Bonmati x Ballon d'Or. Chelsea Unbeaten. UEFA Pledges €1 Billion.

November 04, 2024

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY
IN THIS WEEK’S ROUND-UP...

  • Picks from the pitch: Our top five WSL moments of the week

  • Latest headlines: Muslim player gets apology, UEFA in €1 billion pledge, North Korea are champions again.

  • Fave finds: The Kiss That Changed Everything

  • Kit drop: Bonmati gets golden preds

  • Jobs: New opportunities in football

If you spot [JB] next to a word, head to the bottom of the email for a simple jargon-busting explanation.

⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

Our top five moments from this week’s WSL action

  1. Taylor Hinds got a brace[JB], as Liverpool took on a struggling Aston Villa

  2. Park led the scoring but put this beauty of a cross on a plate for Shaw to finish off with an unstoppable header for City.

  3. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. Beth England finally put it in the back of the net for Spurs.

  4. Rachel Williams doing Rachel Williams things. Namely, coming off the bench to make something happen. And happen, it did - a little header into the danger area and Malard flicked it on to score and finish level against Arsenal. 

  5. To round things off, Aggie Beever-Jones headed home a beautiful Buchanan cross in a big 5-0 Chelsea win at Everton. Chelsea remain unbeaten this season.

WSL SCOREBOARD: MATCH DAY 6
AS IT STANDS
🏆 BALLON D’OR

Bonmati wins back-to-back Ballon d’Or

The biggest awards night in the footballing year, the Ballon d’Or, went off without too much drama, at least on the women’s side of things:  

  • Aitana Bonmatí was announced as the 2024 Women's Ballon d'Or winner, matching team-mate Alexia Putellas’ record of two wins in consecutive years.

  • Barcelona won Women’s Club of the Year 2024, beating Chelsea, Lyon, PSG and Gotham to the top spot.

  • Emma Hayes won the Women’s Johan Cruff Trophy, previously known as the Women’s Coach of the Year Award.

  • Jennifer Hermoso won the Sócrates Award 2024 becoming the first woman to do so. The award recognises the best humanitarian work done by a footballer. Hermoso led the #SeAcabó (‘it’s over’) Campaign, which stands up against sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of women.

  • 👎 There is still no women’s equivalent of the Yashin (Goalkeeper of the Year) or Gerd Müller (Striker of the Year) awards.

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

🧕🏽The FA has apologised to Muslim footballer Iqra Ismail after she was stopped from subbing on in a match for wearing tracksuit bottoms, which she does for religious reasons. The Middlesex FA referee said he’d been told to enforce the dress code rules by the Greater London Women’s Football League. Ismail shared her story on Instagram saying, “They ask me why women’s football lacks diversity and why it is difficult to find women who look like me in the competitive game. Things like this are the reason.”

⚽ Round one of the FA Cup began this weekend with 116 teams battling it out for a second-round place. Lewes, Peterborough United, Stevenage, South Shields and Watford all progressed after winning on penalties. You can find all of the results here. Second-round games take place on 24 November.

👩‍👧 The FA has launched its new 2024-28 strategy for women’s football. Female health and wellbeing, safeguarding, refereeing, coaching, and diversity and inclusion are threads that run through all aspects of the strategy, building on the success of the last four years.

📺 The WSL has secured a five-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports and the BBC worth £65m. It brings financial stability to the league although it’s still unclear how money will be divided among the clubs.

🇰🇵 North Korea became U17 World Cup champions a month after the U20s team did the same. They won the tournament 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Spain. England and USA faced one another for third place after Spain beat England 3-0 and North Korea beat the US 1-0 in the Semi-finals.

💶 UEFA has pledged a €1 billion (£830 million) investment into all levels of women’s football over the next six years as part of its new ‘Unstoppable’ strategy. Key goals include making ‘football the most-played team sport for women and girls in every European country’, increasing the number of professional players to 5,000, and professional leagues to six.

👟 Ida Sports is the latest business to benefit from Michelle Kang’s mission to drive women’s football forward. The women’s football boot company, focused on researching and designing women-specific boots, received a $2 million investment from Kang’s company Kynisca. 

🏟️ Who says there’s no money in Women’s football? The 2024 UEFA Women’s Champions League final which saw Barcelona beat Lyon in front of 50,827 fans, generated more than €23m for Basque Country, which was 17 times the budget provided by local authorities. 

