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The Age
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
She was busted for cheating at the Olympics. Now she's coaching in the A-League
A few days before Imane Khelif became the centre of the world's attention, the biggest controversy at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris involved a drone. On the eve of New Zealand's first women's football match, Rebekah Stott spotted the craft hovering over the team's training session. 'We were just doing throw-ins, and I was waiting for Ali Riley to throw me the ball and I hear this noise,' Stott told Sam Mewis, the former American international, on her podcast The Women's Game last year. 'I'm a bit of a drone enthusiast, I've got one myself, and so I hear this noise, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh ... is that a Mavic Pro?'' Quite aside from the fact that flying drones above people was illegal in France, Stott's discovery unravelled one of the biggest scandals in women's football history. It turned out that the drone had been sent there by the Canadian national team, and that this was something they'd been doing for quite a while. Subsequent investigations by the Canadian media found that their junior and senior national teams, for both men and women, had been using drones as far back as 2016 to spy on opposition training sessions in a bid to gain insights on tactics and personnel. Canada's women were docked six points, hampering their bid to defend their Olympic title, and their coach Bev Priestman, one of her assistants and an analyst were all sent home. FIFA later banned the three of them from participating any football-related activity for a year – and ending any chance that Football Australia, who have long admired Priestman's coaching, would approach her to become the next Matildas coach. So when Wellington Phoenix appointed Priestman's wife, Emma Humphries, a Kiwi, to head up the club's academy, then announced that they would reveal the identity of the new head coach of their A-League Women's team in July – which just happened to be when Priestman's suspension was due to expire - all signs pointed to one thing. On Wednesday, three days after the ban ended, the worst-kept secret in the game was confirmed: Priestman has signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix, becoming arguably the most credentialled coach in ALW history, and also the most contentious.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
She was busted for cheating at the Olympics. Now she's coaching in the A-League
A few days before Imane Khelif became the centre of the world's attention, the biggest controversy at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris involved a drone. On the eve of New Zealand's first women's football match, Rebekah Stott spotted the craft hovering over the team's training session. 'We were just doing throw-ins, and I was waiting for Ali Riley to throw me the ball and I hear this noise,' Stott told Sam Mewis, the former American international, on her podcast The Women's Game last year. 'I'm a bit of a drone enthusiast, I've got one myself, and so I hear this noise, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh ... is that a Mavic Pro?'' Quite aside from the fact that flying drones above people was illegal in France, Stott's discovery unravelled one of the biggest scandals in women's football history. It turned out that the drone had been sent there by the Canadian national team, and that this was something they'd been doing for quite a while. Subsequent investigations by the Canadian media found that their junior and senior national teams, for both men and women, had been using drones as far back as 2016 to spy on opposition training sessions in a bid to gain insights on tactics and personnel. Canada's women were docked six points, hampering their bid to defend their Olympic title, and their coach Bev Priestman, one of her assistants and an analyst were all sent home. FIFA later banned the three of them from participating any football-related activity for a year – and ending any chance that Football Australia, who have long admired Priestman's coaching, would approach her to become the next Matildas coach. So when Wellington Phoenix appointed Priestman's wife, Emma Humphries, a Kiwi, to head up the club's academy, then announced that they would reveal the identity of the new head coach of their A-League Women's team in July – which just happened to be when Priestman's suspension was due to expire - all signs pointed to one thing. On Wednesday, three days after the ban ended, the worst-kept secret in the game was confirmed: Priestman has signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix, becoming arguably the most credentialled coach in ALW history, and also the most contentious.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Asian Cup: tough draw for Matildas, but chance to banish ghosts of India
As Tameka Yallop unfurled the purple scroll revealing the Matildas' final group-stage opponent for next year's Asian Cup, whispers rustled across the Sydney Town Hall crowd. South Korea. The same team that had knocked them out of the quarter-final of this tournament almost four years ago. The game that plunged Australian football fans and media into despair. Memories of India came rushing back. Furious calls for head coach sackings underlined widespread astonishment and growing concern over the direction of the team with a World Cup on the horizon. The Matildas were, after all, close to full-strength then. Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord were reaching their attacking peaks, Mary Fowler was emerging as Australia's newest star, Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley were at their flying wing-back best, Lydia Williams was still Australia's number one goalkeeper. They were expected to win the Asian Cup in 2022. Do we feel the same way now? Australia is a very different team to what they were the last time they competed for this trophy. Their fundamental core has shifted. Injuries and retirements have forced the side to figure out the next version of themselves, and nobody is quite sure what it looks like yet. Partly because the past 12 months under interim coach Tom Sermanni, the last coach to win this tournament for Australia back in 2010, was a year of stasis. With Football Australia taking far too long to appoint a predecessor to Tony Gustavsson, the team wasted several windows trotting out their tired senior players for friendlies when they should have been blooding the next generation instead. So who are the Matildas now? They've lost some older players, gained some newer ones. The form of some key figureheads – Kerr, Fowler, Katrina Gorry – remains uncertain. The