WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY

IN THIS WEEK’S ROUND-UP...

• Picks from the pitch: Our top five WSL moments of the week

• Latest headlines: Jen Beattie retires. Rubiales trial nears.

• Inside track: Girma transfer confirmed

• Fave finds: Multi-view streaming comes to women’s football

• What we’re watching: Our pick of the week’s upcoming matches

• Jobs: New opportunities in football

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⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

Our top five moments from this week’s WSL action

1. Vivianne Miedema was at it again, two goals after an early Villa lead gave City a scare. We had to choose this absolute beauty - top corner, top class. 

2. Leicester shocked Liverpool with a 2-1 win, Captain, Janice Cayman scored from this well-worked free kick. 

3. We saw some great headers this week, not least Shekeira Martinez for West Ham earning them a much-needed win. 

4. Guro Reiten scored Chelsea’s late pen which made it to the list, not so much for the goal itself, but for the drama surrounding the penalty decision, a sending-off, and ultimately the 1-0 win which has cemented Chelsea’s lead and probably put the title race to bed. MaCabe was sent off after her yellow card for dissent was upgraded to red for the foul language she unleashed on referee, Heaslip, in the aftermath.

5. Manchester United have been creeping up the table and now sit in second place. Celin Bizet’s individual goal from well outside the area was our stand-out pick for the game.

WSL SCOREBOARD: MATCH DAY 12

• Aston Villa 2-4 Manchester City (Highlights)

• Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (Highlights)

• Crystal Palace 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (Highlights)

• Leicester City 2-1 Liverpool (Highlights)

• West Ham United 2-0 Everton (Highlights)

• Manchester United 3-0 Brighton & Hove Albion (Highlights)

AS IT STANDS

ELSEWHERE…

The Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-finals took place earlier last week.   Semi-finals have been drawn for 5 Feb. Arsenal vs Man City and Chelsea vs West Ham. Results from the quarters:

• Chelsea 5-0 Durham (Highlights)

• Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City (Highlights)

• Brighton & Hove Albion 0-4 Arsenal (Highlights)

• Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 West Ham United (Highlights)

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

👋 Jen Beattie has announced her retirement from professional football. The 33-year-old ex-Scotland International and Bay FC centre-back said the time is right, having felt for a while that her playing career was coming to a natural end. After 18 years in the game, it’s no understatement to say that Beattie is a legend. She’s lifted silverware a whopping 14 times, represented (and scored) at Scotland’s first-ever World Cup, and come back from a breast cancer diagnosis in 2020. So what could be next for this much-loved team-mate and fan favourite? Well, Beattie has hinted broadcasting could be on the cards after enjoying stints with the BBC and Sky. Watch this space.

💪 Next up, some great news from the training pitch. Mala Grohs, the Bayern keeper who was diagnosed with a tumour last October is back in mid-season training. She’s working her way back to fitness and hoping to be back fully in the next few weeks.

✏️ The FA is proposing a radical restructure of women's football, introducing B teams to lower leagues, expanding divisions three and four to 14 teams, and creating dynamic new competitive pathways. With carefully managed promotion restrictions and the potential for 52 new teams within the leagues, the plan aims to create more opportunities and growth for teams throughout the football pyramid.

💸 Europe's leading women’s football clubs broke €100m in total revenue for the first time in the 2023/24 season. They generated €116.6m which is a massive 35% year-on-year growth. In the revenue rankings, FC Barcelona still sits top with €17.9m (a 26% increase) but Arsenal are hot on their heels, €17.9m with matchday revenue up 64% and commercial revenue up 48%. There’s still a decent-sized gap to the rest of the top five clubs, Chelsea are third on €13.4m, Manchester United (er, yeah, we were shocked too) on €10.7m and Real Madrid on €10.5m. 

⚽ The Confederation of African Football is investing in a coaching programme with the Ghanaian FA for women who are currently imprisoned. ‘Football for Reform’ aims to use football as a transformational tool to help rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners back into society once their term is served. 30 women will take part, earning CAF-accredited coaching badges, hopefully leading to employment opportunities in the future. 

💰 Houston Dash is up for sale. Sportico reckons they’re worth $75m which comes in a lot cheaper than a new franchise, which has rocketed from $2m to $110m since 2022.

🏛️ Luis Rubiales goes on trial next month accused of sexual assault and coercion of Jenni Hermoso. Hermoso will travel from her club in Mexico to give her statement on 3 February, the trial's opening day. Former head coach, Jorge Vilda, Albert Luque (former men's team sporting director) and Ruben Rivera (former head of marketing) will also stand accused of coercion. Rubiales faces two and a half years if found guilty.

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

Our best reads this week…

→ Detail-obsessed yet vulnerable – Bompastor's recipe for success

→ Everton’s Hayley Ladd: ‘The new owners were really impressive. It’s nice to hear that commitment’

👀 FAVE FINDS

New WSL Panini Collectables coming for 2025

The Barclays Women’s Super League is getting in on Panini’s Adrenalin XL trading cards. They were teased this week. There are 360 cards to collect, five golden ballers including Alessia Russo, Lauren James and Bunny Shaw and a range of rare finds and limited edition designs. The collection isn’t available just yet but is expected to land soon. 

