Latest news with #women's football
France 24
11 hours ago
- Sport
- France 24
Hegerberg central to Norway's Euro 2025 bid ahead of Italy clash
Coming into the tournament off the back of a poor club season with Lyon, Hegerberg is leading Norway's bid for a first major honour since gold at the Olympics 25 year ago. The 30-year-old has shown renewed desire as Norway collected a perfect nine points from three Group A matches to set up a clash with the Italians. Hegerberg got Norway up and running in the opening 2-1 win over hosts Switzerland, netting the equaliser before winning and missing a penalty and then provoking the decisive Julia Stierli own goal. She was made captain in February and is flanked by vice-skipper and Barcelona star Caroline Graham Hansen. An honour which came after a turbulent time with the national team which included a five-year hiatus from international football between 2017 and 2022 provoked by tensions with the Norwegian FA over unequal treatment of women's footballers. "It's a role that requires experience and the attitude that says we need a good balance between the youngsters and those of us who have been here for a while," said Hegerberg after the Switzerland win. "We know we have a big role to play on and off the pitch." The Norwegians were pioneers of modern women's football and the first country to win the World Cup, European Championship and Olympics but have fallen behind since triumphing at the Sydney Games. Now managed by Gemma Grainger, Norway failed to get out of the group stage at the last two Euros and they haven't reached the semi-finals of a summer tournament since reaching the final of Euro 2013. And they were humiliated 8-0 by England at the last Euros, a tournament that Hegerberg played in after her exile from the international game. 'Relish the moment' Now Hegerberg has the chance to lead Norway back into the latter stages of a European Championship, with holders England or Scandinavian rivals Sweden. "We took nine points in the group stage and are playing in the quarter-finals, it's a big moment for us. Everyone has contributed, and we want to ride the crest of that wave," Hegerberg told reporters on Tuesday. "To get a top four position at the Euros would be unique. It's a very important game, with a lot at stake and we want to relish the moment. The way we have acquitted ourselves as a team has been exceptional." Standing in Norway's way are Italy who came through a tough Group B which was won by world champions Spain. Italy, a traditional powerhouse of the men's game, have impressed in Switzerland under Andrea Soncin although they have struggled for goals. "They're a good team and they've developed their women's game there a lot in last few years," added Hegerberg.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Euro 2025: 'Critical' Wales make lasting legacy of qualification
The theme of Wales' historic Euro 2025 campaign has been the act of climbing a the beginning of their qualifying campaign, manager Rhian Wilkinson set her players the goal of becoming the first Wales team to reach a women's major tournament. That, she said, was climbing the when she selected her squad for the competition, it was symbolic that Wilkinson decided to do it at the summit of Yr is only natural that Wales' players will be dejected after Sunday's 6-1 thrashing by England confirmed their elimination at the earliest stage, but they can take great pride in the fact that they have helped their country scale new heights. Now the goal is to build on this achievement, to make it a lasting legacy."That's the absolutely critical question for us because we've always known that this is about what we do next," says former Wales captain Laura McAllister, who is now a vice-president with European football governing body Uefa."We're not starting from a low base because we already have a strategy for women and girls but, of course, qualifying for tournaments brings not just more funding but also more opportunity to capitalise on the energy around the game and the inspiration for young girls particularly to go out and play football."So it's incumbent on us now in football, whether it's Welsh level or European level, to make sure the money we spend on the game creates a stronger pathway for all players, whether they're going to be the next Jess Fishlock or Angharad James, or whether they're just going to play for fun with their friends." How to inspire future generations? By qualifying for Euro 2025, Wales have transformed women's football in their was only in the 1990s that they were recognised by their own association as a fully-fledged international years afterwards, they were still underfunded, undervalued and, often, simply the players who fought for their right to play – McAllister among them – would not be who made sure that women could wear the red shirt - even if it was an ill-fitting hand-me-down from a men's team - did not take no for an is on the shoulders of those pioneers that the current players by qualifying for their first tournament, these women realised the dreams of their trailblazing been drawn in such a difficult group, nobody gave Wales much hope – but just to see them play on that stage was then to watch Fishlock - who else - score their first goal at a tournament? That was beyond moments will endure. They will inspire generations to come. So how does the Football Association