Women's World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis takes full-time leadership job at FIFA

ZURICH (AP) — Two-time Women’s World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis took a full-time job with FIFA as its chief football officer on Tuesday.

Ellis will continue to work alongside Arsène Wenger, FIFA chief of global football development, in a partnership they started in 2021 when she led the governing body’s technical advisory group for women’s soccer.

Ellis led the United States to back-to-back world titles in 2015 and 2019. She and former Arsenal coach Wenger promoted FIFA president Gianni Infantino's campaign to double the number of World Cups by playing them every two years instead of four. That project was resisted by European and South American soccer officials and soon dropped.

“The creation of the chief football officer position underscores FIFA’s commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible global football community, ensuring that football remains a sport for all,” the governing body said.

Ellis has been president of the San Diego Wave in the National Women’s Soccer League and her departure was announced on Tuesday.

“Under Jill’s leadership, the Wave set a standard of excellence as an expansion club in the NWSL,” club owner Lauren Leichtman said in a statement.

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FILE - United States head coach Jill Ellis waves to the crowd as she leaves the field after an international friendly soccer match between the United States and South Korea on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, file)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities said Wednesday they have opened a fraud investigation into the former European Union justice chief, just days after his mandate ended.

An Schoonjans, a spokesperson for the Brussels prosecutor general’s office, told The Associated Press that an investigation was opened on former EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders in relation to “possible money laundering practices.” She said house searches were conducted as part of the probe.

The move comes only days after Reynders, who had held the justice chief job since 2019, ended his term over the weekend. Schoonjans declined to elaborate on media reports by Le Soir and Follow the Money that the probe was linked to money laundering through the national lottery.

Reynders' EU party Renew said in a statement it would not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Any scandal involving Reynders would rub off on the European Commission, where he was responsible for making sure that Western rule of law principles, including a rigorous fight against corruption, would be scrupulously respected during his term.

FILE - European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders delivers a speech on the electoral law, the investigative committee and the rule of law in Poland, Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)