Worldwide women's news

[red card]

3 bids have come in for WWC 2027.

We have Breaking New Ground (BNG) bid from BEL/NED/GER who were the first to express interest 3 years ago. They have put forward 13 host cities that are within 300km of each other. Germany's 3 largest cities aren't included. They promise 50% revenue growth compared to WWC 2023 (US$850m vs $570m). Ticket prices will be US$21-75 for group stage.

 

Brasil's bid has 10 host cities which are also 10/12 cities that hosted 2014 WC. Tickets will be US$17-52 for group stage. Brasil's revenue projection was much lower than 2023 WWC but didn't include media rights revenue.

USA/MEX New Heights bid aims to leverage 2026 WC infrastructure. Min stadium capacity will be 65k with projected attendance of 4.5m. Same 11 US cities & 3 Mexican cities from 2026 are proposed for 2027. No ticket prices were disclosed but said premium pricing is expected. Projected revenue is US$3b.

South Africa withdrew their interest last month as they're focusing on 2031.

Site inspection takes place in February. Winning bid will be decided May 17, 2024 at FIFA's Bangkok congress.

https://www.dw.com/en/europe-and-americas-fight-to-host-2027-womens-world-cup/a-67675870

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by red card

[red card]

FIFA/FIFPRO put out a report on online abuse/hate speech directed at players during WWC 23. Via AI, 5.1 million posts and comments were analyzed across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube. 87% of the abusive material was made on X.

1 in 5 players received “targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging”. Players at the WWC23 were 29% more likely to be the targets of abuse compared to players at WC22, despite the smaller total engagement for WWC23.

General abuse at 23% led the way in the breakdown of the abusive messaging while the rate of homophobic comments at 20% was almost double that of the WC22. Large amounts of abuse were triggered by politicians' posts. 67% of all online abuse came from North America. 

USWNT most targeted team for abuse, followed by Argentina & England. Canada wasn't in top 10.

One US player (not disclosed but likely Rapinoe) and one Argentine player were the most targeted. 2-3 specific US players received the majority of political abuse. Day of USWNT exit had by far the largest spike in abuse comments, specifically in the comments under Biden's post about the team

Argentine player was Yamila Rodriguez who was primariliy targeted because of her Ronaldo tattoo. 

 

[red card]

ESPN 2023 top 50 women players includes no Canadians. Last year, there were 4 led by Buchanan.

Of the 30+ voters, there were no based in Canada, South America or Asia (unless Australia is included).

By league, only 5 are represented with 68% of the players coming from 2 leagues. WSL leads with 18, followed by Liga F with 16, then it is 6 for D1 Arkema, 5 each for Bundesliga & NWSL.

By country, there are 17 represented led by England with 10 and then Spain at 9. Of Concacaf countries, USA has 4, Haiti and Jamaica have 1 each. US has no players in the top 10.

 

 

[narduch]

 

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Barcelona coach Jonathan Giráldez has announced he won't re-sign for the club, he's likely going to the US. Word is that Washington Spirit offered half a million euros to buy Giráldez out of his contract for the start of the US season, but he declined. Logical, he has a real chance to win another Champions League. So we'll see if he goes to Spirit half-way through the year, like in June.

I don't know if the potential salary can't be matched by the club or if he really wants a new challenge. Would they pay him half a million? In all honesty, I'd say he's one of the top 5 women's coaches in the world, he's very solid, this year with major injuries he's adjusted excellently.

The NWSL seems to be looking at Spanish coaches, after Amorós signed for Gotham and led them to the Championship last year. He has only ever coached women, starting at Spurs as an assistant over a decade ago. Giráldez has only ever coached women as well.

I think this category of women's coach is interesting, as it is a modest career path but certainly, if you have a solid reputation there are plenty of opportunities out there, salaries and funding must be rising in clubs and NTs around the world.

[BearcatSA]

On 12/14/2023 at 6:45 PM, red card said:

ESPN 2023 top 50 women players includes no Canadians. Last year, there were 4 led by Buchanan.

Of the 30+ voters, there were no based in Canada, South America or Asia (unless Australia is included).

By league, only 5 are represented with 68% of the players coming from 2 leagues. WSL leads with 18, followed by Liga F with 16, then it is 6 for D1 Arkema, 5 each for Bundesliga & NWSL.

