⚽ Chelsea Drama, Project ACL Launched, WSL Final Week

May 06, 2024

IN THE ROUND-UP:

• Top Headlines: Bunny Shaw in surgery, WSL attendance record broken

• Our Picks from the Pitch

• Chelsea's Rollercoaster Week

• ACL Watch: Project ACL Launched

• Kit Drop: Liverpool Kit and Barca Festival Vibes

• Watchlist: The Final Week of the WSL

• Jobs

 🚨 NEWS | HOME & AWAY

TOP HEADLINES

🩼 Bunny Shaw has had surgery and is recovering well after breaking her foot in the Man City match against West Ham.

💥 Attendance figures have hit one million across the WSL and Women’s Championship for the first time. Records have been broken throughout the season, with Arsenal recording 60,160 ticket sales for their sold-out Emirates game against Man Utd earlier in the season.

💂‍♀️ Steph Houghton enjoyed a guard of honour as she said goodbye to Man City fans for a final time at the Joie Stadium. Some fans criticised Gareth Taylor for not giving the City legend any minutes in her final home game for the club.

🏟️ Liverpool have agreed a deal which will see their home stadium move to St Helen’s for 2024-25.

🌎 The USA and Mexico have withdrawn their bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup they’ll instead focus on a bid for the 2031 tournament. It leaves Brazil and a joint bid from Germany, Netherlands and Belgium in the running. The host will be announced on 17 May. 

💸 OL Groupe has completed its sale of NWSL team Seattle Regin FC for $58m. The group recently sold a majority stake in OL Femenin (Lyon) to Michele Kang as it refocuses its strategy on men’s football. Kang also owns a stake in Washington Spirit so the latest deal resolves a conflict of interests. 

🇿🇲 The Zambian women’s football team could be banned from the Olympics. FIFA has threatened Zambia’s Football Association with suspension after its president, Andrew Kamanga, came under investigation for money laundering.

⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

WSL: TOP STRIKES AND SAVES

The drama on and off the pitch this week has been unprecedented as we move into the final games of the WSL. Perhaps unsurprisingly Chelsea (and Emma Hayes) took centre stage amongst the madness.

  • Liverpool 4 - 3 Chelsea (Mid-week): Three of Liverpool’s goals came from set-pieces. This Leanne Kiernan strike was our pick. After the game, Emma Hayes delivered a bizarre post-match interview in which she conceded the title race.

  • Everton 2 - 2 Tottenham:Sara Holmgaard fired home this rocket for Everton after just 10 minutes.

  • Brighton 0 - 1 Aston Villa: Alisha Lehmann scored a soft goal for Villa after Daly laid it off.

  • Liverpool 1 - 0 Man Utd: A Jenna Clark header puts Liverpool in a solid position for fourth.

  • Man City 1 - 2 Arsenal: A must-win game for City, Hemp took City ahead, but Blackstenius got two in extra time to give Chelsea a hand as they chase City down in the title race.

  • West Ham 1 - 1 Leicester: Mackenzie Arnold made some big saves to deny Leicester a win.

  • Chelsea 8 - 0 Bristol: After their mid-week loss at Liverpool, Chelsea needed to make a big dent in City’s goal difference to give themselves a chance if they tie on points. And a dent they made. Reiten banged in four of the goals, this was our fave. The eight goals take Chelsea one ahead of City on goal difference, but they remain three points behind with a game in hand.

🏆 WSL HEADLOSS

CHELSEA'S WEEK ON TWITTER

Wednesday 1 May: Chelsea played the first of their games in hand and lost 4-3 at Liverpool, with three of Liverpool’s goals coming from set-pieces.

After the match, Emma Hayes says, “I think the title is done... of course, mathematically it’s not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.”

Sunday 5 May: Chelsea beat Bristol City 8-0 to put them firmly back in contention for the WSL title. After the game, Hayes comes out strong saying, “Let me be clear, it’s not fucking over. There is no time for sentimentality. All work drinks are cancelled. There’s a title to be won."

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🖋️ INSIDE TRACK

TRANSFERS. SIGNINGS. RETIREMENT.

