Latest news with #WSL
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
London City sign goalkeeper Poor on permanent deal
Newly promoted Women's Super League side London City Lionesses have signed goalkeeper Sophia Poor on a permanent 19-year-old, who spent the second half of last season at Lionesses on loan from Aston Villa, has now joined on a full-time made 12 starts for Lionesses after joining in January, helping them earn promotion to the WSL for the first teenager, who has earned England caps at under-17 and under-19 levels, will now aim to help Lionesses avoid being the third successive newly promoted side to suffer immediate relegation back to the second manager Jocelyn Precheur told the club website, external: "As a goalkeeper, Sophia has probably the biggest potential I have ever seen."I really wanted to keep developing her because she has everything to become the best English goalkeeper in a few years. I really believe in her and I am grateful that she trusts us."Poor is the seventh player to join Lionesses this summer as they prepare for their WSL international midfielder Danielle van de Donk is the most eye-catching arrival, while Finnish striker Sanni Franssi, Dutch defender Isa Kardinaal, English defenders Teyah Goldie and Poppy Pattinson, and Spanish goalkeeper Elene Lete have also joined.
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE West Ham and London Stadium landlords clash once again as dispute erupts over cost of staging WSL matches
Fresh tensions have erupted between West Ham and their London Stadium landlords due to a dispute over the cost of staging matches in the Women's Super League. West Ham's female side have not used the ground at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park since one match in 2019, which has become a source of friction among elements of the fanbase and a matter of some urgency at board level. West Ham were conspicuous as the only side of the 12 in the WSL to not play a single fixture in the 2024-25 campaign at the larger grounds used by their corresponding men's teams. They were instead based at Victoria Road, the 6,000-capacity home of Dagenham & Redbridge. Mail Sport can reveal efforts to correct the situation have led to a fraught stand-off between the stadium operators and the club, with both sides currently unable to agree a hiring fee and A London Stadium spokesperson said: 'London Stadium has always been positive about welcoming women's football to the venue. However, as with every other one of the capital's football clubs, we cannot ask London's taxpayers to subsidise the cost of West Ham putting on these matches. 'London Stadium has made a very good offer to West Ham to stage women's matches at the stadium but has so far not been accepted.' Mail Sport understands that Baroness Brady, West Ham's vice-chairman, was asked directly about occasional fixtures in the more prominent ground in a letter from the club's female players in summer 2023. The club has been pushing to stage a game at the London Stadium but described their landlord's demands as 'excessive' and out of proportion to the six-figure fees attached to hosting Premier League fixtures. A West Ham statement said: 'Securing another Women's game at London Stadium is a key priority for West Ham United, one the club have been working on tirelessly for some time and remain fully committed to delivering. 'This can only happen in line with the dual commitment to growth and sustainability for West Ham United Women, an approach supported in updated WSL governance guidance. 'West Ham United strive for parity between the men's and women's teams, wherever practically possible and as such are willing to invest the sums required to put on a game at the London Stadium. The barrier to progress is the excessive charges E20 are demanding to host West Ham United Women, significantly more than the comparative costs to stage Men's home games. 'The club remains hopeful of reaching a fair way forward for Women's Football at the London Stadium.' Further talks are planned for after the publication of WSL fixtures on August 25.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sheffield United sign former Everton winger Thomas
Sheffield United have completed the signing of winger Lauren Thomas on a free transfer. WSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official club press release from The Blades this morning. The 25-year-old moves to Bramall Lane following the expiry of her contract at former club Everton. Thomas spent last season with The Toffees, making four appearances for the club in all competitions. Thomas made a name for herself in a five-year spell with former Barclays WSL2 club Blackburn Rovers. The winger made 76 appearances for Rovers in all competitions in which she scored four goals. Thomas regularly impressed with her performances for the Lancashire club. After adding Thomas to his squad, Sheffield United boss Ash Thompson said 'Lauren brings a lot of qualities to the attack that we were looking for. She's fast, direct, experienced at this level and has gained experience at the level above last season too. She's joining us at a really good point in her career and I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do with us this season.' Thomas is Sheffield United's seventh signing of the summer transfer window. The South Yorkshire club are expected to announce further arrivals in the coming days.
