UK Women's Football – The News Desk

21Dec

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Mary Earps: Goalkeeper, brand, icon

If you take a stroll along Sir Matt Busby Way, heading towards Old Trafford, and take a left down Railway Road, Mary Earps is waiting to greet you.Not in physical form, obviously, but in her iconic celebratory pose, arms wide and fists clenched, mouth wide open as she roars in joy. Earps is the Nottingham-born Manchester United powerhouse, the Lionesses’ moral compass, and officially the best goalkeeper in the world.“Welcome to Manchester”, the mural reads, which is a nod to a time, in 2009, when Manchester City unveiled a billboard of Carlos Tevez’s controversial switch from Old Trafford to the Etihad.The artwork was created in August, initially for a commercial shoot to promote the 2023-24 Women’s Super League (WSL) season getting under way. It was then supposed to come down but, such i...

Washington Spirit, Lyon owner Michele Kang buys London City Lionesses

17Dec

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Washington Spirit, Lyon owner Michele Kang buys London City Lionesses

On Friday, Michele Kang announced she has acquired London City Lionesses FC, an independent club competing in the FA Women’s Championship. The English club is another “foundational block” in her vision to grow her global multi-club organization, following her agreement earlier this year to take over OL Feminine and ownership of the Washington Spirit.“As you can imagine, if you’re trying to build a preeminent women’s football organization, you have to be where the center of gravity is,” Kang told The Athletic ahead of Friday’s announcement. “England is definitely one of them. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to land, and London City Lionesses being the only independent team, it was a no-brainer.”Rather than having to convince a men’s club to allow Kang to split their women’s team apart...

How the USWNT lured Emma Hayes away from Chelsea: Inside the near $2 million deal

17Nov

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How the USWNT lured Emma Hayes away from Chelsea: Inside the near $2 million deal

Chelsea Women had created a frenzy. On Nov. 4, the English club released a statement saying their coach Emma Hayes was leaving at the end of the season to “pursue a new opportunity outside of the Women’s Super League and club football.” Hayes had just entered her second decade in charge of the club, and few knew where she would land next.That same day The Athletic, among others, reported that Hayes’ next job would be with the U.S. women’s national team, leading a four-time World Cup and Olympic gold medal-winning program into a new era. On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer made her appointment official.Hayes, who previously won six WSL titles in England, will become the 10th full-time coach of the U.S., but not until her final season with Chelsea is complete next May. Sporting director Matt Crocker ma...

Kheira Hamraoui was beaten with an iron bar. Two years on, this story is far from over

7Nov

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Kheira Hamraoui was beaten with an iron bar. Two years on, this story is far from over

After moving back to Paris Saint-Germain from Spain in the summer of 2021, midfielders Kheira Hamraoui and Aminata Diallo had lots in common.Both France internationals, they followed the same Muslim faith, stayed in the same hotel in their first few weeks at the Paris club and shared a summer holiday to Tanzania. They were also in the same place at the same time when a brutal attack occurred in Chatou, west of Paris, on November 4, 2021.On that day, two years ago, the footballers’ lives took very different paths.On the journey back home from a team dinner, Hamraoui and Diallo were stopped by two masked men. One hit Hamraoui with an iron bar, targeting her legs, and the other held Diallo to the steering wheel. Lawyer Said Harir holds up images of client Hamraoui’s injuries in ...

Arsenal’s ‘embarrassing’ VAR episode, Hayes’ USWNT switch and ugly chants – The Briefing

6Nov

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Arsenal’s ‘embarrassing’ VAR episode, Hayes’ USWNT switch and ugly chants – The Briefing

Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday during this season The Athletic discusses three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s football.This was the weekend when Arsenal stuttered, Manchester United staved off a crisis for another week, Sheffield United got their first win of the season and Luis Diaz displayed astonishing levels of resolve to score Liverpool’s equaliser at Luton Town.Here we will consider Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s response to Newcastle’s winner, just how big a deal it is that Emma Hayes is taking the USWNT job and why ‘Always the victim…’ is not harmless terrace banter…What is the real embarrassment: the refereeing or Arsenal endorsing Arteta’s complaints?Maybe managers shouldn’t give interviews straight after games.Frustration is high, emotions heighte...

Unemployment, isolation, no insurance – the real impact of ACL injuries in women’s football

21Oct

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Unemployment, isolation, no insurance – the real impact of ACL injuries in women’s football

There is no consensus on how to remedy the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury crisis in women’s football. Maybe because there is no obvious solution. What exactly do we attribute the Rolodex-worth of 2023 World Cup absentees — England duo Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, Canada’s Janine Beckie and Vivianne Miedema of the Netherlands to name a few — to?The ACL Club has gained six new British members over the past month alone: Arsenal’s Teyah Goldie, Faye Kirby of Liverpool, Manchester United pair Emma Watson and Gabby George, Caroline Weir of Real Madrid and Aberdeen’s Laura Holden.GO DEEPERManchester United defender George suffers ACL injuryHow big a role does the menstrual cycle — 2017 research suggests that ACL laxity and risk of injury may increase in the ovulatory phase — have...