team's recent performances haven't been convincing. Are they any better or any worse than they were four years ago? Just how quickly has Asia improved around them? Joe Montemurro, who took charge of his first camp earlier this month, now has just three windows left to figure it out. And they will have the hot spotlight of the nation upon them as they try to solve their past problems against the hardest group of the tournament. Their opening match against the Philippines in Perth on March 1 may seem like an easy one on paper. Australia have won all their previous matches, including an 8-0 drubbing in October 2023. But this is a nation with a plan: led by Australian Mark Torcaso, the Filipinas are full of international diaspora, particularly from the USA college system. Their gallant World Cup performances, an ever-improving youth pipeline, and a large fan community could prove trickier than anticipated. Iran, too – the lowest-ranked side in the group – are no push-overs. While the Matildas have met them just once, Iran defended brilliantly and kept them to just a 2-0 win. Their defeat of rising Asian nation, Jordan, in the final round of qualifiers shows a side steadily improving, and knowing Australia's age-old struggle to break down deep-lying defensive teams, could pose a problem. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion But it's South Korea that will cause the most concern. Never mind that the Matildas defeated them in two friendlies back in April; tournament football is a different fight, and South Korea, who reached the final in 2022 before losing to China, know how to grind through them. The shadow of India will stretch across this must-win group game. South Korea is also a nation that is moving on. Just three of their most recent call-ups have had over 100 caps, while half their current squad is aged below 25. That includes 21-year-old striker Jeon Yu-Gyeong, who stood alongside the 34-year-old Yallop on stage at last night's draw. Two players representing two very different moments for their national teams. Australia aren't without their glimpses of the future, though. Amy Sayer, Winonah Heatley, Teagan Micah, Charlie Grant, Jamilla Rankin and Holly McNamara have all begun to show their qualities in the vacuum of senior stars. And squad depth – as we've seen in the recent Women's Euro – could be critical to topping the group, thus avoiding some of Asia's biggest nations until World Cup qualification (which this tournament doubles as for the final time) is secured in the semi-finals. But with time slipping away and the Matildas' older core needing to reintegrate following a period of directionless wandering, is there enough time to do what needs to be done? Next year's Asian Cup will be a lot of things. A television spectacle, a commercial achievement, a moment in sporting history. It will also be a crucial litmus test; a chance to see just how far the Matildas have come – or, if the ghosts of their past still haunt them, how much further they have to go.
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
A-League: Unite Round not part of 2025-26 season
The A-League's Unite Round concept has been scrapped for the 2025-26 season. It's understood that the Australian Professional Leagues' contract with the NSW government for Unite Round has not been renewed. The deal, which was worth $12m, initially was for Sydney to have hosting rights to the A-League men's and women's grand finals for three years. However, outrage over that decision led to a change after just one season of both grand finals being played in Sydney. The deal was revamped for its remaining two years, with NSW instead being awarded rights to the newly conceived Unite Round, a concept similar to the NRL's Magic Round and the AFL's Gather Round An entire round of men's and women's A-League matches were played in Sydney, with the venues used across the two stagings of Unite Round being Allianz Stadium, CommBank Stadium, Leichhardt Oval and Jubilee Stadium. However, when the draw for the new A-League's men's and women's seasons is released in the coming weeks, it won't include Unite Round. Unite Round won't be part of the new A-League men's and women's seasons. Picture:The men's season – which will kick off on October 17 following Football Australia's confirmation of the 2025-26 domestic match calendar on Friday – will again consist of 29 rounds, with each team to play 26 regular season games. The six-team finals series will run under the same format; however, the grand final has been scheduled for the weekend of May 23-24 – a week earlier than last season – due to players needing to be released from clubs for FIFA World Cup duty the following month. Venues for some matches still need to confirmed due to issues with staging games at Allianz Stadium and Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. The A-League women's season will start October 31, with the grand final to be played on the weekend of May 16-17. FA is yet to confirm a date for this year's Australia Cup final, while the newly formed Australian Championship, a second-tier competition involving 16 NPL clubs from around the country, will start on October 10 and end with the final on the weekend of December 7-8. 'The introduction of the Australian Championship will deliver more football, better football, and create new national opportunities for clubs and players – enhancing the football experience for all,' FA interim chief executive officer Heather Garriock said. 'The 2025-26 domestic match calendar is a product of genuine collaboration across the football ecosystem – from the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and APL to our member federations and NPL clubs – and reflects our shared commitment to unity, alignment and excellence.' Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
Sydney Morning Herald
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
How Oasis ruined the Socceroos' plans for a 20-year anniversary clash with Uruguay
