⚽ Parris Turns Down £1 Million. Wembley is Red. Barca Wins La Liga... Again.

May 13, 2024

In this week's round-up...

• ICYMI: Top Headlines Around the World

• FA Cup: Glory for Man United

• Iconic Moments: Rachel Williams

• ACL Watch

• Kit Drop: Nike Rising Gems

• Watchlist: The WSL Hots Up

• Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

 🚨 NEWS | HOME & AWAY

Top Headlines This Week

🤑 Nikita Parris turned down a contract from North Carolina Courage last month that would have paid £1 million over three years. She opted to stay at Manchester United, prioritising their FA Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur. With Parris’s contract up this summer, could there be renewed interest from NWSL teams ahead of the US transfer window reopening in August?

🏟️ Manchester City’s planned £10 million Women’s team training facility has reportedly got the go-ahead. The purpose-built complex will give the Women’s team, who currently share training facilities with the City Academy, a top-class environment to train, recover, and develop the next generation of talent.

🧏‍♀️ The U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team will take on Australia in a historic, televised double-header on 1 June. The USWNT will take on Korea in the second match of the night.

⚽ Lynn Williams is close to beating Sam Kerr's record as all-time leading goalscorer in the NWSL after scoring her 78th goal against Houston Dash. Williams had already jumped ahead of Christine Sinclair (68), Alex Morgan (66) and Debinha (63).

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Women’s U17s Euros Finals: England have beaten Sweden, Norway and France to top Group A and will face Poland in the semi-finals at 17:30 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Spain topped Group B after a 5-0 win against Belgium and will play current U17 Champions France in the other Semi, on Wednesday, 14:30.

🇮🇷 Iran may be moving towards reinstating a ban on women attending sports stadiums. Some regional stadiums have already restricted women's access, with a full ban expected by the start of the next Iranian Premier League season. FIFA has previously pressured Iran to allow women access to football stadiums, and progress seemed to be being made as recently as December 2023.

💃 The Women’s Football Awards will take place on 30 May. Mary Earps, Sam Kerr and Lauren James have been shortlisted for Player of the Year. The awards will also celebrate businesses, fans, and trailblazers in women’s football.

🇩🇪 Bayern Munich are Champions of the Bundesliga, retaining their title and winning the league for the sixth time in their history. They cemented the title after beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 with two games to go.

🇪🇸 FC Barcelona has won La Liga for the ninth time, with three games to play, they’ve chalked up 26 wins, one draw and an incredible 116-goal difference. They celebrated the fifth straight league win with fans over the weekend. Barca will now attempt to win the Champions League for the third time, playing the Final on 25 May.

🏆 FA CUP FINAL

Manchester United, 2024 FA Cup Winners

76,082 fans watched Manchester United win the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 to put last year’s Cup final loss to Chelsea firmly behind them.

Parris gets her prizeOk, we thought it too... when Nikita Parris started on the bench the thought did cross our minds that turning down that £1 million NWSL contract, only to warm the bench in a cup final could turn out to be the biggest regret of her life. Thankfully she got her moment (coming on for Williams in the 58th minute) and her trophy. 😬

In a day of firsts, it was the first time Tottenham played in an FA Cup Final. Manchester United’s win made it the first time since 2012 that the FA Cup has been won by a team other than Manchester City, Arsenal or Chelsea when Birmingham City took the trophy home. 

Skinner out... or in? After soaking up a lot of criticism from fans this season, will the FA Cup win give Marc Skinner a reprieve? Pressure has been mounting on the Manchester United manager after a disappointing season has them in fifth place with one game to play, against Chelsea. With his three-year contract ending this summer, there have been rumours of contract extensions and imminent departure. Which way it swings remains to be seen, but winning the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history can only add to the board's 'pros’ list.

 📸 ICONIC MOMENTS

On This Day(ish): 2012 FA Cup Final

Rachel Williams is no stranger to scoring in FA Cup Finals. Twelve years ago she scored an injury-time equaliser to send Birmingham City and Chelsea into extra time. Birmingham went on to win the FA Cup after a penalty shoot-out. Watch her goals, twelve years apart here.

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🖋️ INSIDE TRACK

Transfer News

Denise O’Sullivan, the Ireland International and North Carolina Courage midfielder is reportedly a target for Manchester United this summer. The lifelong United fan is understood to be keen on a move and will be out of contract in November. United might move sooner rather than later to add O’Sullivan’s wealth of experience to their squad ahead of the new season. 

After six years, Verena Hanshaw has left Eintracht Frankfurt, joining AS Roma on a deal running to June 2026. The Austrian International was ready for a change saying, “Both Roma and I have big goals and want to win titles, which is why I’m already looking forward to the challenge in Italy and also playing in front of their great fans!”

Paulina Krumbiegel has signed a two-year deal at Juventus. After spending five seasons at Hoffenheim, the 23-year-old German International has moved to Turin, her first contract outside of Germany. She’s a versatile player at home on the wing or at full-back, her physicality and technical ability will undoubtedly strengthen Juve’s right-hand side.

Lydia Williams, Aussie goalkeeper and longest-serving Matilda, has announced her retirement. With five World Cups, Six Asian Cups, and Two Olympic games under her belt, Williams will retire after the Paris 2024 Olympics.

 🦵ACL WATCH

One Out, One In

🔴 Everton Defender Kenzie Weir ruptured her ACL during Glasgow City’s 2-2 draw against Hibernian over the weekend. She was on a season-long loan with Glasgow and will have surgery and return to Everton for rehab.

🟢 German International, Carolin Simon played her first competitive minutes for Bayern München against Wolfsburg this week – 10 months after she ruptured her ACL during a German friendly ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

 🤤 KIT DROP

Rising Gems Hit the Pitch

Nike has released the Rising Gem pack to celebrate rising stars and the raw potential of young players. The pack includes Mercurial, Phantom and Tiempo Legend boots. Players, Tabitha Chawinga (PSG) and Jennifer Echegini (Juventus) will switch to the collection in the next few weeks.

Top left: Mercurial, Bottom left: Phantom, Right: Tiempo

Left: Mercurial, Middle: Phantom, Right: Tiempo

The Elite tier of boots is available to buy now.

📺 WATCHLIST

The Week Ahead

The end of the WSL season is almost here and it looks like this will go down to the wire.

A win for Chelsea mid-week at Spurs would put them level on points with Manchester City, and top of the table on goal difference. In which case it will all come down to the final day.

Wednesday 15 May

WSL19:15 - Tottenham vs Chelsea [BBC Two, iPlayer]

Saturday 18 May

WSL - Final Day of the Season15:00 - Arsenal vs Brighton15:00 - Aston Villa vs Man City15:00 - Bristol City vs Everton15:00 - Leicester vs Liverpool15:00 - Man United vs Chelsea15:00 - Tottenham vs West Ham[Channels TBC]

All times in BST

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

WSL End-of-Season Watch Parties

Baller FC

WSL Final DaySaturday 18 May, Doors 13:00, KO 15:00Signature Brew Blackhorse Rd, London. Info here

The Other Team

The Women's Super League Watch Party + DJs & Mini-GamesSaturday 18 May, 14:00-02:00Forest Road Brewing Co. SE14 5RWTickets here

 📂 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

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