Ever struggled to keep track of multiple games because they’re all scheduled at the same time? Well, now you can watch four women’s football games simultaneously with YouTube multi-view. The Subway Women’s League Cup became the first women’s sports competition in the world to use multi-view technology for the quarter-final matches. Can’t lie, we didn’t work out how to watch like that without getting a headache, but it takes the pressure off anyone having to solve the real problem, i.e. stacked scheduling, for a little bit longer. 

🔎 IN FOCUS

Chelsea lands Girma in a $1 million record-breaking deal.

Chelsea has done it again, bagging world-class defender Naomi Girma, and beating Arsenal and Lyon to her signature with a reported $1 million (£890,000) deal. They presented their new signing minutes before the North London Derby on Sunday. Girma arrives in West London hot on the back of the USWNT’s Olympic gold medal and Jonas Eidevall’s arrival at San Diego Wave. 

Chelsea management has the luxury of both budget and backing from the club, so after centre-back, Buchanan suffered an ACL injury earlier in the season, targeting Girma was a no-brainer. They did the same last season bringing in Ramirez when Sam Kerr was injured.

The 24-year-old was named NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2022 and won Defender of the Year in both 2022 and 2023. Expect to see composure on the ball, technical ability, beautiful set-ups and crazy speed. USWNT coach, Emma Hayes has called her "the best defender I have ever seen".

So, what do you think of Chelsea’s big new signing? Hit reply and let us know what you think!

✍️ INSIDE TRACK

Transfers hot up as January deadline day approaches

CONFIRMED TRANSFERS

WSL/Championship

• Kerolin Nicole (Forward) | North Carolina Courage to Manchester City | Contract to 2028

• Eva Nyström (Defender) | Hammarby to West Ham United | Contract to 2027

• Verena Hanshaw (Left back) | AS Roma to West Ham United

• Ria Öling (Midfielder) | FC Rosengård to Crystal Palace | Contract to 2027

• Caitlin Hayes (Centre Back) | Celtic to Brighton & Hove Albion

• Ruesha Littlejohn has left London City Lionesses by mutual agreement. 

NWSL

• Sandy MacIver (Goalkeeper) | Manchester City to Washington Spirit | Contract to 2027

• Alanna Kennedy (Centre back) | Manchester City to Angel City FC

• Kenza Dali (Midfielder) | Aston Villa to San Diego Wave | Contract to 2026

• Denya Castellanos (Attacking Midfielder) | Bay FC to Portland Thorns FC | Contract to 2026

MANAGEMENT MOVES…

• Aston Villa has appointed Natalia Arroyo as head coach. The 38-year-old Spaniard joins from Real Sociedad on a three-year deal. 

• Netherlands coach, Andries Jonker’s contract will end after this summer’s Euro’s, no extension is coming.

• Elisabet Gunnarsdóttir is the new head coach of Belgium with a contract until 2027

RUMOURS…

• Josefine Rybrink (Centre Back) | Close to signing for Spurs from BK Hacken

• Wolfsburg has seemingly confirmed that Jule Brand and Merle Frohms will both leave at the end of the season. Cue the next round of ‘Brand to Man City’ rumours.

• Tony Gustavsson (former Matilda’s manager) could soon be head coach of Sweden.

👟 KIT DROP

Fenty x Puma

Inspired by the classic Puma King football boot, Rihanna has released the limited-edition Avanti LS. Punchy blue suede, gold flashes and a gum sole rounds things off in style. Get yours here

The newest drop from Adidas features the Predator 25, F50 and COPA Pure III in a dark, stealthy, colourway. Grab yours from Pro:Direct

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Upcoming events

Murder On Zidane’s Floor: Winter Edition
31 January, 21:00-2:00, Signature Brew, Haggerston
East London’s quarterly night run by women & non-binary footballers is here to bring some joy to your cold January. Expect club classics, noughties pop + R&B belters.
Get your tickets here

UEFA Women’s Nations League: England vs Spain
Wednesday 26 Feb, 20:00 KO
Wembley Stadium
Tickets are now on sale

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

📺 WEEKLY WATCHLIST

What We’re Watching

Postponed Women's FA Cup Fourth Round games:
Wednesday 29th January
19:45 - Arsenal vs Bristol City [FA Player]
19:45 - West Ham United vs Liverpool [Women’s FA Cup YouTube, FA Player]

Did you know: 
The FA Cup has a new YouTube channel. Catch live games, draws and behind-the-scenes action.

WSL 
Sunday 2 February:
12:00 - Manchester City vs Arsenal [Sky Sports]
14:00 - Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace [WSL YouTube]
14:00 - Everton vs Leicester City [WSL YouTube]
14:00 - Liverpool vs West Ham United [WSL YouTube]
14:30 - Aston Villa vs Chelsea [BBC 2, iPlayer]
18:45 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United [Sky Sports]

📂 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

More Women Working in Football

• Football Coaching Content Creator | The FA | Apply by 2 Feb 

• Media Officer – Women’s Team | Newcastle United | Apply by 6 Feb

• Medical Administrator (Maternity Cover) | Brighton & Hove Albion | Apply by 7 Feb

• Women's Technical Director | The FA | Apply by 7 Feb

• Senior Marketing Executive – Women’s Team | Birmingham City FC | Apply now 

More women watching, playing and working in football