Chelsea Stay On Top | Another Ballonmati d'Or | Matt Beard Memorial

September 29, 2025

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

Twentytwo is the weekly newsletter for dedicated-ish fans of women’s football. A five-minute read, rounding up news, fixtures, transfers, culture, grassroots events and more.

This week: Chelsea stay top while Arsenal drop points, Bonmati is really popular, and London City Lionesses get a swanky new training complex. Elsewhere, Karen Carney gets her dancing shoes on, and we run down the jobs in football that caught our eye.

⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

Relive the week’s top strikes and saves.

RESULTS: WSL MATCHDAY 4

  • Arsenal 1 - 1 Aston Villa (Highlights)
    The Gooners wasted a lot of chances, Villa got a well-deserved equaliser in stoppage time

  • Liverpool 0 - 2 Manchester United (Highlights)
    United’s intensity proved to be too much for Liverpool, who looked flat and struggled to cope.

  • Brighton & Hove Albion 1 - 0 Everton (Highlights)
    Agyeman bagged her first of the season from a kung-fu-style assist, and Brighton took another win to continue their strong start.

  • Leicester City 1 - 2 Tottenham Hotspur (Highlights)
    Spurs kept managerless Leicester at bay and got their third win of the season.

  • Manchester City 4 - 1 London City Lionesses (Highlights)
    LCL struggled to handle Man City. There were glimmers of what LCL could be, but ultimately, giving away two penalties sealed their fate. 

  • West Ham 0 - 4 Chelsea (Highlights)
    Chelsea were on it - three goals in seven minutes. In a bizarre moment, Inès Belloumou pulled Alyssa Thompson’s hair and was sent off. A pretty embarrassing way to go.

AS IT STANDS

The Subway Women’s League Cup kicked off last week, with the group stage matches bringing a few tense moments. Tottenham edged Aston Villa 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regular time. Birmingham also needed spot kicks, beating Bristol City following a 2-2 draw. Standout game: Manchester City 3-1 Everton – Rose, Hasegawa and Miedema all got on the scoresheet. Full results here.

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

🏅 Aitana Bonmatí clinched her third consecutive Women’s Ballon d’Or, edging out Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey, who many tipped for the win given Bonmatí missed part of the season through injury and lost out on both the Champions League and Euros finals. Alessia Russo claimed third after helping Arsenal to that historic Champions League triumph. Vicky López picked up the inaugural Women's Kopa Trophy for the world’s top young talent, Arsenal took home Women’s Club of the Year, and Sarina Wiegman was named best coach for guiding England to Euro glory.

🖤 West Ham manager Rehanne Skinner criticised the decision to play Women’s Super League fixtures so soon after the death of Matt Beard, arguing the emotional impact was underestimated for players and staff across the league.

👏 Tottenham’s Jess Naz has called out the racial abuse she received online this week, stating, “I’m done being quiet.” The club and Lionesses both condemned the attacks and pledged full support for Naz, while urging action against racism in football and beyond.

🌍 The Afghan women’s refugee team will play their first-ever international matches in FIFA’s Unites Series in Dubai. Read more

🇩🇪 For any German WSL fans, German channel Sportdigital has added live Barclays Women’s Super League and League Cup matches to its portfolio, so no more dodgy YouTube streams for you!

📺 Disney has released the full fixture schedule for the Women’s Champions League league phase, detailing all group matches and knockout dates ahead of the October start. Check the schedule here.

Matt Beard Special Mass
Matt’s wife and family warmly invite all fans who wish to pay their respects to Matt Beard to attend a special mass at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, led by Bishop Tom, on Friday, 17th October at 10:30am.

The family asks that, instead of flowers, fans make donations to Andy’s Man Club, a mental health charity.

A separate fundraiser was set up by broadcaster Jacqui Oatley to help cover funeral and other essential costs at this time. You can donate here.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

→ WSL still grappling with how to fit League Cup into football ecosystem – The Guardian

→ NWSL expansion process is 'a blessing and a curse' – from business pitch to playing on one – The Athletic via Yahoo Sport

👀 FAVE FINDS

Karen Carney’s football-inspired jive on Strictly Come Dancing was the only way to round out Saturday after watching that phenomenal Red Roses Rugby win. Who knew she had those moves? Carney sits at the top of the leaderboard with 31 points. Watch the first episode here.