🏆 Portland Thorns and Bay FC have secured spots in the NWSL Playoffs. The quarterfinal round kicks off on Friday, 8 November:

  • Orlando Pride vs Chigaco Red Stars, 20:00 ET (Prime Video)

  • Kansas City Current vs North Carolina Courage, 12:00 ET

  • Washington Spirit vs Bay FC, 12:30 ET, 10 November

  • NJ/NY Gotham FC vs Portland Thorns, 15:00 ET, 10 November

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

Top Links

👀 FAVE FINDS

It's All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football

Netflix’s new documentary, It's All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football has landed. The film follows the Spanish team on their difficult path to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and the events that followed their win. Players including Jenni Hermoso, Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes, and Aitana Bonmatí reveal what it was like to live through the aftermath of the kiss that overshadowed their victory.

INSIDE TRACK

Transfer round-up

  • Renee Slegers will continue as Arsenal’s interim coach until at least the December international break. The club is in no real rush to appoint Eidevall’s long-term replacement, preferring to hold out for the right person. Reports say that might be former Man City women’s manager Nick Cushing.

  • Little by little Canada’s first-ever professional league is taking shape. Erin McLeod is the latest legend to get involved, she’s signed for Halifax Tides FC, becoming their first player.

  • Therese Sjögran has joined Manchester City as their new Women’s Director of Football. Her remit includes recruitment, first-team coach and player development and supporting manager Gareth Taylor and his staff.

🧠 QUIZ

Which player just made her 200th and final Portland Thorns appearance?

(Answer at bottom of the email)

👟 KIT DROP

Bonmati gets the gold

Adidas gifted Aitana Bonmati a pair of golden Predators to celebrate her latest Ballon d’Or success. The gold and ivory boots have custom detailing including ‘Aitana’ and ‘Back2Back’ to mark her back-to-back wins.

Adidas x Peachy Den collection features a limited number of one-off reworked pieces including some inspired by football. Available from Adidas LDN flagship store

The first round of the FA Cup kicked off this week and Mitre are official ball sponsor, with a fresh design inspired by on and off-field creativity. Available to buy here

🩼 INJURY UPDATES

Lacasse, Miedema and Mouchon updates

  • Canada and Utar Royals forward Cloé Lacasse is the latest player to rupture her ACL, she sprained her MCL too.

  • Vivianne Miedema has undergone surgery on her left knee, the third operation since her ACL injury in 2022.

  • Leicester City’s Noémie Mouchon is out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear suffered during a training session.

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Upcoming events

London Talks: The History of Women's Football
Thursday 14 November, 6:30pm. Tickets £15
The London Archives - 40 Northampton Road London EC1R 0HB

Join Professor Jean Williams, as she reflects on the history of the women's game, exploring the dynamics that led in 1921 to a ban of 50 years, before bringing us up to date with the return of women's football in 1970, and the Lionesses capturing the heart of a nation culminating in glory at the 2022 European Championship.

The event will include a 40-minute talk and extensive Q&A.

Is there a women’s football event happening near you? Give us a heads-up.

📺 WEEKLY WATCHLIST

What We’re Watching

Friday 8th November 2024
WSL
19:00 - Arsenal Women v Brighton & Hove Albion Women (WSL YouTube)
19:30 - Manchester City Women v Tottenham Hotspur Women (Sky Sports)

Sunday 10th November 2024
WSL
12:30 - Liverpool Women v Chelsea Women (BBC Two BBC iPlayer)
14:00 - Crystal Palace Women v Everton Women (WSL YouTube)
15:00 - West Ham United Women v Leicester City Women (WSL YouTube)
18:45 - Manchester United Women v Aston Villa Women (Sky Sports)

📂 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

More Women Working in Football

📚 JARGON BUSTER:

Brace - when a player scores two goals in a single match.

🧠 QUIZ ANSWER:

Christine Sinclair
She played her last regular season game for Portland Thorns on Friday night in a 3-0 win over Angel City to secure a spot in the playoffs. Not only was it her 200th appearance for Portland but she scored in the 16th minute, taking her to 66 regular-season goals, and received a standing ovation when she was subbed in the 83rd minute.

Fun Fact: Sinclair scored in her 1st, 100th, 150th and 200th NWSL appearances.

P.S. If you know a WSL fan who’d love to read this email, please forward this one or share a link :)

More women watching, playing and working in football