Raso Back in the WSL. Championship Countdown.

Author

Johanna Pearson
September 02, 2024

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY
IN THIS WEEK’S ROUND-UP...

  • Latest headlines: Championship countdown, Welch steps down, Rapinoe’s #15 jersey retired

  • Fave finds: Mewis x Kerr in Aus

  • Kit drop: Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs third kits

  • Transfer news: Raso is back in the WSL

  • Jobs: New opportunities in football

🚨ICYMI

Top headlines

⚽ The Barclays Championship 2024/25 season kicks off on Sunday 8 September with Durham taking on Sheffield United at noon. This season games will be streamed on the Championship's new YouTube channel, so gone are the painful days of the FA Player. In the meantime, you can catch up on team previews and behind-the-scenes action.

🔴 Rebecca Welch, a pioneering referee known for being the Premier League’s first female ref, has stepped away from her on-field career. She’ll lead the development of officiating in the women’s game as manager of the Select Group Women’s Professional Game. 

⏳ Bristol City manager Lauren Smith has resigned from her post with days to go before the start of the Championship season. Loren Dykes has been appointed interim coach and will take charge for their opening game against Southampton on 8 September.

👕 Seattle Reign FC retired Megan Rapinoe’s #15 jersey in front of 16,500 fans last week.  She made her debut on 23 July 2006 and became a club legend with 54 goals and 28 assists before retiring last season.

  • Megan Rapinoe: “I have lived so much life in this jersey and I'm humbled to see it retire alongside me. It represents so much more than myself - a team, a city, and a lifetime of memories. Thank you to the Reign and to my teammates for the love, the support and the opportunity to leave a piece of my heart on the field."

  • Seattle Reign FC General Manager Lesle Gallimore: “The number 15 jersey will forever be remembered for not only the person who wore it, but for everything and everyone she represented along her journey with the club.” 

📋 Last week we went pretty deep on what the NWSL’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) meant for the league. Arguably, the biggest development besides dropping the draft was introducing unrestricted free agency for all players from the 2025 season and beyond.

  • In a (very) simplified explanation, players will have much more say in which clubs they play for and the details negotiated in their contracts, and won’t be unexpectedly traded or terminated before their contract ends.

  • Anyway, the new news is that the window opened on 1 September and the full list of free agents has been published, featuring some big names including Christen Press, Alyssa Naeher, Christine Sinclair, Marta and Midge Purce.

 🤓 KNOWLEDGE

New guidance for new mothers

FIFPRO has released a guide to help new mothers, after finding advice and knowledge at club and international teams was lacking. 

  • The practical guide tackles topics such as feeding, sleep, nutrition, mental health, pelvic health and birth. It goes on to outline 5-phases in a ‘return to play’ guide, again detailing training and support players and clubs should implement in a personalised way.

  • Who’s it for? It’s aimed at giving new mothers, their families, and the staff team a better understanding of how to manage pregnancy and the phases following childbirth.

  • Who wrote it? A mix of medical professionals and women/s players who have experienced pregnancy and childbirth including Crystal Dunn, Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, Almuth Schult and Cheyna Matthews.

  • What are the players saying? Crystal Dunn: "To raise a baby, it takes a village. You can’t do it on your own. The most important thing is having that plan in place so that a female athlete just comes back and all they have to do is follow step by step and feel safe and protected."

If you’re interested you can download the full guide here

⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

Pre-season in full swing

In case you missed it, here are some of our favourite highlights from the week:

Aussie Tour:

Meanwhile, Barcelona headed to the US for some friendlies:

👀 FAVE FINDS

Celebrating trailblazers

Queens Park, the park in which St Helens Ladies AFC beat Dick, Kerr Ladies 100 years ago, has been awarded a blue plaque to commemorate the squad that played on through the FA’s 1921 ban on women’s football.

West Ham on an Aussie pre-season tour, obviously meant we’d be treated to a Kristie Mewis photo shoot at the Sam Kerr Football Centre. (In case you missed it… they’re engaged).

✍️ INSIDE TRACK

Transfer round-up

Raso (Left), Pavi (Right)

Hayley Raso is back in the WSL. The Aussie forward joined Tottenham Hotspur until 2026 on a free transfer after her contract with Real Madrid expired this summer.

Raso: “I wanted to be back in this league and at this level – and Spurs was the team I chose to do that with… I say I’m pretty versatile, super determined and I always give 100% at all times, I’m fast-paced, I like to press and run at players and, hopefully, this season I can get a few goals and assists”

CONFIRMED TRANSFERS

  • Manuela Paví | Forward | Contract to 2027 | Deportivo Cali → West Ham United

  • My Cato | Midfielder | Contract to 2027 | IFK Norrkoping → Crystal Palace

  • Rosella Ayane | Forward | Loan until December 2024 | Tottenham Hotspur → Chicago Red Stars

  • Abby Dahlkemper | Centre Back | Contract to 2026 | San Diego Wave FC → Bay FC

EXTENSIONS

  • Wendie Renard has extended her contract with Lyon until 2027

RUMOURS

→ Celin Bizet is rumoured to be heading to Manchester United from Tottenham

→ Michelle Heyman is rumoured to be heading to West Ham after the Hammers handed out flyers to fans which included a picture of her in the new kit.

👟 KIT DROP

Third kits go punk

Club third kits continue to drop, and this week was the turn of Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs. All feature a vertical double-tick Nike logo, symbolising the ascendancy of women’s football. Chelsea leant into tartan punk vibes, Liverpool also went for (less obvious) punk vibes, while Spurs’s design was inspired by the seven trees on Tottenham High Road.

Adidas has revealed the new ball for the UEFA Women’s Champions LeagueTM

Brooklyn FC launches their first kit ahead of their USL Super League debut

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Upcoming events

Get Your Kits Out Festival
The festival brings together the brightest and best creators, makers, and voices, to Liverpool for a one-day celebration of football, design, and fashion. Expect a grassroots football-fashion market, up-cycling workshops, talks, DJ sets and more. 

28-29 September 2024.
The Florie, 377 Mill Street , Liverpool , L8 4RF
Tickets available now

Lionesses of Hull
An exhibition exploring the lives of Carol Thomas, an England defender from 1974 – 1985, and Flo Bilton, also from Hull, co-founder of the Women’s Football League.
Tuesday 27 August - Sunday 23 February 2025
Streetlife Museum, Hull, HU1 1PS
Free entry

Get ready for WSL Sundays with Baller FC
Signature Brew, 340 Acton Mews, Haggerston, E8 4EA

Sunday, 22 September
Arsenal vs Manchester City + Emirates After Party
+ two more games

Sunday, 6 October
Chelsea vs Manchester United
+ two more games

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

📺 WEEKLY WATCHLIST

What we’re watching

Monday 2 Sept
17:30 - Wolfsburg Women v Werder Bremen Women [DAZN, DFB Play]

Saturday 7 Sept
17:00 - Washington Spirit v Portland Thorns, NWSL [NWSL+]

Sunday 8 Sept
14:00 - London City Lionesses v Newcastle United Women [Barclays Championship YouTube]
18:00 - Gotham FC v Houston Dash, NWSL [TNT Sports 2]

U20 World Cup games continue all week
Watch on FIFA TV
Scores and fixtures are available here

📂 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

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