of Wales do that in practical terms?"Well, first and foremost there has to be enough clubs that are welcoming and they need to provide the right opportunities for girls, and really there's no excuse for any football club not to have a girls' section and a women's section now," McAllister tells BBC Wales."If they aren't doing that now then they should be on the journey to doing it because we need to make the opportunities very local, obviously we can't expect girls to travel hundreds of miles to play football."We also have to invest heavily in the facility base because we know that we don't have enough facilities for boys or girls, or men and women, at the moment. Fortunately we're able to tailor some of our investment now into feminising some of the facilities so that we have simple things like better changing rooms, better toilet facilities, things that can be done relatively cheaply."But this all has to be part of the overarching strategy and it's a big and complex area because what we need to do for the grassroots is very different to what we need to do to strengthen the pathway for the elite and talented players."The desire to capitalise on this moment extends to politics."Qualifying for a first major women's tournament is an incredible feat by this fantastic group of players. I am incredibly proud of all the team has achieved," says Jack Sargeant, Wales' minister for sport."The best way to celebrate this historic achievement is by helping inspire even more young women to play football. "We will do this by supporting projects right across Wales, helping build future success and cementing the players' legacy for generations to come." 'Wales can make the impossible seem possible' It is impossible to remove the historical and emotional context when analysing this campaign but, in pure footballing terms, Wales simply came up against superior side were the lowest-ranked at Euro 2025 and they were put in Group D alongside holders England, 2017 champions the Netherlands and France, who had won every single one of their matches this team would have struggled in this group, never mind one that had never beaten a country ranked in the world's top battled valiantly in the first half of their opening game against the Netherlands but were undone by Vivianne Miedema's brilliance, before the Dutch punished their defensive mistakes after the were even more ruthless. Although Fishlock gave Wales hope, Les Bleus clinically exposed the gulf in class between the two final match against England was a mismatch on another level, a chastening experience for Wilkinson's there is no disgrace in losing to teams of such quality, particularly with Wales' limited FAW bosses have admitted, they are still playing "catch-up" with the leading although the gap between the best and the rest is significant, narrowing it in the future is not an insurmountable Wales team have already shown they can make the impossible seem qualifying for Euro 2025, they have proven that to future generations. This was their first – but it will not be the last.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Sylvia Gore - A football pioneer in England and Wales
If she were still alive, Sylvia Gore would no doubt have looked on proudly when England and Wales face each other at Euro in football for over 60 years, Gore has been described as a pioneer and a champion of the game and referred to as the 'Denis Law of women's football'.Gore scored the first official goal for England 's women's side in 1972, who were a far cry from the current Lionesses, the reigning European champions and World Cup Gore also made a significant contribution to the development of the women's game in Wales, managing the national side for over 10 was a big part of Gore's life from an early in Prescot on Merseyside, Gore remembered how she began kicking a ball as a three-year-old and on starting school would practise with the boys, but was not allowed to play in games. She started playing for Manchester Corinthians aged 12 in the late 1950s, travelling overseas, where the team played in front of big played at the time when the women's game was prohibited by the Football Association, with a ban in place since Football Association (FA) reasoning was that football was "quite unsuitable for females" and should "not be encouraged".The FA lifted its 50-year ban in 1971 and a year later the first official England women's side would play their first game."There were over 500 players that came to trials and it was whittled down to 25 in the end," Gore recalled in a 2015 interview for the BBC's Sporting Witness."I think I went to four trials and it was a tremendous feeling to get a letter to say you were in the England squad after all those trials."England's first match against Scotland in November 1972 – 100 years since the first men's international between the countries – was played at Greenock's Ravenscraig Stadium. "The crowd was about 400-500 if I remember rightly, which we thought was a good crowd then," Gore said."The conditions were terrible. It was hard ground – frosty, icy."