World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

WASHINGTONSHOW

SPIRITASDAMESIS FIRED

WashingtonSpiritendeda tough

season,for teamandleague, by

winningthe NWSL titleinHouston

witha2-1 extra-timevictoryover

ChicagoRed Starsintheplay-off final.

Itwas Spirit’sfirsttitleandcame

atthe endofa campaigninwhich

coachRichieBurke wasfired following

a leagueinvestigationinto allegations

ofmistreatingplayers.

Thatexacerbateda splinteringof

theownershipgroup,with players,

fansandoneownercallingforSpirit

owner Steve BaldwintoquitasCEO.

Twogameswerethenforfeiteddue

toa COVIDoutbreak.

Theblowsgalvanisedtheaptly

namedSpiritand,underactingcoach

KrisWard, they camethroughthe

expandedplay-off format.Defending

championsNorthCarolinaCourageand

regularseasonrunners-upOLReign

werebeatenenrouteto thefinal,with

TrinityRodman(theteenagedaughter

offormerNBAstarDennisRodman)

thebreak-outstar.

PortlandThornswon theregular

campaign,a farewellpresentfor Mark

Parsons,whohastakenchargeofthe

Netherlands.Rhian Wilkinson, whowon

181 Canadacaps as a player andhas

beenassistantcoachtobothEngland

andCanada,replaceshim.

Ina post-scriptwhichsadlysummed

upNWSL’sseason,withindays

ofits conclusionRed Stars’

RoryDamesbecamethe

fifth coachtodepart

undera cloudafter

theWashingtonPost

publishedallegations

ofbullyingplayers

duringhisdecade-

longreignasmanager.

ExpansionteamsAngel

City, of LosAngeles,andSan

DiegoWavewilljoinNWSLnextyear.

After a chasteningsummerthe league

couldcertainlydowith somesunny

Californianoptimism.

Champions...

Sundownscelebrate

withtheinauguralCAF

Women’sCLtrophy

Champions...

WashingtonSpirit

Sacked...

Scott

Booth

WSLSACKINGSMOUNTUP

BirminghamCityandLeicester City

fired Scott Booth andJonathanMorgan

respectivelyaspressureon managers

inEngland’s Women’s SuperLeague

intensified.FormerBirminghamCity

midfielderDarrenCarterwastheinterim

forBooth,whileEnglandyouthcoach

LydiaBedfordtookover at Leicester.

SOURENDFOR BRAZILLEGEND

Formigafinallycalledtimeonan

incredible26-yearinternationalcareer,

spanningsevenOlympicsandseven

WorldCups. Butthere wasa sournote

asBrazilcoachPia Sundhageleftthe

43-year-oldonthe benchuntilthelast

15 minutesofthe 6 -1winoverIndia,on

thebasisthat“sheisnotinthefuture

ofthe national team.” Formiga’s mother,

whoisscared of flying,hadflown to

ManaustoseeherplayforBrazilfor

thefirsttime.The veteranmidfielder

willcontinueplayingforSaoPaolo.

WOMEN’SFACUPFINAL

Chelseacompleteda

2020 -21domestic

treblewhentheywon

thedelayed Women’s

FACup final,beating

Arsenal 3-0with

anearlygoalfrom

and’s FranKirby,

llowedbya second-half

bracefromAustralia’sSam

Kerr. The51stfinal,heldexactly

10 0 yearsaftertheFAbanned

women’s football,attracted40,9 42

supportersinsideWembley,with

a 1.5millionUKTVaudience.

Cupwinners

...Chelsea

celebrate

SouthAmerican

champs...Corinthians

wontheirthirdtitle

The 16 -teamtournamentwas won
forthethirdtimeinfiveyearsbyBrazil’s
Corinthians,with a 2 4 -2goaldifference,
though 13 ofthosegoalscame in two
matchesagainst groupandsemi-final
opponentsNacional,ofUruguay.
Colombia’sSantaFe,who hadseen
offdefendingchampionsFerroviariain
theothersemi-final,onpenalties,were
thebeaten finalists.Thismaintainedthe
competition’s historicaltrend:Brazilian
clubshavedominated,betweenthem
winningten titlesoutof 13.
InOceania,thoughthe men’s
ChampionsLeaguedatesback to 1 987 ,
there is no immediate signofa women’s
version.A spurmaybe providedshould
a women’s ClubWorldCup,which has
beendiscussed at FIFAsince 2013 ,
actuallybecomea reality.
Inthe vacuumtherehavebeenseveral
private tournaments,thoughnoneofa
globalnature.Forbetter or worseFIFA’s
involvementmay well dependon what
happenswith themootedexpansion
oftheirmen’s competition.