By country, there are 17 represented led by England with 10 and then Spain at 9. Of Concacaf countries, USA has 4, Haiti and Jamaica have 1 each. US has no players in the top 10.

 

 

I mentioned this in the CWNT thread but it is good to get the numbers break down.  I am curious to see The Guardian's annual list coming soon.

[red card]

Guardian's top player 2023 is Bonmati, followed by Kerr and Paralluelo. Last year, Bonmati was 4th while Kerr was 3rd. Putellas went from #1 in 2022 and 2021 to not on the list due to her injury.

Lawrence is top Canadian at #75, followed by #91 Sheridan and #94 Fleming. Last year, Lawrence was #57 and #14 in 2021. Sheridan fell from #77 while Fleming dropped from #63.

Buchanan completely dropped off after being #46 last year. Sinclair also came off the list. Gilles is only other Canadian that could have made the top 100.

By countries, of the 28 represented, the Big 2 are Spain and England which accounted for 27% of the players. Tier 2 countries are Netherlands, USA, Sweden, France, Germany and Japan. Tier 3 includes Canada, Brasil and Norway.

By leagues, of the 8 represented, the Big 2 are WSL and Liga F which accounted for 55% of the players. Tier 2 leagues are D1 Arkema, NWSL and Frauen Bundesliga. Tier 3 leagues are Serie A, ligaMX and WE. 

It was voted by 112 former players, current/former coaches and media. 4 Canadians on the list were Amy Walsh and 3 who cover Canadian soccer: Equalizer's Johal (also covers Caps), TSN's Johnson and Canadian Soccer Daily's Kourabi. Other Canadian options could have been Moscato, Rustad and Wilkinson.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2024/jan/09/the-100-best-female-footballers-in-the-world-2023

Edited January 12 by red card

[red card]

For women's football, DAZN is removing it's paywalls for the remainder of this season where there isn't another rights holder in the country. For Canada, D1 Arkema hasn't been shown by DAZN.

Otherwise, matches from Liga F, D1 Arkema, Serie A & Saudi Premier League will be shown on DAZN Women's Football Youtube. Matches also likely to be shown on DAZN's recently launched FAST channel that is freely available on certain smart tvs like LG.

After paying €7m/year for UWCL rights with the view to paywall coverage after 2 years on Youtube, DAZN scrapped the paywall shift and kept the matches free for this season. Other media companies are only paying €1.1m/year for the rights.

DAZN's co-CEO of women's sport basically said they can't yet monetize women's football: What we see in women’s football is if you put a paywall up, there is a small proportion of people that are prepared to pay for it. Women’s football fans don’t exhibit those strong pay‑TV characteristics that we’ve seen around premium football in domestic markets, where you see customers make a real pay choice in order to interact with something. Women’s football fans are just not there yet.

DAZN's New Deal for women's football wants sponsors, clubs and other media to help out: We see two possible futures. In one, stakeholders come together to build a major global commercial sport. In the other, progress is slow and a golden opportunity to accelerate growth is lost.

The women’s game has significant commercial potential. The opportunity must be seized now. It requires a venture capital mindset, with an investment horizon measured over several years.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/jan/17/dazn-lifts-paywall-on-womens-football-to-encourage-growth-and-investment

[red card]

Chelsea use Fleming's proceeds to put a down payment on Colombia's Mayra Ramirez. She is basically a replacement for the injured Kerr.

At age 24, she has torn her ACL and was largely rejected by all Spanish clubs. She joined Levante from Sporting de Huelva in 2022 and scored 32 in 95 in liga F. She was off the charts at the World Cup.

€500k transfer fee is new record in the women's game, ahead of the €405k paid for Keira Walsh by Barcelona.

 

Edited January 26 by red card

[BearcatSA]

Excellent pick up for Chelsea.  Versatile attacker:  outpaces bigger but slower defenders, outmuscles the smaller ones.

[red card]

Deloiite put out their Football Money League for women. Unfortunately, teams from countries like the USA, Australia, Japan, Norway, Sweden didn't provide info.

So, Barcelona leads with €13.4m in revenues. 8 of the top 15 teams are from the WSL. There are 2 each from liga F & Bundesliga and 1 each from D1 Arkema, liga BPI & Serie A.