[It] shouldn't have gone ahead but obviously because we had travelled so far and the Scots wanted to play it... We wanted to play it because it was the first official international for the FA."We were two goals down at half-time and we had to step up a gear."Step up a gear they did and Gore went on an individual run which saw her cut through Scotland's defence before coolly slotting home to score England's first official goal."I was delighted, I was jumping in the air and everyone was diving on me," Gore was the start of a comeback which saw England win 3-2 but significantly it was the start of a new era for women's football in the British Isles. Gore once scored 134 goals in one season and played for renowned works team Fodens Ladies as well as north Wales-based Prestatyn, a side formed by sisters Mai and Eleri Griffith."I actually played against Sylvia when she played for England in about 1974 in Slough," recalls Michele Ward, who played in Wales' first unofficial international in 1973."We got beaten but what I do remember, it was sponsored by an egg company and at the end of games we would get presents from the other team."It was a plastic container with the English FA crest on it full of bath salts and half a dozen eggs."After retiring from playing at the age of 36 due to injury, Gore embarked on a coaching career, with Prescot Ladies - a team she founded - and then as Wales national team manager."One of the main volunteers at the item was Ida Driscoll and how she got hold of Sylvia I don't really know to be honest," Michele Adams said."Whether people in north Wales put her in touch, quite possibly."She took the burden on at its weakest because up until then they had this little committee with people from Newport and Port Talbot." Wales Women's International Football, who ran the national team and was chaired by Ida Driscoll, turned to the woman who seven years earlier scored England's first goal in an insisted that being a non-Welsh manager was not a big deal, pointing out that the manager of the senior Wales men's team at the time, Mike Smith, was also English and "not doing too bad a job"."I've said it's impossible to expect miracles," she said at the time of her appointment in February 1979."But it's a challenge. It's an opportunity and I am going to make something of it."I wouldn't have missed this chance for the world. It's something I've always wanted and I will do my utmost to make it work." Her first training session with Wales' 18-strong squad was on the morning of her first game in charge, against France in Bordeaux, following a 24-hour overland lost 6-0 in France and a 7-0 defeat later that year against hosts Italy - a semi-professional side - in the Women's World Invitational Tournament was a stark reminder of how much catching up there was to had been appointed by Wales on an initial 12-month basis, but she would remain in charge for over 10 years and her enthusiasm for the role - despite a lack of resources - remained steadfast."It's hard work but I enjoy every minute of it," Gore told the Liverpool Echo in 1989."Unfortunately we haven't enough clubs in Wales to form a proper association, which might help to attract sponsors, so we have to pay all our own expenses."Players not only had to pay their travelling expenses, they even had to pay for their own would also make substantial financial contributions from her own pocket."When Sylvia came in we used to train one weekend in north Wales and the following weekend down in south Wales," Adams added."That would happen quite regularly over a six-week period."If we had an international away somewhere we were billeted in people's houses, not hotels."Wales had faced the Republic of Ireland at Llanelli's Stebonheath Park in their first game in 1973 but were not affiliated with the Football Association of Wales at the time. Numerous attempts had been made in the preceding decades to get recognition, which had met with firm opposition and downright hostility from some Football Association of Wales (FAW) councillors."We have to remember that neither the Welsh or English FA were particularly organised in running women's football until much, much later," said The Guardian's women's football writer Tom Garry."Particularly in the 70s and 80s and into the early 90s, running women's football was a bit akin to how you might imagine a local sports community club is run in towns and villages across the country."Many people who spent time with Sylvia have always described how there was this sort of desire to help other teams develop."Knowledge-sharing was very common in those days, clubs wanting to help each other out and local FAs and local football groups wanting to help each other out. Sylvia epitomised that really, because a lot of different clubs benefited from the knowledge that she was able to share." As Wales manager, Gore - who also coached Deeside Ladies in north Wales - essentially had a pool of less than 30 players to choose from, significantly fewer than attempted to expand Wales' squad by identifying players with Welsh family backgrounds, sending letters to women's leagues throughout the UK enquiring about eligible players."We started getting players in with Welsh heritage, about three or four players from England like Ann Rice and Gaynor Jones," Adams remembers."We had quite a few like that who came in."At a time when women's football was reliant on the goodwill of volunteers and sponsors, Gore did much to raise standards."There was an appreciation of the professionalism that she brought to what was actually a very unprofessional job," Garry added."Sylvia was someone who knew what they were doing and had the best intentions of a team at heart, even