WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY

IN THIS WEEK’S ROUND-UP

→ Olympic football mini-guide
→ Euro 2025: England qualify, Ireland in historic win, playoffs begin
→ Fave finds: FC 2025 career mode, women’s football faves get engaged.
→ Transfer round-up: Lucy Bronze, Irene Guerrero and Elisabeth Terland in big moves
+ Jobs + Kit Drop + Football News

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🏟️ PARIS OLYMPICS

Olympic football: All eyes on Hayes and the USWNT

The Olympics are finally here with the Women’s Football Tournament kicking off on Thursday 25 July.

Attention will be on the USA as Emma Hayes takes charge of her first major tournament. Although US fans’ expectations are always high, Hayes has been managing that since her arrival, focussing her messaging on rebuilding the team for the long-term over short-term results.

How does the tournament work?
12 women’s teams are split across three groups. First and second-place in each group and the two best third-place teams overall, progress into the quarter-finals.

• Group A: France, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand

• Group B: USA, Zambia, Germany, Australia

• Group C: Spain, Japan, Nigeria, Brazil

How to watch:
Discovery+ is the main rights holder in Europe and will show all the action across its Eurosport and Olympic ‘pop-up’ channels. It has a special Olympic offer for £3.99 per month. TNT customers can access coverage via the Discovery+ platform. BBC iPlayer and the BBC website will broadcast limited coverage and air their roundup, Tonight at the Games every evening.

What we’re reading:
→ Women's Olympic soccer 2024: Group previews and predictions
→ Keep track of the Women’s Olympic Football scores and fixtures

Did you know?: A record 56 NWSL players will compete in this Olympics

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

🗓️ League dates for the 2024/25 season are here!
You can download fixtures directly to your calendar from the links below.

The stand-out opening day fixture has to be Arsenal vs Manchester City at Emirates Stadium. Dress code: Vivianne Miedema shirts.

• Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) 

• Barclays Women’s Championship

• FA Women’s National League

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England will face Spain in the semi-finals of the U-19 Euros after beating France 1-0 to come top of Group A. Meanwhile, second-place France will take on Group B runner-up Netherlands in the other semi-final, both scheduled for Wednesday. Just weeks ahead of the new season starting, Manchester United’s Evie Rabjohn suffered an ACL injury during England’s previous match against Serbia.

🏟️ Aston Villa will play all 11 of their home games at Villa Park for the 2024/25 season. 

🍽️ A fifpro^[JB] study has discovered that one in five professional female footballers has experienced some level of disordered eating over the past year. Pressures from constant monitoring of weight by clubs and scrutiny online have been identified as reasons behind the stats. 

🩼 Lena Oberdorf has been ruled out of Germany’s Olympic squad after she suffered a cruciate and medial collateral ligament injury during Germany’s final Euro qualifier game against Austria.

🔍 Bruce Mwape, the Zambia women’s team coach, has been banned from any private contact with his players during the Olympics while FIFA’s investigation into sexual assault allegations against him is ongoing. He was initially denied a visa but it was eventually granted after the Football Association of Zambia appealed and stated that he could not be replaced at short notice. 

🌏 The inaugural AFC^[JB] Women’s Champions League group draw has taken place. The preliminary rounds will be played between 25 and 31 August.

⚽ EURO 2025 QUALIFIERS

England among the nine teams qualifying automatically for Euro 2025

England secured their place in Euro 2025 after a goalless draw against Sweden. Despite dominating the game for long periods, the Lionesses couldn’t find their ruthless streak, decent efforts from Russo and Stanway failed to find the back of the net.

• Scotland remained unbeaten in their group with a 1-0 win over Serbia. They progress to the playoffs.

• Northern Ireland beat Bosnia 2-0 to finish second in their group and move to the playoffs.

• Wales also secured their place in the playoffs with a 2-0 win over Kosovo. Jess Fishlock scored to become Wales’ all-time highest goalscorer with 45 goals.

• The shock result of the final group games was the Republic of Ireland beating France 3-1.

Group games end. Playoffs begin.

Who has qualified so far?
Denmark, England (title holders), France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland (hosts)

What happens next?
Now teams will compete for the final seven spots in the Euro finals over two rounds of playoffs. Round one matches will be played between 23 and 29 October. The eight winners of round one will progress to the second round, played between 27 November and 3 December.

