March 23 – English women’s football has struck a ground-breaking deal reported to be worth around £24 million with Sky Sports and the BBC that will include up to 18 Women’s Super League matches per season being shown on the latter, the first time the league will be screened live to free-to-air channels.
By Paul Nicholson
March 11 – Women should not be left out of football’s rebuilding programme and that although positive steps have been taken by men for the women’s game, more can be done. These were two clear messages coming out of the just concluded Female Leadership webinars organised by sports integrity body SIGA.
March 10 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will kick off its 2021 season with the NWSL Challenge Cup April 9.
March 9 – FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura opened the Female Leadership in Sport Summit yesterday with a message that the world governing body has at its a heart a “mission to transform FIFA into an egalitarian organisation”.
March 8 – The 7th AFC Women’s Football Day – coinciding with International Women’s Day – has seen 33 of the Asian Football Confederation’s member associations hold special initiatives promoting female participation in the game.
February 26 – The SheBelieves Cup in the US completed earlier this week with a resounding 6-0 win over for the hosts over Argentina, two goals for Megan Rapinoe, and record viewing figures.
February 16 – UEFA has drawn the last-16 ties for its Women’s Champions League to be played 3/4 and 10/11 March.
January 28 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US has released dates for the start of its season that will open April 9 with the NWSL Challenge Cup.
January 20 – Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, nations bidding to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, will play in a tri-nations tournament in February to promote their hosting credentials.
January 202 – The English Football Association has appointed Hege Riise to take over the role as interim national women’s head coach and fill the hole left by the sudden departure of Phil Neville to Inter Miami.
January 14 – Former US women’s international goalkeeper Hope Solo says the current national team are not doing nearly enough in their quest for equal pay.
January 13 – Orlando, Florida, has rapidly become the go-to destination for centralised tournaments in north America. Having hosted MLS and Concacaf competition during the pandemic, the next visitor will U.S. Soccer in February for the SheBelieves Cup women’s national team competition.
December 30 – The expanded 32-team Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 will guarantee 11 direct slots to European nations and six to Asian nations.
December 18 – Conmebol has said that it will organise the women’s Copa America every two years from 2022 onwards. The organisation’s president Alejandro Dominguez has also proposed an intercontinental club championship for the women’s game.
December 7 – The National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Utah Royals FC franchise will relocate to Kansas City, once the sale of the team is finalised, according to US media reports.