Welcome to the complicated world of booking friendlies. It's not as simple as picking up the phone and asking a rival national team if they're up for a game. As Football Australia plots the Socceroos' road to the 2026 World Cup, they must juggle a mix of competing interests - commercial, political, technical and logistical - while navigating domestic hurdles like venue availability and government backing, plus the shifting international landscape, where potential opponents are suddenly ruled in or out, depending on their own qualification campaigns or asking prices. Then there's the pursuit of FIFA ranking points, which could determine whether Australia ends up with a favourable draw or a group of death, and thus presents another dilemma: is it better to face 'easier' nations and chase wins, or go for tougher assignments you might lose, but learn more from? 'We want to experience as much as possible' These are good problems to have. Direct World Cup qualification has plenty of advantages, like enabling Football Australia to get 'ahead of the game', as Popovic put it, with reconnaissance on possible hotels and training venues for the tournament; the federation is sending staff to the three co-host nations, the United States, Canada and Mexico, in the coming weeks. In avoiding the play-offs, it also meant they had five free international windows to fill up: September, October and November 2025, and March and June 2026. It's a situation Australia hasn't faced since the last time they qualified directly, back in 2013 under Holger Osieck. Preliminary talks with other national associations about potential friendlies tend to begin many months in advance, but games can only be booked once there is certainty about their qualification or otherwise. Popovic's ask is simple: 'To try and cover as many different styles and confederations as possible,' he said this week. 'If we can cover, hopefully, an African team, South American team, European team … that will help in terms of preparation and just having the different styles that you come up against. Is it a pressing team, is it a team that sits back? Do they build up, don't build up - so you get a little bit of an understanding of the different countries and how they like to play. We want to experience as much as possible. 'That's what we're trying to do. Then there's the other side of trying to get a Uruguay - can they come, how much do they cost? There are many things that come into that; it's not just about plucking someone out, come to Australia to play us. 'I'm sure the FA is doing everything they can to support us to bring, if it's here, good opposition … [but] it changes daily. One moment you think you've got someone, and they've got another idea and other plans.' Football Australia moved quickly to lock in a two-match home-and-away series in September against New Zealand, who have also qualified through Oceania, for the Soccer Ashes trophy that was re-discovered two years ago. This week, a friendly against the United States on October 14 in Colorado was confirmed, to go with an earlier announcement of a showdown with fellow co-hosts Canada in Montreal four days earlier - both valuable opportunities to experience World Cup conditions and facilities. Football Australia wants to play two games at home in the November window, but finding an opponent is proving tricky. UEFA qualification goes through until the end of that month, which rules out a European team - and the prospect dream of a clash with the likes of Italy, or England, on Aussie soil. It leaves two realistic options: South America or Africa. The issue is that the best nations are very reluctant to travel so far. A big, fat cheque could persuade them, but even with government support and the right venue, that sort of money is beyond FA's current reach. Argentina, according to reports, charge around $7.5 million per match - so a two-game series in Australia would cost $15 million, plus on-the-ground expenses. Brazil, sources say, have asked for a similar fee. Other countries might want less, but would be less commercially appealing, and would still rather not come out all this way. And the trouble with Africa is that the first round of their World Cup qualification campaign ends in October, which leaves a very short runway for matches to be organised involving any of the nine teams that make it through. The likely outcome for November, according to sources, is a clash with a lower-ranked South American team or one of the African qualifiers, with talks ongoing for one of the two games to take place at Sydney's CommBank Stadium. Why ranking points matter so much What happens after that will be dictated to some extent by what happens in December, when the World Cup draw is conducted, and groups are created from the 48 teams split across four pots. The profile of the teams in Australia's group could dictate the kind of opponents Popovic would want in the March window - which will probably take place in Europe - and then in June, when there are tentative plans for a farewell game on home soil before the Socceroos relocate to North America ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off on June 11. But the other element that will factor into things is Australia's FIFA ranking. Currently No.24 in the world, having moved up two places after the June window, the Socceroos sit on the edge of pots two and three. To give themselves the best statistical chance of a softer group, they will most likely need to be inside the top 23 to finish in pot two and thus avoid playing against one of the other teams in it - the likes of Croatia, Morocco and Colombia, as things stand. To do that, they need to win as many matches as they can before the draw. However, the nature of the draw mechanics - this being the first World Cup with 48 teams - means that no matter what they do, there could still be dangerous floaters, such as Italy, Greece and Serbia, in pot four. Former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold was highly strategic when it came to ranking points, but Popovic seems to be taking a more relaxed approach, and said he was not thinking about those permutations, though FA staff certainly are on his behalf. Popovic has his own balancing act to deal with. Most fans would like to see him experiment over the next 12 months, and try players who haven't featured much or at all for the Socceroos in his short reign to date - like Watford-bound Nestory Irankunda, or departed A-League stars Adrian Segecic, Noah Botic and Nicolas Milanovic, who have landed at Portsmouth, Austria Wien and Aberdeen respectively this off-season. Loading He is open to change, suggesting he feels no sense of obligation towards those who have helped them qualify in terms of them making his final squad for the World Cup. But Popovic doesn't want to simply hand out caps. 'When we say trying players for the national team, they still must earn their call,' he said. 'It's not about, okay, I heard some guy scored two goals and yeah, great, we'll just give them a call to the national team. It doesn't go like that. 'Trying players that haven't maybe had an opportunity now that earn the opportunity, that deserve an opportunity to be looked at, I'm all for that. 'I'm pretty open. I don't have a set team or a set squad that's going to the World Cup. This one achieved something special, and the 23 - or I hope it's 26 players - that go to the World Cup, the final squad, I want them all there because they firstly deserve to be there and that they can make an impact at the World Cup.'
