Newcastle set to appoint Crystal Palace's Grace Williams as new director of women's football
Newcastle United are set to appoint Grace Williams as their new director of women's football as they target promotion to the Women's Super League (WSL).
After achieving back-to-back promotions under Becky Langley's management, rising from the fourth to the second tier, Newcastle finished fifth in their first-ever Championship campaign, nine points adrift of league winners London City.
Advertisement
Paul Mitchell, the sporting director, has continued to provide substantial backing to the women's set-up since his appointment last year and he is further bolstering the off-field operations by bringing in Williams from Crystal Palace.
Williams oversaw Palace's Championship-winning campaign in 2023-24, her first season in south London as head of women's football, having joined from Bristol City, where she was general manager for two years. She previously worked for the Welsh FA as the women's league and club development manager and Watford, as general manager.
Palace spent a solitary season in the WSL, suffering relegation back to the Championship after finishing bottom of the top-flight table, 10 points adrift of 11th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Williams will be tasked with building a squad at Newcastle which is capable of emulating Palace by reaching the WSL, but then also eclipsing the south London club by staying there and looking to challenge at the very top of women's domestic football in England.
Newcastle's influential head of women's football, Su Cumming, who has played a pivotal role in the expansion of the women's game in the north east, is expected to leave her role this summer.
She will, however, retain a consulting role at Newcastle, where she has overseen the club's development into a fully professional full-time outfit, and will continue to pass on her knowledge to Langley and her players.
()
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Reeves Defends UK Economic Choices as She Touts Public Spending
By Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will defend her fiscal choices and trumpet billions of pounds of infrastructure investment in the UK spending review on Wednesday, as Keir Starmer's government seeks to regain momentum after a faltering first year in power. Reeves will detail government spending plans through to the end of the decade, laying out how hundreds of billions of pounds will be allocated to investments in transport links and energy projects, and rebuilding hospitals and schools. She'll also lay out plans to direct £39 billion ($53 billion) of public money over 10 years to an affordable homes plan, the Treasury said late Tuesday in a statement.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
England ‘not good enough' but won't panic
Captain Harry Kane insisted England are 'not going to panic' following a shock 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal. Three days on from an underwhelming 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, Thomas Tuchel's side were again booed off by fans. Advertisement Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England's first defeat to an African nation following Kane's early opener at the City Ground in Nottingham. Thomas Tuchel suffered a first defeat as England manager (Nick Potts/PA) 'Again, not really good enough,' Kane told ITV Sport. 'We had again moments; just with and without the ball we aren't quite clicking, aren't quite finding the right passes, finding the right tempo. 'One v one, we're losing duels, we're losing just that aggressive nature that we've had and we got punished, we're playing against a good side. We just weren't good enough today. 'We're not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better.' England thought they had levelled late on through Jude Bellingham but his effort was ruled out on review for an adjudged handball by Levi Colwill. Advertisement 'If you know the rules, it's not handball,' said Kane. 'It obviously puts us back in the game at 2-2 and maybe we go on and win the game so it is quite a big moment. 'But that's something to discuss with them (the match officials) afterwards.' England's Jude Bellingham gestures to referee Stephanie Frappart after his goal is disallowed (Mike Egerton/PA) Defeat for England was a first in four matches since the appointment of manager Tuchel. The German coach, who was unhappy with the decision of French referee Stephanie Frappart to disallow Bellingham's effort, said: 'Of course, a disappointing result, not sure if we did not maybe deserve a little bit more result-wise. 'But I felt again we were a little bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match. Advertisement '(We) defended quite well for a long period in the first half, then our best period came when we were 2-1 down. Cheikh Sabaly celebrates Senegal's win (Nick Potts/PA) 'We conceded the first two goals, very easy goals that we need to defend better. 'The reaction was good after we were down. I felt suddenly we were more active, more free, more fluid, more aggressive towards the opponent's goal. 'We had big chances to equalise, we 'equalised' (Bellingham's disallowed effort) and couldn't get the last one.'
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Top 3 AI Voice Agents Integrated with VoIP Telephony Zadarma For the First Time in Europe
06/10/2025, LONDON // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // Three major AI voice agents can now be fully integrated into the Zadarma cloud-based phone system. This means businesses can start using AI-powered voice assistants in their daily communications. This is the first time this kind of integration has been done on a large scale in Europe. The integration allows combining live human support with the AI, within the Zadarma's free virtual PBX system (Cloud PBX). Businesses can easily route calls to the appropriate AI voice agent by simply transferring the call to the corresponding extension, just like they would transfer it to a human colleague. This allows businesses to gradually delegate certain tasks to the AI. Additionally, the AI agent can also transfer calls to a human team member when needed. AI-powered voice bot can automatically interact with customers and execute certain tasks without human agent involvement. It can also receive calls if all other agents are busy or unavailable, or be used as one of the agents, participating in a call flow. The integration is compatible with existing PBX infrastructure. This means no major changes are needed in the PBX configuration. User-friendly setup guides are available. All three AI voice agents can now be integrated with the Zadarma's platform, supporting inbound and outbound calls, participation in call queues, handling calls during off-hours and holidays, and more. AI-powered voice agents are made using some of the most popular chat AI platforms. Businesses can choose the technology that suits their needs. Each voice agent can match a company's communication style, objectives, and tone of voice. One of the biggest advantages of these AI agents is their adaptability. Businesses can define the information the agent uses. This allows the AI to sound like the brand. The setup doesn't require advanced technical knowledge. This means AI technology is accessible to businesses of all sizes. Additionally, businesses can create different agents for different tasks. For example, one for sales inquiries and another for technical support. This flexible way of adding AI gives businesses more control, better results, and makes automation easier. Integrating the phone system with AI-powered voice assistants is a major step forward for companies looking to improve their communication without extra costs. Businesses can now reduce workloads for their employees with just a few clicks. Adding an extra agent to the team has never been easier. What once seemed like fiction has now become reality. About Zadarma Established in 2006, Zadarma is an independent VoIP provider operating globally, with offices located in Burgas (Bulgaria), London (UK), Wroclaw (Poland), and Valencia (Spain). With seven main data centers spread across seven countries on three continents, Zadarma focuses on offering reliable cloud communication services for businesses and individuals around the world. Their services include virtual phone numbers in over 100 countries, worldwide calling, a cloud-based PBX system, CRM, and a wide range of communication tools developed in-house. Supporting eight languages and offering multilingual technical support, Zadarma makes it easy for users around the globe to stay connected. Media Contact Iryna Kadiievska [email protected]
