The CONCACAF W Gold Cup is UPON US 🏆

It’s Monday, February 12th. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Good afternoon, TWG readers!

I hope this email helps in some small way to cure our collective case of the Post-Super Bowl Mondays. It has been a magical week at TWG World HQ: We released a truly fascinating interview with Barcelona and England’s Lucy Bronze last Thursday. Lucy and I had some laughs as we reminisced on our time at Man City together — she is a great storyteller with so much experience and perspective on the women’s football landscape. We discussed England's epic 2022 Euro's win and that Chloe Kelly goal in the Final. We also spoke about her experience in Barcelona and even heard from her dog, Narla. Give it a listen if you haven't yet, and email me at [email protected] to tell me whom you would like me to interview next. 

b. 2024 is already keeping us busy here at TWG — and luckily, this is only the beginning. Gold Cup starts this weekend, but we'll have to wait until next Tuesday the 20th to see the USWNT take the field. We're so excited to cover everything and continue perfecting our Women's Game Weekly Graphic. Thank you, readers and listeners, for all your feedback so far — like this email, from Jake D., who said about our new visual, "Huge thanks for this! I kept missing Arsenal women’s games but finally caught one this weekend thanks to your graphic!"

c. Since we love you so much this Valentine's week, we have another very special interview dropping on Thursday — with CRYSTAL DUNN! You can get excited for this one — we talk about her decision to move to Gotham FC this past offseason, her excitement about new USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, and her experience being a mom in the NWSL and USWNT. You're welcome. <3

Remember, you can follow us on IG, Twitter, and TikTok @womensgameMIB. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and forward this email or this link to a friend!

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter! 

Love,

Sam <3

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“LOCAL NWSL OWNER WINS SUPER BOWL” 🏈🏆. PLUS, the night of big-time ad dollars 💸📺 began with an INCREDIBLE DOVE COMMERCIAL 🕊️, airing an essential self-esteem message for young girls in sport. According to a Dove study, 45% of young girls quit sport by the age of 14, often citing body image issues. #Keepherconfident

I. The CONCACAF W Gold Cup is UPON US 🏆

From February 20 through March 10 in stadiums across Texas and California, the United States will host 12 top teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL for the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup. The two and a half week competition features an array of dominant international sides such as Canada, Brazil and the US, as well as a slew of aspirational up-and-comers including Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.

For the United States, with the Olympics in Paris looming this summer, this tournament will serve as a proving ground for players such as San Diego-born striker Mia Fishel and 2022 NWSL Rookie of the Year Jaedyn Shaw who are hoping to earn their spot. As the USA’s interim manager Twila Kilgore released a 23 player roster last week, the trend of evolution that started in December continues forth. With Emma Hayes (who will remain with Chelsea through May, taking up managerial duties with the USWNT after winning the Champions League — or so she told Matt Crocker) consulting Kilgore on player selection and tactics, there is no place for Alex Morgan, preferring instead to offer tournament-style experience for younger talent.

Competition to make the Olympic roster will be fierce, as it allows for only 18 players in France. What’s clear as the US moves forward is that nobody’s place is safe. Of the 23 players Kilgore named, only 12 of them were on the 2023 World Cup roster. 

For More: The great Nancy Armour breaks down the squad selection and surprise omissions in USA Today 🇺🇸🏆

One last note: Incredible to see Mallory Swanson return to train with the US for the first time since tragically tearing her patellar tendon last April, ahead of the World Cup. ICYMI: catch Mal Swanson’s appearance with our own Sam Mewis on for The Women’s Game Pod. Celebrate her return to USWNT training with a listen, where she talks about the extent of the injury and her journey to return. WATCH ON YOUTUBE HERE, or wherever you get your podcasts.

II. The world’s inaugural Ballon d’Or Feminin recipient, Ada Hegerberg, drops a startling interview in which she reveals the agonies that have been baked into her stellar-career 🇳🇴💔

Ada Hegerberg, the 28-year-old powerhouse striker is among the best-known players in the world for a reason. On the pitch, Hegerberg’s goal-scoring powers have taken her from Norway to Germany to France, where she’s spent a decade collecting a cabinet filled with trophies including the first-ever Ballon d’Or Feminin, six Champions League (UWCL) trophies, and the current all-time UWCL goal-record with 64 and counting. But Hegerberg’s legend is also earned off the field, where the Norwegian wonder has been among the most outspoken advocates for the growth of the game globally. 

Last week, Hegerberg dropped a harrowing interview with L’Equipe in France, revealing the conditions of neglect she’s faced on myriad issues in Lyon. That includes insufficient support for medical needs, as research remains deficient regarding women’s bodies: 

“The truth is, I’ve been through hell — suffering from the lack of perspective on female athletes’ bodies. I found myself very alone in my search for solutions, but I managed. I also consulted a Norwegian psychologist at the end of last season.” Hegerberg also spoke about her contract with the eight-time UWCL winners, “OL is still an attractive place to play, just look at the names of the players. But the reality is that France has fallen behind”, and the lack of support to grow for the game in France. READ HERE. 

III. The USA officially launches a second, top-division women’s soccer league ⚽🇺🇸

Big news for fans of women’s soccer in the USA 🇺🇸: the US Soccer Federation officially approved Division One sanctioning for the USL Super League. On February 9, the USL Super League announced its new top-flight status, alongside the eight teams competing in their first season this August 2024. 

Those eight teams will set off in Spokane (Washington), Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas), Tampa Bay (Florida), Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Lexington (Kentucky), Charlotte (North Carolina), Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn (New York). Eight additional markets have already been identified for eventual expansion across the US. For now, just New York and D.C. compete with an NWSL club in the same market. 

