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

This week: Toone saves a club, Malard picks Chelsea, and WAFCON goes missing. Plus our verdict on the best and worst of this week's away kits.

– Jo, founder of Twentytwo

💼 Ella Toone has stepped in to keep Chorley Women alive. The fourth-tier side, one of England's oldest independent clubs, was set to fold this summer: its committee was standing down and no one was lined up to take over. Toone has come in as Creative and Strategic Advisor, and a new structure has since been approved by the FA and WSL. Through her ET7 Academy and Amicizia Studios, she'll help shape how the club grows on and off the pitch. Read more

🏆 Wrexham have become the first Welsh side ever to progress a round in the Champions League. They beat Armenian champions Pyunik 4-2 on their European debut before going out 4-1 to Latvia's Riga FC in the qualifying final. "Getting here was never quite the plan in the first season," manager Jenny Sugarman said afterwards. "We can be incredibly proud of what we've put out across those two games." Read more

👶 Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós is taking five weeks of parental leave after the birth of his second child, with assistant Shaun Harris stepping in until September. He chose to announce it publicly: "When fathers take parental leave, particularly men in leadership positions, it helps normalise an important principle: caring for children is a shared responsibility between parents." Read more

→ We want to win the league’: Arsenal’s new recruits ink in WSL success – via The Guardian

→ Meet the teenager tasked with filling Alexia Putellas’ boots at Barcelona – via The Athletic

→ Why Spain are top of the world in both men's and women's games – via ESPN

Africa's biggest women's football tournament is underway in Morocco, and you could be forgiven for missing it entirely.

What happened?
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) named Channel 4 as WAFCON’s (Women's Africa Cup of Nations) UK broadcaster the day before kickoff, a first for the tournament, but Channel 4 itself has said nothing, listed nothing, and fans are left asking on social media where on earth the games actually are. For a competition this size, that's absurd. And sadly, it's nothing new for WAFCON.

A track record of being messed around:

And that last one wasn't a victimless reshuffle. Teams were already deep in preparation: Nigeria had just played two friendlies against Cameroon, and Ghana had set up a camp in Dubai that was suddenly pointless. Ghana coach Kim Björkegren told ESPN the mess affected players' careers, with some delaying club moves around the shifting dates. South Africa's Desiree Ellis put the wider frustration simply: "would this be happening with the men's game?"

In fairness, it wasn't all on CAF. There were real logistical factors that season, and Morocco reportedly pushed for the change. But even the Moroccan government said it had been ready to host "any time", and that the call was CAF's. Whichever way you look at it, the buck stops with the governing body.

The maddening part is how serious a competition this actually is. It doubles as 2027 World Cup qualifying: the four semi-finalists go straight to Brazil. Nigeria are chasing an 11th title; hosts Morocco want a first. And the talent is world-class: Malawi's Temwa Chawinga, back-to-back MVP in the NWSL; Zambia's Barbra Banda, a former BBC Women's Footballer of the Year; Nigeria's Chiamaka Nnadozie, fresh off a solid season with Brighton. Zambia's Racheal Kundananji briefly held the world transfer record. These are some of the best players on the planet.

Why it matters. WAFCON is a chance to put the world's eyeballs on African women's football, its teams, its players, and raise its profile. The appetite is there: more outlets are running WAFCON previews and guides this year, and CAF is hardly ignoring its own tournament, which sits front and centre on its channels. It just doesn't feel like enough. The players and coaches have done their bit. It’s just a shame that the fans who'd happily watch them still can't work out how.

New to WAFCON? The 30-second version
The Women's Africa Cup of Nations is the women's equivalent of AFCON, the men's tournament. Sixteen teams (up from 12) this year, hosted in Morocco until 16 August, with a record $2 million for the winners. Nigeria are favourites, but hosts Morocco, South Africa and Zambia will fancy their chances.

Last week's big one was Melvine Malard leaving Manchester United for Chelsea. She signed a four-year deal for a reported £750,000, which is a record fee for United selling one of their players. She's back working with Sonia Bompastor, who coached her at Lyon when they won the Champions League together in 2022, and she plugs the gap up front left by the departures of Sam Kerr and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. 

Strengthening the forward line was a key concern this summer, with Chelsea having already missed out on Khadija Shaw, Felicia Schröder and Salma Paralluelo. United wanted to keep her, offering a new contract she turned down. With only a year left on her existing deal, cashing in made sense — especially after watching a string of big names walk for free, Alessia Russo to Arsenal among them. 

It's hard not to link her decision to the bigger picture at United: senior players leaving in numbers, and a manager who spent last season asking, pretty openly, for more money to spend. Or maybe it's simpler and she just wants to win things, and Chelsea are the better bet for that right now.

CONFIRMED MOVES

→ Chelsea: Malard aside, England Under-20 full-back Nelly Las, 18, joins permanently from Leicester on a deal to 2030.

→ Everton: Busiest club of the week by a mile. Hannah Blundell signs permanently after last season's loan, Australia forward Holly McNamara comes in as a free agent from Melbourne City, and Jutta Rantala arrives from Leicester; Anna Holmgaard, still recovering from injury, has signed a new one-year deal. The one that stings is Martina Fernández (their Young Player of the Season) heading back to Barcelona, who just triggered a buy-back clause after she'd played every league game.

→ Liverpool: Eredivisie Player of the Year Mao Itamura, 19, joins permanently from Feyenoord, and academy defender Lucy Parry has signed on again. Denise O'Sullivan goes the other way, back to the NWSL with Gotham on loan with an obligation to buy.

→ Tottenham: Alice Sombath, 22, comes in from Lyon for a club-record fee — a France international and a Champions League winner, which tells you plenty about how Spurs are shopping this summer.

→ Aston Villa: Japan goalkeeper Akane Okuma, 21, joins from INAC Kobe Leonessa; Sarah Mayling leaves permanently for Leicester.

→ London City Lionesses: Two out on season-long loans — keeper Emily Orman, a former WSL2 Golden Glove winner, to Wolves, and Finland's Sanni Franssi to Sunderland.

→ Brighton: Ireland striker Emily Murphy joins from Newcastle for what the Magpies said was the most they've ever received for a player.

→ Manchester United: Germany keeper Janina Leitzig joins from Leicester until 2029, cover for Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

This week saw a flurry of away kits land. Here’s our quick-fire round-up.

Arsenal went for a dark blue take on the bruised banana. Fans seem split between love and hate; we like it. Available now

Chelsea — an improvement on the home kit? Maybe. It's still pretty unremarkable, however moody they went with the photoshoot. Available now

Manchester United also went all in on blue, and this one's a goodie. It nods to some of their heritage kits without going overboard — it could end up a classic. Grab yours here

Newcastle United (WSL2) has gone with a navy base, a castle-keep pattern and a 70s/80s badge. Fans have taken to it, and so have we: it looks a bit like castle-themed Space Invaders, and what's not to like about that? Get yours here

Finally, to Spain, where Barcelona and Real Madrid pulled our reactions in opposite directions. Barça? Let's just say it's hard to get on board with a shirt that blends into the shorts. Real Madrid's, on the other hand, is just really nice: nothing flamboyant, just a solid, good-looking shirt. Shop Real Madrid here. Shop Barcelona (if you must) here.

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

Our picks from this week’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations group games
As mentioned above, games may or may not be shown on Channel 4.

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