If you’re on the hunt for a podcast that talks all things Aerial Fantasy (WSL fantasy football for anyone wondering), look no further than Decoding the WSL. More focused on performance, tactics, stats and trends than some of its contemporaries, the podcast goes out a couple of times per week and is available on all the usual platforms. Listen here.

🔍 LONDON CITY LIONESSES

Inside the plans for LCL’s new training base

London City Lionesses have been given the go-ahead for a new world-class Performance Campus at Cobdown Park, Kent. The project is designed to elevate the club on and off the pitch:

  • A new Performance Campus building for the first team and academy.

  • A 3G pitch, also open for community use.

  • Refurbished pavilion with modern changing facilities, kitchen and meeting spaces.

  • Over 50 jobs and investment in the local area.

It’s a big upgrade on their current set-up — and a clear signal the club are building for long-term success, not just survival in the WSL.

👟 KIT DROP

Eleven as One: fixing the fit in women’s football

Over the past year or so, a wave of small, women-led football brands have been popping up, and Eleven as One is one of the freshest names on the block. Founded to fix the age-old problem of women playing in kits built for men, the brand’s mission is simple: ‘creating a football kit designed specifically for women, to make them feel like football is a place where they belong.’

They’ve already dropped their first range of breathable, performance-led training wear, landed in SOOO London, and even taken over the store’s front window. It’s early days, but their mix of design, purpose and visibility makes them one to watch as indie culture keeps reshaping football fashion.

Adidas has just released the Coral Blaze pack and these boots are bright af. The Predator’s loud coral and blue combo is bold and busy, the F50 is all about speed with sharp orange accents, and the Copa goes low-key with clean off-white and tiny coral pops. Simply put: you will NOT lose these. Perfect for anyone who likes to stand out without shouting. Grab yours here (£80-£230)

For anyone wondering why football boots range in price so dramatically and which ones are worth paying for, we made an explainer.

🖋️ FEATURE

Chloe Kelly: from QPR kid to Lionesses icon

Bringing football home in 2022 wasn’t enough. At Euro 2025, she did it all again. But Chloe Kelly wasn’t born a crowd-shushing, shithouse baller 
— she became one.

Our latest feature is everything you didn’t know you wanted 
to find out about England’s two-time tournament winner.

🩼 ACL + INJURY UPDATES

Lauren Hemp will be out for “a couple of weeks” with an ankle injury, according to manager Andrée Jeglertz. This comes at a tricky time for City, who were hit hard by injuries last season and are just now seeing Rebecca Knaak and Sydney Lohmann return to training. The squad’s depth is already being tested again; perhaps the lack of Champions League football this year will be a blessing in disguise.

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Upcoming Events

FA Cup Qualifiers
The Women’s FA Cup Third Qualifying round kicks off on Sunday, 5 October, so there are plenty of local teams in action across the UK. The full fixture list is available here, or use the FA’s match finder to find a match near you.

Women’s Football Fair 2 | Sunday 30 November
Whether you're a player, fan, or simply curious, this is the perfect day to celebrate the power and passion of the women's game.

📍 Hockley Social Club,60 Hampton St, Birmingham B19 3LU
🎟️ £5 Early Bird / £10 General Admission Tickets – Get yours here

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

📺 WEEKLY WATCHLIST

What We’re Watching

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

Women’s Super League
Two matches that could have big implications for the title as Man Utd take on Chelsea and City face Arsenal.

Friday 3 October

  • Manchester United vs Chelsea (19:30, BBC Three, iPlayer)

Saturday 4 October

  • Manchester City vs Arsenal (12:00, Sky Sports)

Sunday 5 October

  • Leicester City vs Everton (11:55, Sky Sports, WSL YouTube)

  • London City Lionesses vs Liverpool (11:55, Sky Sports)

  • Tottenham Hotspur vs Brighton & Hove Albion (11:55, Sky Sports)

  • West Ham United vs Aston Villa (11:55, Sky Sports, WSL YouTube)

📂 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

More Women Working in Football

See you next week!

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