WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY

The five-minute read for dedicated-ish fans of women’s football.

This week, Chatham’s fairytale reached its finale — and so did the FA’s flirtation with tinkering at the heart of the FA Cup. The underdog story ends, but the competition’s magic doesn’t. With a short break before international games begin, we’ve kept things tight this week. Enjoy.

– Jo, founder of Twentytwo

⚽ FA CUP 5TH ROUND RESULTS

Chatham’s Run Ends, Big Names Through, Quarter-Finals Set

Chatham Town’s fairytale finally ran out of road as Birmingham City put eight past the fourth-tier side — a brutal scoreline, but nothing that can take away from a run that’s been the story of this FA Cup. Chelsea survived a heavyweight clash with Manchester United, needing extra time to stay alive, while Arsenal and Manchester City handled their business easily. Liverpool edged the Merseyside derby, and Charlton continue to fly the Championship flag into the last eight.

• West Ham United 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

• Arsenal 3–0 Bristol City

• Chelsea 2–1 Manchester United (AET) (Highlights)

• Manchester City 4–0 Sheffield United

• Oxford United 0-1 Charlton Athletic

• Liverpool 2-1 Everton (Highlights)

• Birmingham City 8–0 Chatham Town (Highlights)

• London City Lionesses vs Tottenham Hotspur (Tonight)

Quarter-final draw: 19:00 GMT, Monday 23 February. Watch live here

MEANWHILE IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE…

Arsenal and Manchester United are into the quarter-finals after emphatic play-off wins. Arsenal swept OH Leuven aside 3-1 (7–1 on aggregate), while United made light work of Atlético Madrid 2-0 (5–0 over two legs). Real Madrid and Wolfsburg complete the line-up.

Now it gets tasty: Arsenal v Chelsea in an all-English showdown, and Manchester United v Bayern Munich.

First legs land 24/25 March, with the return fixtures 1/2 April.

🎥 Watch this if you only click one thing: Jess Park scores a worldie

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

💸 Birmingham City have sold 97% of Birmingham City Women to parent company Shelby Companies, with the remaining 3% going to investors including Karen Carney and Kim Clijsters. The club say the restructure will help fund ambitious domestic and international plans and bring experienced sportswomen’s voices into ownership. Read more

🐉 Jess Fishlock will join Wales’ coaching staff as a technical assistant for their 2027 World Cup qualifiers while continuing to play for Seattle Reign. After retiring from international football post-Euro 2025, it always felt unlikely she would step away from the national set-up entirely. Read more

🏆 Plans to overhaul the Women’s FA Cup have been paused after backlash from clubs and supporters. The magic of the competition — lower-tier sides hosting giants, dreaming of Wembley — was seen to be at risk. Proposals to seed the top four WSL sides and scrap open draws after the last 32 would have stripped away that unpredictability, and fans weren’t having it. Read more

🧤 Sonia Bompastor says teams are using goalkeeping injury breaks as unofficial timeouts, allowing tactical huddles mid-game, and wants tighter rules to stop it. Arsenal’s Renée Slegers and Manchester United’s Marc Skinner have voiced similar concerns — though there’s no indication yet that the rules will be reviewed. Read more

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

→ What’s next for USWNT striker Catarina Macario with contract talks and an injury lingering? – The Athletic via Yahoo

→ Relief or red flag as FA makes U-turn on radical Cup rules – The Observer

👟 KIT DROP

New Balance have unveiled their 2026 Whiteout Pack, featuring all-white Tekela, Furon and 442 silos. With an iridescent, frost-tipped finish, they’re a bold choice if your grassroots pitch looks anything like the mudbath we’ve been battling lately.

Brighton have teamed up with Percival on a capsule that leans into proper seaside heritage. While most clubs are still mining the 90s for inspiration, this one nods further back complete with tailoring, knitwear and grown-up silhouettes. Available now

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 LIONESSES

Squad Named For World Cup Qualifiers

Sarina Wiegman has named her squad for March’s games against Ukraine and Iceland, with Leah Williamson and Lauren James included and Poppy Pattinson earning a first senior call-up (timely given England’s long-running left-back question ahead of 2027).

Ella Toone, Beth Mead and Niamh Charles miss out injured. Ruby Mace and Khiara Keating are in the U23s, and with Wiegman clear that minutes matter, Keating’s limited club game time makes that pathway tougher for now.

England’s Deaf squad has also been named for March’s European Championships.

📺 WEEKLY WATCHLIST

What We’re Watching

Your what-not-to-miss viewing guide (BST)

Women's FA Cup Fifth Round
Monday 23 February

• FA Cup Quarter-final draw (19:00, TNT Youtube)

• London City Lionesses vs Tottenham Hotspur (19:30, TNT Sports 1)

Women's International Break
There is no WSL football for a few weeks as England take on Ukraine and Iceland on 3 and 7 March.

👀 FAVE FINDS

Erin Cuthbert’s fruity language prompted an on-air apology at the weekend. Is this the same Cuthbert who once flagged Katie McCabe’s choice of words to the ref? Just checking.

See you next week!

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