#Sockgate, England Kit Drop, Emma Hayes Sparks Controversy, Megan Rapino Gets Legend Status
This week's round-up of the best stuff in women's football includes:
• Goals of the week
• Kit Drop - New Nike international kits launch
• #Sockgate
• Emma Hayes sparks controversy
• World rankings update
• Megan Rapino gets legend status
ROUND-UP
Watch our favourite goals from the WSL this weekend:
Chelsea v Arsenal (3-1): The importance of this game to the WSL title race can’t be overstated. Chelsea sits in the top spot with 40 points; Manchester City is in second, also with 40 points and just two goals separate them on goal difference. Chelsea only have Man Utd left to play from the top four teams, whereas City have yet to take on Arsenal and Man Utd, so Chelsea’s win last Friday could be crucial to their hopes for the WSL title in Hayes’s last season in charge.
Back to the match… Lauren James was on fire, and her opening goal had to get a shout-out, as did Sjoeke Nüsken’s second, a deflection off her bum, which she celebrated with a slightly awkward smile. We couldn’t talk about this match without mentioning #sockgate… head down to Fave Finds for more on that.
Brighton v Manchester City (1-4): Lee Guem-min scored a brilliant consolation goal against her old club in the dying minutes of the game. Fowler gets the shout-out for City.
Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester (1-0): In a smooth bit of play, it took just 7 touches between Spurs keeper Spencer restarting play and Matilda Vinberg putting the ball in the back of the net.
Everton v Aston Villa (1-2): Ebony Salmon gets our vote for this header from a Jordan Nobbs cross.
Elsewhere, Manchester Utd beat Bristol City 2-0, and Liverpool beat West Ham 3-1.
FA CUP DRAW
Tottenham and Leicester reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history and will play each other in one of the semi-final matches. Chelsea and Manchester Utd will play a repeat of last year’s final in the other. The semi-finals are on 13 April and 14 April and will be shown on BBC.
KIT DROP
Fresh look for international teams ahead of Euro 2025 Qualifiers
Nike: England's women's, men's, and para teams will wear the new Nike shirts from March—just in time for the Lionesses' first match of their Euro Qualification campaign against Sweden on 5 April.
Adidas: Scotland women will wear the new national team jersey for the first time when they start their Euro 2025 qualifying journey in April against Serbia. Wales has also had a kit update. They’ll play Croatia in their first Euro 2025 qualifier on 5 April. Adidas revealed the new national team strips earlier this week ahead of the Men’s Euro’s later in 2024.
FAVE FINDS
Socks x Football: The Chelsea v Arsenal match was delayed on Friday night while Arsenal tried to solve the kit clash between their white socks and Chelsea’s. Unfortunately, they hadn’t packed any spares and had to resort to buying a load of socks from the Chelsea shop and taping over the logos. Cue the memes…
If there’s anything to take away from this, it's that you can never pack too many socks.
Music x Football: Apple Music has launched The Adobe Women’s FA Cup Curator profile featuring playlists from Arsenal’s Victoria Pelova, and Man City’s Khiara Keating and Esme Morgan. Expect more player-curated playlists ahead of the semi-finals.
Stuff x Football: You might have noticed the new Amazon ads ahead of this week's next round of UEFA Champions League matches. Amazon has also launched a new Women’s football store to equip more women to train, play, and recover from their footballing escapades. The premise? They’ll ‘bring the stuff, you bring the grit’. On first look, the store has a wide range of kit and equipment, but options for big-ticket items such as boots are pretty limited.
IN FOCUS
Emma Hayes says player-player relationships are 'inappropriate'.
Context: Player-coach relationships have come under the spotlight following Leicester City’s suspension of Willie Kirk while they investigate allegations of him having a relationship with a player.
What Emma Hayes said: Hayes was giving her pre-match press conference last week and discussed safeguarding and professionalism in the women’s game, saying: “Player-coach relationships they’re inappropriate, player-to-player relationships are inappropriate. But we have to look at it in the context of where the game has come from, and say ‘look we’re in a professional era now’ where the expectations in place for players and coaches is such that all of our focus and attention has got to be on having the top standards.”
The reaction? Let’s just say the bit about ‘player-to-player’ relationships did not go down well. Some people called it homophobic, while others commented on the fact that many players in the WSL, and specifically at Chelsea, are in player-to-player relationships, and it was disrespectful for Hayes to put those relationships in the same bucket as player-coach ones.
The apology: Hayes backtracked on her comments, saying, “I’ve let myself down yesterday. I didn’t think it was right to use the term inappropriate for the players.” She backed players in relationships but did say that those relationships can be tricky for managers to navigate and, in an ideal world, wouldn't be part of a team setting.
NEWS | HOME & AWAY
FIFA World ranking update: The world rankings have been released, and Spain's recent Nations League win has added to their dominance at the top of the table. England moved up into second position after convincing wins against Italy and Austria, and France remained in third. The USA moved down two spots into fourth place.
Legend status: Megan Rapinoe's No.15 jersey will be retired by Seattle Reign at a ceremony at their match against North Carolina Courage on 25 August later this year. She joined the club in its inaugural season and became Seattle Reign’s all-time leader in goals and assists. Her dominance helped the club win three NWSL Shields and the Women's Cup.
“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,” – Lesle Gallimore, Seattle Reign FC General Manager.
Somali women's first match: It took us a while to find this story, but it's a good one! International Women's Day marked a historic moment in Somalia as the first official women's futsal match was played, with the SWF women’s team triumphing 3-1 over SSC. This breakthrough in a country where cultural and religious barriers have long prevented women's participation in football was achieved through the Somali Football Federation's extensive efforts to change societal perceptions, including awareness workshops for parents and girls. The Somali Federation's president, Ali Abdi Mohamed, said, “Somali girls are officially in the field of play. I am really overjoyed as today my long-standing dreams have become true”.
WEEK AHEAD - WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
Tue, 19 March | Champions League17:45 - Ajax v Chelsea20:00 - Benfica v Olypiques Lyon
Wed, 20 March | Champions League17:45 - BK Häcken v Paris Saint-Germain20:00 - Brann v FC Barcelona
Sat, 23 March | WSL12:30 - Manchester City v Manchester United
Sun, 24 March | WSL13:00 - Everton v Liverpool14:00 - Bristol City v Tottenham Hotspur15:00 - Leicester City v Brighton16:30 - West Ham Utd v Chelsea (Sky Sports)18:45 - Aston Villa v Arsenal (Sky Sports)
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Jo
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