The National
a day ago
- Sport
- The National
All hands to the pump as Scotland must make next World Cup
As many of the Scotland national team players share dressing rooms with those who have been front and centre at the Euros, there is the most pressing of needs for the bulky headphones that form part of the mandatory aesthetic for today's athletes. With noses pressed against the glass, hearing all about someone else's party is just salt in the wound. Little wonder that players talk of taking to the heading off to other shores or, at the very least, turning the channel. Scotland has watched three tournaments go by since they were last involved on a big stage. Each time the lamentations and hand-wringing have followed a similar course. England's penalty shoot-out win over Sweden on Thursday night as they came back from the brink points to the possibility of Sarina Wiegman's side going all the way again. So those headphones could well come in handy. Such parochialism, of course, does little to address the issues that Scotland have as they find themselves increasingly in the slipstream of a game where advances have made at significant speed elsewhere. That these tournament moments have been in the rearview mirror for Scotland is more than just an obvious concern. Melissa Andreatta is charged now with being the one to rectify the issue as autumn starts to loom closer and with it the map that will chart the journey required to make it to the next World Cup. With a bigger pool as the tournament goes from 32 teams to 48 as it looks to kick on commercially again from the last one in Australia and New Zealand, there is plausible scope that Scotland should get there. And, ultimately, the pressure that is on the players is not solely to make it back to a major tournament. The clear and obvious necessity of the national team being in amongst it is that the domestic game necessitates it. It is the only way that the SWPL will get a charge to electrify it, to plug into an energy that just simply isn't there at the moment. The galling thing is that it was. There was a moment immediately before the World Cup in 2019 when 18,555 spectators turned up to wave Scotland into the sunset. It felt like a new era, a bold chapter, the freshness and vibrancy of the moment, unlike any other snapshot within the women's game before. Or since. That ought to have been the starting point to jolt the game and take it to a level where Scotland could rub shoulders with the elite. That it wasn't is a column all of its own, but for no,w all shoulders need to be put to the World Cup wheel. AND ANOTHER THING Kirsty Maclean moving to the WSL with a move to Liverpool is both encouraging and concerning. The positives are obvious, of course; a young, Scottish talent – still just 20 - who has been invited into a significantly better league to go and play at a higher level week in, week out. It can only be beneficial not just to Maclean but also for Scotland who stand to benefit from another player exposed to a more robust test week in, week out. The concern comes when consideration is given to the cream of young Scottish talent cherry-picked and taken out of the SWPL. There is a suspicion that there will be more who follow Maclean – her former Rangers team-mate Mia McAulay at just 18 shows all manner of promise – while the likes of Emma Watson have already gone south. For players, the WSL is the golden ticket. A chance to go and make a living and play at a fiercely competitive level against some of the best players in the game is the dream, a pathway that offers the milk and honey that the SWPL simply cannot compete with. For the SWPL, it is a conundrum. One of the one hand it reflects well on the improvements in coaching and grassroots development that players are making the grade but on the other it impoverishes a league that is still working to make itself viable. AND FINALLY Elena Sadiku was back in the saddle this week after her stint in Switzerland covering the Euros. The likelihood is that her inbox will require a crane-like effort to work through as Celtic try to prepare for a new season ten first-team players down. Lisa Robertson has returned to the club, the only signing to date, with the midfielder a surprise addition this week. The Scotland internationalist was supported through her pregnancy by Celtic before she gave birth to son, Lucas, in November 2023. It says much for Robertson that she forced herself back into that squad for the title run-in as Celtic won their first title. No stranger to a demanding schedule – Robertson was a painter and decorator who used to 'enjoy' 5am gym sessions before work prior to full-time football – the Parkhead side will benefit from her experience and guile. But as the clock seriously ticks down to the start of the season, Sadiku has some way to go before she can say that this is a squad fully ready for the demands of a campaign where they will be expected to go and properly challenge for the title. As it stands, they have get to play a solitary pre-season game. Numerically, there would be a suspicion they don't quite have the numbers yet to do so.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