Average revenue generated was €4.3m each, up 61% YoY. Sponsorship are driving the upward curve, with commercial revenue accounting for 58% of 14 clubs’ total revenue, followed by matchday 22% and broadcast 20%.

Zero clubs are profitable. The average wages/revenue ratio stood at 106% (the comparative figure for the top 20 men’s clubs is 59%). The majority remain reliant on contributions from their associated men’s club to help bridge the funding shortfall. 

Many NWSL sides run up six-figure losses. All of the WSL’s 12 clubs are bankrolled by a parent men’s team. Kelly Simmons, who was previously director at the FA, has earmarked 2031 for WSL clubs to break even. 

So, now one or two are saying there needs to be a wider conversation to be had about women’s sport media’s obsession with good news stories in coverage of so much of the boom period. There needs to be a bigger debate about the reality of the women’s sport economy. Things are running at a loss.

So much of women’s sport remains propped up by the instability of football business and willing investors, not commercial deals, yet. Until football and women’s sport can move away from the bailout and benefactor philosophy then it will be stuck in the same cycle, searching for a hero. The reality is there is no magic wand. (This also sounds like the situation in Canadian soccer).

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league-women.html

Edited January 26 by red card

[rkomar]

I guess the hope is that the continued growth in audience will outpace the current losses, so no need to start panicking yet.  If revenue growth stalls before then, it might be time to start worrying.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 1/27/2024 at 12:34 AM, red card said:

Deloiite put out their Football Money League for women. Unfortunately, teams from countries like the USA, Australia, Japan, Norway, Sweden didn't provide info.

So, Barcelona leads with €13.4m in revenues. 8 of the top 15 teams are from the WSL. There are 2 each from liga F & Bundesliga and 1 each from D1 Arkema, liga BPI & Serie A.

Average revenue generated was €4.3m each, up 61% YoY. Sponsorship are driving the upward curve, with commercial revenue accounting for 58% of 14 clubs’ total revenue, followed by matchday 22% and broadcast 20%.

Zero clubs are profitable. The average wages/revenue ratio stood at 106% (the comparative figure for the top 20 men’s clubs is 59%). The majority remain reliant on contributions from their associated men’s club to help bridge the funding shortfall. 

Many NWSL sides run up six-figure losses. All of the WSL’s 12 clubs are bankrolled by a parent men’s team. Kelly Simmons, who was previously director at the FA, has earmarked 2031 for WSL clubs to break even. 

So, now one or two are saying there needs to be a wider conversation to be had about women’s sport media’s obsession with good news stories in coverage of so much of the boom period. There needs to be a bigger debate about the reality of the women’s sport economy. Things are running at a loss.

So much of women’s sport remains propped up by the instability of football business and willing investors, not commercial deals, yet. Until football and women’s sport can move away from the bailout and benefactor philosophy then it will be stuck in the same cycle, searching for a hero. The reality is there is no magic wand. (This also sounds like the situation in Canadian soccer).

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league-women.html

We are led to believe the women at FCB are indeed profitable, or at least are not losing money. That comes out in the club financial reports and is public. Though I am sure Deloitte has a solid financial criteria, there could be the factor of how Barça shifts part of sponsorship deals over to the women, or captures interested sponsors by convincing them to start with the women then move "up".

Barcelona operates basketball, handball, futsal, roller hockey, all at a greater and clearer loss. 

There's no question that the Barça model presents numerous financial issues. First, we are huge compared to some other teams in the league, who can barely make the minimum salary requirements (a bit over a thousand euros a month). Then, the fan potential is far higher, so a few key games a year go into our major venue (as with Bilbao, Atlético de Madrid) and that is a major financial boost; related to that is Real Madrid joining the league, which provides all teams with another attractive visiting rival, and justifies larger venues as well. Still in women, on tv, Real Madrid-Barça is the most watched match. This latter factor is a positive driving force for the English league, and for France, Italy, Germany: rivals on the men's side sharpen interest on the women's. It is not a factor in the US where all rivalries have been forged from scratch.

