Kerr was up against the outstanding Maya Le Tissier but the United defender was left licking her wounds Sam Kerr waits. Maya Le Tissier waits. There is a throw-in to be taken and a Chelsea player down injured on the turf and everyone else is just sort of milling about trying to look busy. Le Tissier puts a hand on Kerr’s shoulder to let her know she’s there. Kerr shuffles her feet and feints both ways to let Le Tissier know she could disappear at any moment. But mostly, they wait.And when you think about it, waiting is perhaps the defining sensation of this job. Waiting on the back row of the bus before it leaves. Waiting for the team...
Journey that started as her township team’s only white girl has taken in a World Cup, coming out as gay and launching a clubMoving the Goalposts: sign up for our free weekly newsletterJanine van Wyk was never afraid to be different. As a child she was desperate to play football, even though none of the girls she knew wanted to join her. As a teenager keen to turn competitive, she headed out of her comfort zone in white suburbia to a black township (an area demarcated by the apartheid government for black South Africans to live in) because it was her only option, even though no one else was doing it.Now 36, Van Wyk has captained South Africa for a...
Gianni Infantino threatens a World Cup blackout yet Fifa is the architect of the chronic underfunding in the women’s gamePrepare the spandex: women’s football superman Gianni “I have four daughters” Infantino is here to save the day.The president of Fifa has threatened a broadcasting blackout of the Women’s World Cup in the “big five” European countries of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, blaming bids for the broadcast rights for the tournament that he said were a “slap in the face” to the players and “all women worldwide”. Continue reading...
From workload to making sure the best equipment is used, there is much to look into after spate of ACL injuries to top playersWhenever I see a player go down with a serious injury in the women’s game it is painful to watch because you know the road to recovery is a long one. It has a heavy impact on a career, forcing an individual to miss months of action and potentially life-changing moments.Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas, Lyon’s Ellie Carpenter and Arsenal’s Leah Williamson are three of the many players at the top of the European club game to have sustained an ACL injury over the past year. Putellas was forced out of the Euros as a result and Williamson will...
Chelsea will go to Barcelona with hope, Arsenal’s mentality is changing, City are flying and the relegation battle is hotting upChelsea may have lost 1-0 in the first leg of the Women’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona but afterwards they were relatively buoyant. Playing against the possession-heavy and quick-moving Catalans is one of the trickiest tests in football. “You have to be in the tie. We’re in the tie,” said the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes. She is right but Barcelona walked away the more content side. Yes, they did not capitalise on their dominance to a greater extent, but their play (and injuries to Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan) forced Chelsea to change shape, to a back five. As the...