here as a 15-year-old, have worked on matchdays and also been here as a player.
“I’m very much connected to the club and really hope I can make an impact. I’ve fallen straight into a really busy January with the first-team fixture schedule, but the academy girls have also got their fixtures too.
“We’re looking ahead to the FA Cup fixture with West Ham which is one of the biggest games in our history, so a lot of our focus is on that.
“Coming into the job at the academy and seeing how connected the girls and women are to the whole structure has been great. I’m hoping that the future is going to be really bright for Wolves Women and I think we can only go in one direction. We’re working as professionally as we can and things can only improve from here.”
Academy manager for operations, Laura Nicholls, added: “We are delighted to welcome Claire to the team. Her experience as a player allows her to give a different perspective to the operations and logistics that we put in place for all our teams.
“Alongside this, she brings knowledge from her career in teaching which will support the wider academy operation. January is a very busy period for all our teams and she has adapted very quickly into academy life.”