Finally, as we have many elite players at Barça, certainly the best roster anywhere, we are in a bind about how to pay them all accordingly. We have two Ballon d'Or winners, but if we pay them what that deserves (say a million plus), then we are creating salary imbalances in the roster. Imagine what Lucy Bronze must make. Then we are also signing teen starlets from all over, and to do that you have to compete on salaries as well. We may put the whole model at risk unless we let certain players move on. This suggests that financially, though Barça could become a long-term superteam, dominating on the basis of roster and playing quality, sustaining that roster financially is problematic. It is probably better to not hoard the talent and let it "float" off to other teams to ensure the financials. It is better to slightly weaken the team, then try to compete with that, instead of getting over our heads.

Edited January 28 by Unnamed Trialist

[red card]

WSL is moving away from being under the FA to running it's own show a la the Premier League after the end of this season.

Nikki Doucet, the CEO of the unnamed NewCo is a Canadian who was a general manager for Nike Women UK/Ireland and an investment banker with Citi. She was initially appointed as a consultant to lead the takeover discussions.

She is getting a bit of flak for her "football as a festival" comment. 

 

[red card]

Full context: There’s a clear, though understandable, vein of frustration from Horan over how her own performances are understood, even from the USWNT’s own fanbase. To illustrate her point, Horan brings up that many viewers will take a television commentator’s analysis at face value.

“American soccer fans, most of them aren’t smart,” she says. “They don’t know the game. They don’t understand. (But) it’s getting better and better.” She takes a brief pause, sensing that those words, too, will cause a stir. “I’m gonna piss off some people,” she continues, “but the game is growing in the U.S. People are more and more knowledgeable, but so much of the time people take what the commentators say, right? My mom does it!” She breaks into laughter. “My mom says, ‘Julie Foudy said you had such a good game!’ And I’m here, just going, ‘I was f—ing s— today.’

When playing with Lyon in France, Horan says, things are different. “From what I’ve heard, people understand my game a little bit more, a sense of my football and the way I play,” she says. “It is the French culture. Everyone watches football. People know football.”

Horan also said American players aren't serious enough: The traditional pre-match starting XI photo. In the NWSL, more and more teams have started using the occasion for various hijinks; something that Horan’s European teammates bring up as an example of Americans not taking their business seriously. It’s clear that it gets under her skin, too.

“I want professionalism,” she admits. “Those little things, they really irked me. I don’t think I could do it, and maybe I’m wrong in saying that, I don’t know. It just bothers me. We put so much into this game, and it’s just like a joke sometimes.”

She’s quick to point out she’s not going to be the one who shuts it down if it works for others. That’s not what she’s trying to say. It’s just that, ultimately, for her, it’s about the football.

 

[red card]

Who needs promotion/relegation when you've got absorption/dissolution. The US Soccerwarz have moved into the women's game. 

The USL Super League was approved by USSF for D1 sanctioning. The USL SL 2024/25 inaugural season will follow the international calendar and kick off in August with clubs in eight markets: Brooklyn, Carolina (Charlotte), DFW, Fort Lauderdale, Lexington, Spokane, Tampa Bay & DC.

USSF requires DI women’s outdoor leagues to have a minimum of 8 teams, 75% of clubs to play in markets with populations of at least 750k, and teams to have one principal owner with at least a 35% share with an individual net worth of at least US$15m, among other requirements.

It's TBD whether USL SL will compete with the NWSL in terms of salaries but they could likely target a few star players. USL SL will not employ a draft.

Only DC has both a NWSL & USL SL team. Two USL men’s ownership groups operate teams in NWSL – North Carolina and Louisville. 

USL men have a media deal with CBS/Paramount which also has a deal with NWSL.

USL SL also could be a competitor for Project 8 for undrafted NWSL Canadian college players and international players playing in tier 2 Euro clubs.

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Some record changes in player movements. 

They say the record purchase by Chelsea a few weeks ago of Levante's Mayra Ramírez was for 450,000 euros, up to half a million with extras. The idea was to replace Kerr with her long-term injury.

The previous highest transfer was Barça paying 400,000 for Keira Walsh from Man City. I got those from press reports, Wiki is a bit different. The just under 300 thousand € paid by Thorn for Fleming is about the 7-8th highest ever paid. 

Other big player movements are Oshoala going to Bay FC for 150,000€, the lower price because she's close to being out of contract and a bit older.

Barça starting keeper Sandra Paños, who refused to go to the World Cup, and perhaps has lost her regular starting spot because Cata Coll, her second, excelled in the WC, has announced she's leaving as well. She's a top class keeper, age 31, and can leave end of season on a free transfer.