if there perhaps wasn't the resource for them to go and be competitive on the wider international stage." But there were signs of was encouraged that FAW official Malcolm Stammers attended an international against England at Prescot Cables in April 1989 and presented the squad with a new kit."The big thing was to get over to the public at large that women really can play football and it is not just one big joke," Gore said after the game, which would be her last international in FAW eventually took the women's team under their control in 1993 after being approached by Adams along with fellow internationals Laura McAllister and Karen Jones.A team was entered into Uefa qualifying for the first time two years forward 30 years and the current team's appearance at Euro 2025 is Wales' first experience of playing at a major tournament. As for Gore, her involvement with football continued after her stint managing was assistant manager at Knowsley United, and acted as secretary to Liverpool FC Ladies and as a member of the FA Women's Smith and Rachel Brown-Finnis, the former England internationals, have spoken of their gratitude to Gore and the influence she had on their early 2000 she was awarded an MBE for services to girls and women's association football and she was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame a year later."Sylvia sat on various FA committees and through my club so did I," said Adams, chairwoman of FA Women's National League South side Gwalia United, who were previously known as Cardiff City Ladies, for whom she played and managed."We used to meet up quite often - two or three times a year - at these meetings and she always came bounding over towards us."She liked the involvement with the Welsh. She was a good soul and did an awful lot for the women's game." Gore died aged 71 in 2016 having made a remarkable contribution to the story of women's football. "She had been through and experienced so many of the important moments in the sport, not just playing and scoring in that first England fixture," added Garry."I think to essentially dedicate your life to trying to grow the game is almost an even stronger legacy than the sheer volume of goals that she scored for Manchester Corinthians, Foden's and England."Undoubtedly that helped both England and Wales get to a place where they are now, where these two teams are in this tournament."
The Independent
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Arsenal to make Liverpool's Olivia Smith first £1m transfer in women's football
Arsenal have had a world-record bid accepted by Liverpool for forward Olivia Smith, which is set to make her the first £1m transfer in women's football. As first reported by the Guardian, the Gunners have beat competition from several clubs - including Women's Super League champions Chelsea - to sign the 20-year-old Canada international. Smith became Liverpool's record signing when she joined from Sporting Lisbon for just over £200,000 last year and she scored seven goals for the Reds in her debut WSL campaign. Arsenal have moved aggressively in the transfer market after winning the Women's Champions League in May and the club want to compete with Chelsea on the domestic front. Arsenal's signing of Smith will eclipse the previous world record transfer in the women's game set by Chelsea in January when they signed US international Naomi Girma for £900,000. Arsenal have signed Chloe Kelly permanently after a successful loan spell from Manchester City while they have also brought in Liverpool captain Taylor Hinds to add competition to the squad. Both players began their careers at Arsenal and returned to the club as free agents.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Women's football's first £1MILLION transfer fee agreed as Arsenal secure historic deal with Liverpool for Canada international Olivia Smith
Arsenal are set to break the world record fee for a women's player after agreeing a £1million deal with Liverpool for forward Olivia Smith. The 20-year-old Canada international, who joined Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon at the beginning of last season, will become the first women's player to exceed the £1million barrier. Her move comes less than six months after Chelsea broke the world record fee for United States international Naomi Girma for £890,000. A naturally right-footed right winger, Smith was Liverpool's top scorer in the top-flight this season and had two years remaining on her contract. It's understood that the club plans to reinvest the significant fee from her departure to strengthen the squad, while continuing to develop their scouting and data analysis operations – further aligning with the approach of the men's team. It's also understood that Chelsea and Lyon were also interested in signing the youngster, before Arsenal met Liverpool's higher valuation. The deal remains subject to the agreement of personal terms. Arsenal, who stunned Barcelona to win the Champions League in May, are looking to continue to evolve under head coach Renee Slegers as well as to bring in younger talent. The Gunners will have a wealth of right-sided wingers following Smith's signing, given Chloe Kelly signed a permanent contract with them only last week, and Beth Mead also plays in that position. The Gunners have also brought in left-back Taylor Hinds from Liverpool on a free transfer.