Maren Mjelde is blue through and through, but after 7 years at Chelsea, she’s announced she’ll leave the club at the end of the season. Mjelde has had a difficult last season, with multiple injuries leaving her sidelined for long periods, but even that can’t take away from what she’s achieved at the club. Watch her goodbye message to fans here

Fran Kirby made a statement a few days after Mjelde to confirm she will also leave Chelsea at the end of the season. The England forward has made 205 appearances for Chelsea since 2015, scoring 115 goals, and 14 trophies in that time.

Aston Villa manager, Carla Ward will step down at the end of the season. She plans to take a break from football to prioritise her daughter and family life. 

Gotham’s Kelley O'Hara will retire from football at the end of the 2024 season. The two-time World Cup Champion, two-time NWSL Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist is an icon of US football.

Ria Percival wants to make her loan spell at newly promoted Crystal Palace permanent. The Spurs defender, who joined Palace in January, is keen to build on this season's success and compete with Palace as they move up to WSL for the first time in their history.

Sofie Svava has reportedly signed for a European club and will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. Manchester City, Lyon, Roma, Utah Royals and Portland Thorns have shown signs of interest in the 23-year-old left-back throughout the season.

 🦵ACL WATCH

TACKLING THE ACL CRISIS

Project ACL launched in the WSL this week after calls from players for more research into an injury which has plagued women’s football for years. 

What is it?

  • Project ACL will study the prevalence of ACL injuries in the WSL.

  • The PFA (Professional Footballers Association), FIFPRO, Nike and Leeds Beckett University have partnered to deliver the three-year project. 

Why is it needed?

  • Research has suggested that women have a 2-6 times higher chance of ACL injury than men and two-thirds of injuries in women occur without player contact. 

  • Research does exist but has tended to focus on amateur players.

  • Although some experts and current research have suggested that football boots and menstrual cycles could be contributing factors, robust holistic research centred on professional players is lacking. 

What will the study deliver?

  • An understanding of the current working environment in professional women’s football.

  • Best practices and solutions to support the reduction of ACL injury.

  • Data sets and findings will be shared across women’s football including FIFA and regional confederations. 

How have the plans been received?

  • Lucy Bronze: “There isn't a quick fix to eradicate ACL injuries in women's football; we need to finely tune research so that we can identify the key factors. A lot of players need to be more aware on the process of why ACL injuries happen and what can be done to reduce the risk. Just changing football boots is not going to fix anything. There are many things that can be done and it's important that the right information is available for players, their support systems, clubs and for the game in general.”

  • Ellen White: “This project is so important because it hasn’t been done before. We’ve been crying out for it for so long… There are so many things that come into an ACL injury. At the moment, it seems like everyone's discussing menstrual cycle or hips, yet there’s so much more. It’s a whole spectrum of things that need to be looked at. We need to talk to players. What is their environment like? Are they doing prehab? Strength and conditioning? And if so, what does that look like? Is it individualised?”

 🤤 KIT DROP

Liverpool has released its new 2024/25 kit 👀

Barcelona’s Festival Collection has landed, serving up some classic Barca with a 90s twist. Just take our money.

House of Errors has positioned itself at the other end of the temperature scale with this newly released knitted collection. No prizes for spotting the France ‘98 and Ian Wright era bruised banana references.

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Ending the season right...

→ Baller FC Watch Parties

Signature Brew Blackhorse Rd, London. Info hereFA Cup Final: Manchester Utd vs Tottenham HotspurSun 12 May, Doors 13:00, KO 14:30

WSL Final DaySaturday 18 May, Doors 13:00, KO 15:00

→ The Other Team Presents:

The Women's Super League Watch Party + DJs & Mini-gamesSaturday 18 May, 14:00-2:00, Forest Road Brewing Co. SE14 5RWTickets here

📺 WATCHLIST

THE WEEK AHEAD

Sunday 12 May

FA Cup Final14:30 - Manchester Utd vs Tottenham Hotspur [BBC One, iPlayer]

Wednesday 15 May

WSL19:15 - Tottenham vs Chelsea [BBC Two, iPlayer]

Saturday 18 May

WSL - Final Day of the Season15:00 - Arsenal vs Brighton15:00 - Aston Villa vs Man City15:00 - Bristol City vs Everton15:00 - Leicester vs Liverpool15:00 - Man United vs Chelsea15:00 - Tottenham vs West Ham[Channels TBC]

All times in BST

 📂 JOBS

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Jo

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