Unloading a deep roster opens up salary space, though weakens a roster: this is the problem faced by the more dominant clubs in Europe, where it may be better to be thinner to be more financially sustainable. If the players unloaded go to a European rival, that makes CL more complicated, but if they go to the US, offloading talent works.

Here's a dilemma: are there enough top teams in the world for all the top players? Instead of hoarding talent, if it gets moved, can new teams with growing budgets absorb them at their deserved salaries? And will this create a broader base of strong clubs? In UEFA, we will still see a few blowouts in quarter finals of Champions League, something that round of 16 in men rarely sees. Will the spreading out of talent mean we'll start to see 20-30 strong clubs, instead of the current situation, where it is probably under 10?

Edited February 10 by Unnamed Trialist

[red card]

Another week, another new transfer record. Bay FC has paid €735k for Madrid CFF's Racheal Kundananji. 4 year contract worth US$2m in total. $2.5m when things like housing is included.

Bay FC's international star player focus now puts them over the NWSL international slot limit. Their international signings include VEN Castellanos, GHA Marfo, NGA Oshoala, SCO Beattie and CAN Proulx. 

All the money spent on players seems to mean that their social media game is weak.

 

Unlike in the men's game, the recent record signings have come 2nd tier women football countries of Zambia & Colombia. Also today, Bayern paid €400k to get Oberdorf released from Wolfsburg.

 

 

 

Edited February 14 by red card

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, red card said:

Another week, another new transfer record. Bay FC has paid €735k for Madrid CFF's Racheal Kundananji. 4 year contract worth US$2m in total. $2.5m when things like housing is included.

Bay FC's international star player focus now puts them over the NWSL international slot limit. Their international signings include VEN Castellanos, GHA Marfo, NGA Oshoala, ENG Beattie and CAN Proulx. 

All the money spent on players seems to mean that their social media game is weak.

 

Unlike in the men's game, the recent record signings have come 2nd tier women football countries of Zambia & Colombia. Also today, Bayern paid €400k to get Oberdorf released from Wolfsburg.

Wow, that is a massive injection of money for Madrid CFF, which is not Real Madrid. I wonder what they'll do with it. 

They have been around longer, play in a suburb, do not really have great possibilities of going far in terms of fans or merchandising. No men's team, one of only three teams in Liga F with no men's affiliation of importance.

The team is fourth, good season, Kundananji has 8 goals, tied for fifth in the league.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Jenni Hermoso's first major interview or statement since last year's incidents and hearings.

On Tuesday Spain host France in the inaugural Women's Nations League final.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68417181

[The Ref]

Jenni Hermoso, Hot Lips!

[narduch]

U17 World Cup is becoming annual and will expand to 24 teams. Morocco will host the first 5 events starting in 2025.

 

 

[red card]

Canada moves up 1 spot to be 9th ranked. Spain remains first and extended their lead. England moves up 2 to be #2. USA drops 2 to #4 because they lost to Mexico who moved up 4 to #31.

Biggest mover is Solomon Islands who went up 21 to 88th. In Concacaf, Puerto Rico moved up the most by 18 to be 85th. 

Zambia, Puerto Rico, Kosovo, Solomon Islands, Spain, El Salvador, Nepal, Lebanon, Tanzania and Saudi Arabia all achieved their highest ever points totals.

Iraq joined the rankings to make it 193 countries.

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Watched part of Spain vs Czech Republic yesterday afternoon while doing something else, and surprised: Czechs were very good. Ranked 30th in the world. 

As I was returning from working out listening on the radio, they scored 1st second half, Spain had to come back madly to win in the final minutes. And played in Spain. These are the Euro qualifiers. 

The competitive level in women's football is absolutely rocketing, the sport is going to give us huge surprises and I am not sure that the dust will settle at all.

[BearcatSA]

On 4/10/2024 at 2:06 AM, Unnamed Trialist said:

The competitive level in women's football is absolutely rocketing, the sport is going to give us huge surprises and I am not sure that the dust will settle at all.

Definitely.  The tactical and technical areas have really picked up.  The days of simply "out-athleting" the opposition by the usual powers of the women's game are not good enough anymore.  I enjoyed the last WWC quite a bit because of that:  the overall quality and product were better.

Edited April 12 by BearcatSA