Tom Garry

Lowri Roberts has been appointed as Bristol City Women's interim chief executive officer, following Mercury13's purchase of a majority stake in the club. Roberts has extensive experience in the game, including five years as the FA of Wales' head of women’s football. #BarclaysWSL2

Marc Skinner of facing OL Lyonnes tomorrow: "They have the ability to create something from nothing in any moment of the game. We have to concentrate and be at our very best. If we defend for the whole game, Lyon will win. We have to attack them and show quality and composure." #MUwomen #UWCL

Striker Isobel Goodwin has signed a contract extension at London City Lionesses until the summer of 2028 #BarclaysWSL

Spurs and England winger Jessica Naz sustains second ACL injury of her career The England winger Jessica Naz will miss the rest of the season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her right knee

More details here for @sport.theguardian.com on a huge blow for Spurs www.theguardian.com/football/202...

England's Jessica Naz has suffered an ACL injury in her right knee, Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed, and she will undergo surgery. A club statement adds that they give "Jess their full love and support on her recovery journey". Naz also suffered an ACL injury in her left knee in 2019. #BarclaysWSL

Germany will host Women's Euro 2029, Uefa announces #WEuro29

Gavin Step, who has been the FA's interim women's technical director since May, has now been appointed to the role full-time. #Lionesses

I can’t keep crying all the time like this guys.

She is the best

‘I can’t keep living like this’: Ali Riley on ending her stellar soccer career Angel City and New Zealand defender on injury pain, losing her childhood home in LA’s wildfires and why the sport needs to talk more about IVF

Exclusive interview for @sport.theguardian.com with the great Ali Riley, discussing her remarkable career, how she overcame her recent chronic nerve injury and why she has decided to retire, plus we discussed IVF, the Palisades fires and her joyous wedding. #NWSL
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Wales legend Jess Fishlock announces international retirement after ‘incredible journey’ Jess Fishlock, widely regarded as Wales women’s greatest player, has announced she will retire from international football after this month’s friendly against Australia

Words for @sport.theguardian.com as Jess Fishlock, Wales' greatest player, retires from international football www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Millie Bright bows out and WSL contenders hold firm – Women’s Football Weekly Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Robyn Cowen and Tom Garry to reflect on Millie Bright’s international retirement, a busy weekend in the WSL, and a mixed start for English clubs in the Champio...

The latest Guardian Women's Football Weekly podcast is now out, with me, @robyniocowen.bsky.social and @suzywrack.bsky.social discussing Millie Bright's international retirement and lots more www.theguardian.com/football/aud...

Millie Bright departs England stage long after her name entered list of greats Chelsea defender played key role in Euro triumph in 2022 and transformed how Lionesses viewed success

My reflections on Millie Bright's England career, for @sport.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Andrée Jeglertz praises Liverpool, saying: "Liverpool showed that they are better than they position they have. They will definitely cause problems for other teams. They are very structured, organised and can make it difficult for us, so I am 100% sure they will soon climb the table." #BarclaysWSL

Denver Summit’s Nick Cushing on building an NWSL club from scratch Former Manchester City coach is tasked with shaping expansion team but still has Champions League dream

Exclusive interview for @sport.theguardian.com - the first head coach of Denver Summit FC, Nick Cushing, discusses how they're building a new #NWSL team from scratch, recruitment strategy and his experience of leading #ManCityWomen when they were new to the WSL.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

A World Cup preying on Fomo: Fifa’s 2026 ticket scheme is a late-capitalist hellscape Dynamic pricing, crypto detritus and corporate doublespeak have made the task of buying 2026 World Cup tickets a grim case study in the monetization of emotion When the first tickets for the 2026 World Cup went on sale last week, millions of fans joined online queues only to discover what Gianni Infantino’s assurance that “the world will be welcome” really means. The cheapest face-value seat for next summer’s final, somewhere in the gods of New Jersey’s 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium where the players are specks and the football’s a rumor, comes at a cost of $2,030 (oxygen tank not included). Most upper-deck seats range from $2,790 to $4,210, according to customers who finally glimpsed the prices that had been closely guarded. The much-touted $60 tickets for group-stage games, propped up by Fifa as evidence of affordability, exist only as comically tiny green smudges on the edge of digital seating maps, little more than mirages of inclusivity. Fifa had kept the costs under wraps until the very moment of sale, replacing the usual published table of price points with a digital lottery that decided who even got the chance to buy. Millions spent hours staring at a queue screen as algorithms determined their place in line. When access finally came for most, the lower-priced sections had already vanished, many presumably swallowed by bots and bulk-buyers (and that’s before Fifa quietly raised the prices of at least nine matches after only one day of sales). The whole process resembled less a ticket release than a psyop to calibrate how much frustration and scarcity the public will tolerate. Continue reading...

