With three weeks before the European Championships begin, it was decision day for Sarina Wiegman as she narrowed down her England squad from 28 to 23. A hard task for any manager but particularly one who is so in the spotlight ahead of a home Euros.
Since March 2020, Covid has disrupted everyone’s lives as the world came to a halt. Football followed with the resumption of play inevitably staggered across all pathways.
With the impact of the pandemic hitting disabled people and their ability to take part in sport, the FA have launched “Football Your Way” to enable a return to activity for people with a disability. It is a plan designed around seven pillars – FA Culture; Participation; Talent Pathway; National Teams; Coaching Development; Marketing and Communications; and Partnerships.
“It is a very special moment being a childhood fan, being at the Emirates and scoring an important goal like that. You work with a player every day and they get to live a moment like this. We’re all very happy for the goal as a team but also for Lotte as an individual and understand that it’s a special moment.”
As Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall alluded to, football has a habit of tugging at those heart strings. Those special moments it creates were no better illustrated than when Lotte Wubben-Moy found herself in space in the box to hammer home a valuable equaliser for her side. Having come through the Academy and an Arsenal fan through and through, it was the perfect script for the young defender’s first start at the Emirates.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, we caught up with Tottenham’s Rehanne Skinner to find out about being a woman in football and who inspires her.
“I have to say I was blown away with the girls in the second half the way they attacked the game…I thought physically, we just stepped up so many levels, and arguably could have scored more goals against a really dangerous team in Chelsea.”
Gareth Taylor was delighted with his Manchester City side as they lifted their fourth Continental Cup trophy, the second piece of silverware under his stewardship. His satisfaction was warranted after a second half performance which saw City dispatch of Chelsea in a way rarely seen these days.
“I just love those games [against Manchester City]. Every manager enjoys certain types of games…There’s zero to separate [us] year on year. I really respect them as a football club and what they’ve done for women’s football.”
On the eve of the 2022 Continental Cup Final, Emma Hayes was relishing the latest meeting between her Chelsea side and their close rivals, Manchester City. Despite all their battles over the last few years, this will in fact be the first time these two sides have met in a major final, with their semi-final meetings infamous at this stage.
“It feels great because the players have worked so hard. They’ve had a tough year. I don’t think there’s any hiding from that – the league table certainly doesn’t lie. I feel like they’ve really tried to come together, and they’ve done so well.”
There was a big sigh of relief from Everton’s Chris Roberts as his side earned their first league win since the end of November. It was a vital victory as they edged past Aston Villa on Wednesday night, leap-frogging Leicester City and extending the gap from the bottom to ten points.
In the last few seasons, Southampton have had strong FA Cup runs, with Marieanne Spacey-Cole’s side pushing Birmingham City all the way in last-year’s Fifth Round. This year, they look to go one step further and reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
The first international action of 2022 is here and it is a big one! This February will see the England host the Arnold Clark Cup; Wales, Scotland + Republic of Ireland in southern Spain; Northern Ireland with a couple of friendlies; and much more beside.
“I think it was a very, very entertaining game. I think it was the best game that has been played in the league so far this season. It was two very, very good teams. And I think both teams had chances to win the game.”
That was Jonas Eidevall’s conclusion to a scintillating night of football that saw the two best teams in the country go head-to head.
It is hard to disagree with him. Not many things are certain in life but entertaining London derbies in the FAWSL are one of them. We were in for a treat on Friday, an extravaganza of football that was described by one commentator as the “most exciting 0-0 draw” he’d ever seen.