Lionesses Starts Euro's Defence, Lucy Bronze In Fashion, And Sam Kerr In Court
This week's round-up of the best of women's football includes:
• EURO 2025 qualifiers group draw
• Round up: last week's matches
• Our fave finds, featuring Lucy Bronze
• UK report demands better for female footballers
• News in a nutshell
• The week ahead: what we're watching
UEFA EURO 2025 | QUALIFIERS DRAW
England's title defence begins
The EURO 2025 qualifiers begin on Friday, 5 April, when 51 teams will compete across three leagues for a place in the Euro Finals in Switzerland. England was placed in league 1, group A3 alongside France, Sweden, and The Republic of Ireland. Head to our site for the other qualifier groups and more EURO 2025 info.
England’s fixture and venues:
England v Sweden – Friday 5 April, Wembley
Tickets are available here on 11-12 March* (My England Football) and 13 March (General Public)
Republic of Ireland v England – Tuesday 9 April, Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Tickets TBC
England v France – Friday 31 May, 8pm, St James’ Park
Tickets available here from 27 March* (My England Football), 3 April (General Public)
France v England – Tuesday 4 June
Tickets TBC
England v Republic of Ireland – Friday 12 July, Carrow Road
Tickets TBC
Sweden v England – Tuesday 16 July
Tickets TBC
*Link to priority tickets sent to your My England Football registered email
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ROUND UP
Conti Cup semi-final showdown:
Mid-week was all about the Conti Cup. Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-0, with Blackstenius scoring a hat trick in 40 minutes for Arsenal. But this goal from Maanum was our fave.
Chelsea narrowly won 1-0 against Man City, with Chelsea keeper Hannah Hampton making some top-class saves to set up a Chelsea v Arsenal Conti Cup Final on 31 March, 3pm at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton. Tickets are on sale now.
Meanwhile in the FA Cup quarter-finals…
There were a couple of shocks over the weekend in the FA Cup. The match that had us on the edge of our seats was Tottenham v Manchester City, which went to penalties after an absolute clanger from City keeper Keating resulted in Beth England equalising for Spurs in the 96th minute. It ended 4-3 to Spurs on pens, so they'll go to the semi-finals for the first time in their history.Elsewhere, another historic moment as Leicester City knocked out Liverpool 2-0 after two goals from Jutta Rantala, they also progress to the semi-finals for the first time. Manchester United smashed Brighton 4-0, and Chelsea got a 1-0 win against Everton after a goal from Catarina Macario. The draw for the semi's takes place at 8.20am this morning (Tuesday), matches will be played on 13 and 14 April.
CONCACAF Gold Cup: USA's path to the final

Wet & Wild: Grassroots matches have been cancelled for pitches less waterlogged than the one USA and Canada played on in their Gold Cup semi-final this week. The match ended 2-2, but the USA won 3-1 on penalties. Check out the highlights here.
It wasn’t the only drama the USA faced this week. Things got a bit naughty in their 3-0 quarter-final win against Colombia. For highlights of the bad behaviour head here, and for the official highlights (which seem to have had any trace of the drama and fouls removed), head here. Enjoy.
Winners: The USA went on to play Brazil in the final on Sunday night, winning by just one goal, courtesy of Lindsey Horan's header just before half-time. It ended 1-0.
FAVE FINDS
What caught our eye on International Women's Day 2024
Lucy Bronze x Aligne: Female-led fashion brand Aligne, launched their Spring collection in collaboration with Lucy Bronze who commented, ‘There’s a player I’ve always played with who says “Look good, feel good, play good”.’ Check out the collection

Beyond women’s football: Sue Campbell, the FA’s Director of Women’s Football, will retire this year. On International Women’s Day, she spoke about the progress the game has made:
“I took the job [because] I have been passionate all my life about the power of sport to change people’s lives.
“It is about inspiring women to recognise they can play at the highest level, coach, referee, sit in the boardroom, and I do think, just listening to people talk generally, we’ve inspired the players, the Lionesses particularly… But I think the strategy and what we’ve done has really inspired girls and women to feel that they can, it’s possible. Do you want to be an astronaut? You can be an astronaut. You want to be an engineer? You can be an engineer. And I think that’s really, really important… “Whoever I hand the baton to, I’m sure will be someone with the same passion to really drive that wider societal change.” – Sue Campbell
Growth of women's sport: Okay, this isn't just about women's football, but women's football does have a major impact on the numbers. Deloitte forecasts that women's elite sports will pass $1 billion for the first time (300% more than the projection in 2021). Women's football is set to drive 43% of that revenue. Interest from fans, broadcasters, and commercial partners is identified as the reason for such rapid projected growth.
KNOWLEDGE
Women's sports sector 'must do better': A new UK government report has exposed critical barriers in women's sport. The ACL 'epidemic' in women's football is singled out as an example of how lacking female-specific medical and physiological research really is. They conclude that the ACL issue is 'indicative of systemic gender inequality in sports and exercise research, which is still overwhelmingly conducted by men, looking at issues affecting men.'Besides this, the report targets sports manufacturers, challenging them to put more effort and resources into female-specific products such as football boots. Then, it digs into the often neglected needs of girls and women during puberty, midlife, and menopause. Urging immediate action, the report demands inclusive practices, enhanced research, and coaching education on female health, aiming to equalize the playing field for women and girls across all sports disciplines. You can read the full report here.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest: This one is super practical... UEFA has launched an online training video to give people the skills needed in case of a sudden cardiac arrest. It’s free, and you can access it here.
NEWS | HOME & AWAY
Man City head coach Gareth Taylor has signed a three-year contract extension that will take him to 2027 with Manchester City. City have said they have a clear strategy for the future and Gareth is a key part of making that happen. There are also plans to build a purpose-built training facility for the women’s team in 2025.

Sam Kerr will face a criminal trial in Feb 2025 on the charge of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. It was later revealed she allegedly used the term ‘stupid white bastard’. Emma Hayes has said she will support Kerr throughout the process. Kerr’s lawyers are hoping to have the charge thrown out.
Barbra Banda became the second most expensive player in the world behind fellow Zambian Racheal Kundananji after Orlando Pride secured her for $740,000 from Shanghai Shengli. The deal is worth around $2.1 million to Banda, including bonuses, making her one of the highest-paid players in the NWSL. Cheeky little fact for you... in 2023, Banda scored the 1000th goal in women’s World Cup history. She's got a fascinating story which you can watch here.
Christian Wuck will take over the German women’s national team following the Olympics this summer. Wuck led Germany’s U17 men’s team to U17 World Cup victory last year.
WEEK AHEAD - WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
Fri, 15 March | WSL19:00 - Chelsea v Arsenal
Sat, 16 March | WSL13:00 - Everton v Aston Villa
Sun, 17 March | WSL12:00 - Man Utd v Bristol City12:00 - Liverpool v West Ham12:30 - Brighton v Man City14:00 - Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City
Next week the Champions League returns
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