A World Cup preying on Fomo: Fifa’s 2026 ticket scheme is a late-capitalist hellscape

Natalia Arroyo says Ellie Roebuck will be back with the Villa squad on Sunday when they host Leicester City in the WSL. #AVFCwomen

Leicester City Women have appointed their interim coach Rick Passmoor as their new manager on a contract until the summer of 2028. #LCFCwomen

More cameras, top pundits but Disney’s Champions League adventure is a work in progress | Tom Garry The broadcaster’s opening week of coverage was not without its gaps and glitches but it aimed high with an impressive array of experts

What were your first impressions of the new #UWCL coverage on Disney+ this week? Here were mine
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The first two teams involved in December's edition of #WorldSevensFootball in Florida have been named: Club America, of Mexico, and Flamengo, of Brazil. Six more teams will follow. 5m US dollar prize pot.

Marc Skinner after #MUwomen's opening Champions League win: "There are 6 games and I think we need around 9-12 points to kind of get into that pack. Of course we’d like more but we’re playing some incredible teams, so I think it was really important to get three points to start the campaign." #UWCL

The Guardian announces plans to expand its global soccer coverage ahead of 2026 men’s World Cup in North America Combination of seven new roles, including six in the US, spanning sports and business coverage, visuals, video and more

Hello! The Guardian is expanding our American soccer coverage. In the US, we're hiring:
• Reporters
• Asst. editor
• Audience editor
• Social video producer
• Sports biz reporter
These are all full-time, permanent, union positions.
www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-of...

Chelsea juggernaut heads to Manchester United for trickiest WSL test so far It is more than 500 days since the Blues last lost a WSL game, but coach warns, ‘We did not achieve anything yet’

The top two in the early-season WSL table go head-to-head tonight. Here's my preview for @sport.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

West Ham tumble in modern football’s vortex, with home now a distant memory | Jonathan Liew A feeling of loss and dislocation surrounds the East End club, which has never been part of tourist or establishment London

dislocation. on west ham and the modern east london.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Fifa announces that London will host the final phase of their new Women’s Champions Cup in 2026. That will include both semi-finals, the final and a third-place play-off, scheduled between 28 January and 1 February 2026. Arsenal have qualified, so you'd imagine they'll be very happy with that...

Montpellier just the start as Smith aims to ‘walk the walk’ in multi-club ownership Former New Zealand captain led takeover of French club and wants Crux Sports to add more teams to portfolio

Exclusive interview for @sport.theguardian.com with the ex-New Zealand captain Bex Smith on why she's founded Crux Sports, the new owners of Montpellier. The group has attracted investment from an eye-catching list of influential figures, including Julie Foudy.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Emma Hayes: ‘I don’t think coaches are always thought about as human beings’ The USA women’s manager talks to Tom Garry about the death of her predecessor at Chelsea, Matt Beard, and how managers need more support to navigate the modern game

Exclusive interview with Emma Hayes for @sport.theguardian.com on:
- Having "more brain-time" as an international coach
- Entering the NFM's Hall of Fame
- And why she feels football must do more to support coaches' wellbeing, as she pays tribute to Matt Beard
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

“Enjoying my football is a big part of me playing well and City has created an environment where I can flourish in that sense. I love working with the girls who are here, and I haven’t
always had that, so I appreciate that."
Mary Fowler on why she has extended her contract with #ManCity until 2027.

Our thoughts are with Matt Beard’s family, friends, and the football community. Dr Fran Champ and the LJMU Sport Science team remember him as a colleague, mentor, and friend with “the biggest heart” whose legacy in women’s football and student development will be deeply missed.

Thanks Matt, a very sad weekend