WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY

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: All the latest in the WSL & Champions League, a new manager for Leicester, Sam Kerr back for the Matildas, plus get your hands on a Lionesses Euro 2025 Infographic.

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⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

1. Cornelia Kapocs – Great header that raised fans’ hopes – could this be how Liverpool earned their first WSL points of the season?. Spoiler alert: Fujino.

2. Aoba Fujino – Drove this beauty home, nabbing a last-minute goal to spare City’s blushes and break Liverpool hearts.

3. Keira Walsh – Not really known for her goals, but she seems to have a taste for scoring absolute wordies when she does.

4. Jess Park – This bottom corner power shot secured her brace. The move across Manchester has really paid off.

5. Melvine Malard – She can’t stop scoring. Cool, calm and the beginning of Man Utd’s second half comeback.

🎥 Watch this if you only click one thing: Everton’s Honoka Hayashi – This one goes down in history as the first-ever women’s goal scored at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

RESULTS: WSL MATCHDAY 6

• Aston Villa 0-0 Leicester City (Highlights)

• Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Highlights)

• Everton 1-4 Manchester United (Highlights)

• London City Lionesses 1-0 West Ham United (Highlights)

• Arsenal 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion (Highlights)

• Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City (Highlights)

AS IT STANDS

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

💸 The WSL has brought in a minimum salary for the first time. Senior players in the top tier must now earn at least £40k a year, with Championship pros guaranteed the national living wage. Salary caps are also now tied to club revenue, as WSL Football pushes for fairness and professionalism.​

🦘 Sam Kerr has been named in the Matildas squad for friendlies against Wales and England. The Chelsea striker returns after a 20-month absence, joined by Cortnee Vine and Katrina Gorry. It’s her first international call-up since that ACL injury.​

✨ Sara Däbritz has retired from German national duty aged just 30. She ends her international career with 111 caps, a Euros win and Olympic gold. 

🏆 Chelsea have been busy collecting WSL September awards. Aggie Beever-Jones is Player of the Month, Sonia Bompastor scoops Manager of the Month, and Arsenal’s Olivia Smith nabs Goal of the Month for that screamer versus London City Lionesses.​

🦊 Rick Passmoor has become the new permanent head coach at Leicester City, signing a three-year deal after stepping up from interim duties. He promises more attacking football as the Foxes try to turn their season around.

✍️ Sjoke Nüsken has signed a new contract that will keep her at Chelsea until 2027.

✍️ Goalkeeper, Cata Coll, has renewed her contract with Barcelona. She’ll stay until 2029.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

→ Ashleigh Plumptre: 'I deeply hurt people by moving to Saudi Arabia' – BBC Sport

→ Tottenham’s burst of positivity under Martin Ho is a boost for WSL as a whole – The Guardian

→ In women’s sports, athletes losing their periods was long considered normal. Not anymore – The Athletic vis Yahoo

 🏆 UWCL

Women’s Champions League Round 1: English Teams Roundup 

The Women’s Champions League got off to an interesting start last week, with the English sides facing some early challenges.

• Arsenal 1-2 Lyon: Arsenal took an early lead through Alessia Russo, but quickly conceded two goals to Melchie Dumornay. Pundits flagged Arsenal’s recurring possession issues and defensive lapses as a major concern. Dumornay’s performance was widely praised as a standout moment of the round. Arsenal need to tighten up quickly to stay competitive. (Highlights)

• Chelsea 1-1 Twente: Chelsea rotated heavily and struggled to break down a disciplined Twente defence. Sandy Baltimore’s penalty rescued a point, but the side lacked fluency and created few clear chances. Manager Bompastor admitted Chelsea gave a laboured display and lacked attacking sharpness, which they’ll need ahead of tougher games. (Highlights)

• Manchester United 1-0 Valerenga: Manchester United won their first-ever UWCL game thanks to a first-half penalty from Maya Le Tissier. They controlled much of the match but missed chances to secure a more comfortable lead. Pundits were impressed with United’s composure on debut but expect them to convert more opportunities in future rounds. (Highlights)

As it stands:
The table after match day one looks very Spanish: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid sit in the top three.

Next up:
Wednesday 15 October
Chelsea vs Paris FC (20:00, Disney+)

Thursday 16 October
Atlético Madrid vs Manchester United (17:45, Disney+)
Benfica vs Arsenal (20:00, Disney+)

Useful links:

• Confused by the new Champions League format? Watch this explainer

• Full table and standings here

👀 FAVE FINDS

The Lionesses’ golden summer, mapped and framed

If you love an infographic and the Lionesses, this one’s for you. A beautifully designed A2 print charting England’s back-to-back Euro triumph — every goal, every save, every heart-in-mouth moment mapped out in clean data-driven glory.

The ultimate keepsake for anyone still riding the high of Hampton’s heroics and Agyemang’s breakout summer.

👉 Check out the Euro 2025 Champions print

👟 KIT DROP

Arsenal’s latest link-up with A-COLD-WALL* keeps the club’s never-ending fashion drops coming. This one is all washed greys, boxy cuts and serious price tags. It ticks all the fashion x culture x football crossover boxes with its bold mix of industrial heritage and streetwear, and it looks good. Really good. But we’re just wondering how much more the average Gooner can shell out on merch? It’s surely starting to break some banks.

Still, few clubs do the football-meets-fashion thing quite like Arsenal.

👉 Shop the Arsenal x A-COLD-WALL* collection

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Upcoming Events

Screamers Podcast x The Volley: UWCL screenings (Man Utd & Arsenal)
Thursday 16 October, from 17:30, 211 Old Street, London, EC1V 9NR.

Clapton CFC vs Goaldiggers
Saturday 18 October, 14:00 KO, The Old Spotted Dog Ground
A special match to celebrate and support trans women in football. More info here

Watch England vs Brazil
Saturday 25 October, City of Manchester Stadium, 17:30 KO.
Euro winners England take on Copa América champions Brazil. Tickets are still available

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)

NWSL
Saturday 18 October

• Washington Spirit v Orlando Pride (17:30, NWSL+)

Subway League Cup
Check your club's YouTube or TV channel for streaming options
Friday 17 October

• Durham vs Liverpool (19:00)

Sunday 19 October

• Charlton Athletic vs Portsmouth (12:00)

• Tottenham Hotspur vs Birmingham City (14:00)

• London City Lionesses vs Leicester City (14:00)

• Brighton & Hove Albion vs Southampton (14:00)

• Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town (14:00)

• Sunderland vs Sheffield United (14:00)

• Everton vs Nottingham Forest (14:00)

• Newcastle United vs Manchester City (14:00)

• Bristol City vs Aston Villa (15:00)

🗳️ QUICK POLL

See you next week!

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