Round one playoff games (two legs):

• Georgia vs Republic of Ireland

• Croatia vs Northern Ireland

• Hungary vs Scotland

• Slovakia vs Wales

👀 FAVE FINDS

What caught our eye this week…

→ After ten years together, Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson have announced their engagement.

→ EA Sports’ FC 2025 will include women’s career mode for the first time. Features are consistent with men’s career football (although the financial systems will differ) and will allow players to create a superstar that competes in the top-five professional women’s leagues and the Champion’s League. 

→ Jess Fishlock, Wales’ newly crowned top scorer, will present a new BBC Radio Wales show, The Rise of the Women in Red. The series will be available from October. 

→ A new book, Women’s Football in Africa, tells the rich history of the women’s game in Africa for the first time, from the impact of colonialization to the rapid growth of the modern game.

✍️ INSIDE TRACK

Transfer Round-up

It’s been rumoured for weeks, and now Lucy Bronze’s move to Chelsea is official. After leaving Barcelona on a free transfer, the 32-year-old defender has signed a two-year contract with an optional 12-month extension.

Irene Guerrero has left Manchester United for Liga MX team, Club América after just one season in red. In a post on X, Guerrero said, "Not having the opportunity to show what I am capable of, despite working hard and being professional every day, taught me to help my teammates from another perspective. It is sad to have to part ways, but I feel it is a necessary change both professionally and sportively to enjoy what I am passionate about once again."

CONFIRMED TRANSFERS

• Aisha Masaka: BK Hacken → Brighton and Hove Albion

• Oriane Jean-François: Paris Saint-Germain → Chelsea

• Toni Payne: Sevilla → Everton

• Elisabeth Terland: Brighton and Hove Albion → Manchester United

• Inês Pereira: Servette FC  → Everton  → Deportivo de La Coruña (Loaned 2024/25)

CONTRACT RENEWALS

• Giulia Dragoni: Barcelona, loaned to AS Roma for 2024/25 season

• Drew Spence: Tottenham until 2026

• Nikita Parris: Manchester United until 2025

MANAGER MOVES

• Rob Gale has been appointed head coach of Portland Thorns

ELSEWHERE… THE RUMOURS ARE FLYING

→ Top transfer: Dutch goalie Daphne van Domselaar from Aston Villa to Arsenal

👟 KIT DROP

Adidas has had a busy week. Here’s our pick of the kit…

📺 WEEKLY WATCHLIST

What to watch

WED, 24 JULY 2024 | U19 EUROS

Semi-final:
12:00 - England v Spain [BBC iPlayer, UEFA.TV]

THUR, 25 JULY 2024 | OLYMPIC FOOTBALL

Group A: 
17:00 - Canada v New Zealand
21:00 - France v Colombia

Group B: 
19:00 - Germany v Australia
21:00 - USA v Zambia

Group C: 
17:00 - Spain v Japan
19:00 - Nigeria v Brazil

SAT, 27 JULY 2024 | U19 EUROS

Championship Final
16:00 [UEFA.TV]

SUN, 28 JULY 2024 | OLYMPIC FOOTBALL

Group A: 
17:00 - New Zealand v Colombia
21:00 - France v Canada

Group B: 
19:00 - Australia v Zambia
21:00 - USA v Germany

Group C: 
17:00 - Brazil v Japan
19:00 - Spain v Nigeria

How to watch?
Discovery+ / Eurosport / BBC iPlayer

📂 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

More Women Working in Football

• Brand Design Manager | Arsenal | Apply by 24 July

• Head of Women's Football | Brentford FC | Apply by 31 July

• Commercial Partnerships Manager-Manchester City Women | Manchester City | Apply by 31 July

• Head of Venue Sales | Leicester City Football Club | Apply by 31 July

• Senior Marketing Manager, EU Sponsorships (12-month fixed term contract), XCM EU | Amazon | Apply by 31 August

📚 JARGON BUSTER

Fifpro - The Federation of Professional Footballers. It’s an international trade union that protects the interests of football players and their national unions.

AFC - Asian Football Confederation

More women watching, playing and working in football