The introduction of a second top-division women’s league in the USA will provide more expansive opportunities for young women looking to turn professional, competing at a high level, and growing the game across our nation. But the Super League may also compete with the USA’s pre-existing NWSL, now entering its 13th season with 14 teams. How that competition plays out over the years will be interesting to observe, though it could force a back and forth of improved standards for both leagues in regard to player support, pay, location, fan-engagement and much more. All of which would be a positive for the game in total. 

MORE: Originally designed to be a Division II league, the USL Super League announced plans to apply for their division one status last May. From Jeff Kassouf, a look into what this means. 

IV. Premier League set to lend 20 million pounds to English professional women’s football 💵 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

In a display of support for continued growth of the women’s game in England, the Premier League is set to lend 20.2 million pounds to NewCo, an independent body set to run England’s top-flight WSL and second-division Championship from next season. The interest-free loan was approved last Wednesday, and is expected to be repaid once NewCo is making 126 million pounds in revenue. 

V. News and Notes 📰

1. THE LIONESS EFFECT 🦁: women and girls’ football teams doubled in size across just 7 years in England, according to a BBC study. The largest uptick came from 2022 to 2023, just after England’s historic Euro victory on home soil in 2022. Lucy Bronze spoke with Sam Mewis on this week’s edition of The Women’s Game about this incredible trend, and the legacy that the right-back from Berwick-upon-Tweed helped leave upon her nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. 

2. The UEFA Champions League quarter final matchups are set! Chelsea 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 plays the Dutch ascendant powerhouse Ajax 🇳🇱, mighty Barcelona 🇪🇸 meets Norway’s Brann 🇳🇴, the power of Paris, PSG 🇫🇷, faces-off with Sweden’s Häcken 🇸🇪, and eight-time champion Lyon 🇫🇷 sets their sight on Portugal’s Benfica 🇵🇹. Looming USA manager, and current Chelsea gaffer, Emma Hayes, talked about facing Ajax, the side of 16 year-old American, Lily Yohannes, of Springfield, VA. More on her below!!!

3. England’s WSL had an eventful week of Conti Cup and FA Cup play. The USA’s San Diego-born Mia Fishel 🇺🇸 started in Chelsea’s 5-0 defeat of Sunderland in the Conti Cup Quarterfinal. And Colombia’s Mayra Ramírez 🇨🇴, who became the most expensive signing in women’s football when she signed for Chelsea from Spanish club Levante this winter, scored her first goal for the club in their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Mayra’s backheel flick of wonder is WORTH THE WATCH. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

4. Washington Spirit owner, Michele Kang, says she doesn’t want women’s football to be a charity, and has ambitious visions for helping the game grow globally. Over the course of a busy week, Kang’s ownership of Lyon is becoming official, while her London City Lionesses struggle at the bottom of England’s second league. 🇺🇸🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

5. 🇺🇸The United States has officially qualified for the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World World Cup, which takes place in the Dominican Republic this October 🇩🇴. They clinched qualification with a 7-1 semifinal win over Haiti 🇭🇹, before defeating Mexico 🇲🇽 in Sunday’s Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship. The stars and stripes outscored opponents 32-2 in their trophy-lifting run.  

6. 🌍WOMEN’S Euro NEWS ⚽: Sweden and Denmark 🇸🇪🇩🇰 announced they will team up to bid for Euro 2029. Both nations were part of a failed, four-country, Nordic-nation bid for Euro 2025 (alongside Norway and Finland 🇳🇴🇫🇮). They lost that bid to 2025’s host, Switzerland🇨🇭, who unfortunately announced cuts to funding over the weekend. A report from Swiss publication SRF indicates the original sum of 15 million Swiss Francs has been controversially cut to just 4 million Francs. 

7. GOAL OF THE WEEK? Tough call… 🇯🇵 Japan’s Yui Hasegawa sweet strike for Manchester City in their Leagues Cup clash with Tottenham could take the cake. But is this the best indirect free kick you’ve ever seen? 🇲🇽 Liga MX Feminil’s defending champions, Tigres, sent us soaring with that play. 

8. Cutie of the week is more clear: 🇦🇺West Ham’s Australian linchpin Katrina Gorry’s two-year-old daughter, Harper Gorry, announced this month’s Matildas squad for the runaway win. And Australia has an important window ahead: they’re still fighting to qualify for this summer’s Olympics, and will face Uzbekistan in a two-leg Women’s Olympic Qualifying Final for the Asia region. While favorites to win, the Matildas will be playing with some pressure, as they hope to build on a Matildas effect of their own, after last summer’s incredible World Cup. 

VI. Great Reads

i. Suzy Wrack on the epidemic of ACL injuries in Women’s Football

ii. ‘How do you create a women’s football fanbase?’ a fascinating case study takes a look at WSL’s Bristol City

iii. A magical look at Gambian photographer, Sarjo Baldeh, who was one of the very few female photographers to shoot this winter’s African Cup of Nations, and her hopes to launch her way to shooting the 2026 North American World Cup. 🇬🇲🌍📸

VII. Parting Shots 🥃

Lily Yohannes, the 16 year-old Springfield, Virginia born midfield talent tearing up Europe in UWCL stays cooking (and dancing) for Ajax in the regular season. On Saturday, she scored a goal, hit the griddy, and set up her teammate for a perfectly weighted assist in Ajax’ 4-0 victory over Feyenoord. 🇺🇸🇳🇱