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

This week: Chelsea and City cruised in the FA Cup, Karen Carney became queen of the dancefloor, and we found out who goes head-to-head in the UWCL knockouts.

We’ll be taking a break next week, but we’ll be back in the new year. Have a great Christmas.

– Jo, founder of Twentytwo

The goals were flowing this weekend as the Subway League Cup entered the Quarter-Final stage. Chelsea were merciless, thumping Liverpool 9-1 as Kerr bagged a brace and Rytting Kaneryd notched a hat-trick. Even Millie Bright got in on the action. It feels like they've flicked the title switch back on after their recent WSL wobble.​

Elsewhere, City cruised past West Ham without breaking a sweat, Man Utd edged Spurs in their latest head-to-head, and Palace (last WSL2 side standing) unsurprisingly fell short.

Must watch:

Results:

What’s next? The Semi-finals. Man City will take on Chelsea, while Arsenal face Man United on the weekend of 21-22 Jan. Details TBC.

FYI: The final is heading to Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol on 15 March (Mother’s Day). Tickets go on sale in January.​

🎥 Watch this if you only click one thing: All ten goals Chelsea vs Liverpool goals.

⚒️🦁 West Ham have sacked head coach Rehanne Skinner after just one win in 11 WSL games - unsurprising. Days later, London City Lionesses announced they’re parting ways with promotion‑winning boss Jocelyn Prêcheur, despite sitting sixth at the halfway point of their debut top‑flight season.​ This one was more of a shock, but it gives them time to get a new manager in and build for next season.

🏆 The Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth-round draw has given us some tasty fixtures. Arsenal get a home tie with Aston Villa, Sunderland take on London City Lionesses and Man Utd vs Burnley. Check out the full fixture list.

🌍 FIFA has finally put dates on the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup, confirming a 16-team tournament will run from 5–30 January 2028 in a yet-to-be-named warm-weather host country.​

💰 The NWSL Players Association has come out against the league’s proposed “High Impact Player” salary-cap loophole, which would let teams spend an extra $1m on star players outside the cap, and is instead pushing for a higher overall cap.​

⭐ Aitana Bonmatí has made it three in a row as The Best FIFA Women’s Player, Sarina Wiegman was named The Best Coach again after England’s Euro 2025 win, and a Spain-and-England-heavy Women’s World XI was unveiled. Read more

→ England’s Jess Carter won three championships in 181 days while ‘staying true’ to herself – The Athletic via Yahoo

→ Vote to exclude best teams from League Cup shows calendar needs urgent attention – The Guardian

→ West Ham have appointed Rita Guarino as head coach after sacking Rehanne Skinner. The former Juventus boss won five consecutive Serie A titles, but has never coached outside of Italy, so this could be a bold choice for the Hammers.

→ Tottenham are eyeing BK Hacken pair Matilda Nilden (forward, sister of Spurs' Amanda) and Hanna Wijk (defender).

→ Claudia Pina has extended with Barça Femení until 2029 after 191 appearances and 86 goals.

→ Sophia Wilson has exercised her $1m player option to stay with Portland Thorns for 2026

→ Pernille Harder and partner, Magdalena Eriksson, have both secured contract extensions until 2028 at Bayern Munich. Cue photoshoot of them wearing royal capes. No further comment.

General sale is now open for the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026 in London, with semi-finals at Brentford and the third-place play-off plus final at Emirates as Arsenal, Gotham FC, Corinthians, and either ASFAR or Wuhan Chegu Jiangda chase the first title.​

Fancy getting up close to the action? Applications are now open for 250 volunteers with roles in transport, media and more.

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

Karen Carney is the winner of BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2025, making her Queen of the dancefloor! I guess she’ll head back to her podcast, Long Story Short, and her co-host, Queen of the Jungle, Jill Scott, to wear their crowns together and tell stories long and short for years to come. Watch Karen’s football-inspired jive here

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