All hands to the pump as Scotland must make next World Cup
With noses pressed against the glass, hearing all about someone else's party is just salt in the wound. Little wonder that players talk of taking to the heading off to other shores or, at the very least, turning the channel. Scotland has watched three tournaments go by since they were last involved on a big stage. Each time the lamentations and hand-wringing have followed a similar course. England's penalty shoot-out win over Sweden on Thursday night as they came back from the brink points to the possibility of Sarina Wiegman's side going all the way again. So those headphones could well come in handy. Such parochialism, of course, does little to address the issues that Scotland have as they find themselves increasingly in the slipstream of a game where advances have made at significant speed elsewhere. That these tournament moments have been in the rearview mirror for Scotland is more than just an obvious concern. Melissa Andreatta is charged now with being the one to rectify the issue as autumn starts to loom closer and with it the map that will chart the journey required to make it to the next World Cup. With a bigger pool as the tournament goes from 32 teams to 48 as it looks to kick on commercially again from the last one in Australia and New Zealand, there is plausible scope that Scotland should get there. And, ultimately, the pressure that is on the players is not solely to make it back to a major tournament. The clear and obvious necessity of the national team being in amongst it is that the domestic game necessitates it. It is the only way that the SWPL will get a charge to electrify it, to plug into an energy that just simply isn't there at the moment. The galling thing is that it was. There was a moment immediately before the World Cup in 2019 when 18,555 spectators turned up to wave Scotland into the sunset. It felt like a new era, a bold chapter, the freshness and vibrancy of the moment, unlike any other snapshot within the women's game before. Or since. That ought to have been the starting point to jolt the game and take it to a level where Scotland could rub shoulders with the elite. That it wasn't is a column all of its own, but for no,w all shoulders need to be put to the World Cup wheel. AND ANOTHER THING Kirsty Maclean moving to the WSL with a move to Liverpool is both encouraging and concerning. The positives are obvious, of course; a young, Scottish talent – still just 20 - who has been invited into a significantly better league to go and play at a higher level week in, week out. It can only be beneficial not just to Maclean but also for Scotland who stand to benefit from another player exposed to a more robust test week in, week out. The concern comes when consideration is given to the cream of young Scottish talent cherry-picked and taken out of the SWPL. There is a suspicion that there will be more who follow Maclean – her former Rangers team-mate Mia McAulay at just 18 shows all manner of promise – while the likes of Emma Watson have already gone south. For players, the WSL is the golden ticket. A chance to go and make a living and play at a fiercely competitive level against some of the best players in the game is the dream, a pathway that offers the milk and honey that the SWPL simply cannot compete with. For the SWPL, it is a conundrum. One of the one hand it reflects well on the improvements in coaching and grassroots development that players are making the grade but on the other it impoverishes a league that is still working to make itself viable. AND FINALLY Elena Sadiku was back in the saddle this week after her stint in Switzerland covering the Euros. The likelihood is that her inbox will require a crane-like effort to work through as Celtic try to prepare for a new season ten first-team players down. Lisa Robertson has returned to the club, the only signing to date, with the midfielder a surprise addition this week. The Scotland internationalist was supported through her pregnancy by Celtic before she gave birth to son, Lucas, in November 2023. It says much for Robertson that she forced herself back into that squad for the title run-in as Celtic won their first title. No stranger to a demanding schedule – Robertson was a painter and decorator who used to 'enjoy' 5am gym sessions before work prior to full-time football – the Parkhead side will benefit from her experience and guile. But as the clock seriously ticks down to the start of the season, Sadiku has some way to go before she can say that this is a squad fully ready for the demands of a campaign where they will be expected to go and properly challenge for the title. As it stands, they have get to play a solitary pre-season game. Numerically, there would be a suspicion they don't quite have the numbers yet to do so.
