Tournament month down, a season to go
This is a marathon, not a sprint
What a month July was, so much great football! And barely did we have a second to catch our breath before the men’s football season started again in such exciting fashion - hello Premier League game week 3 you’ll be remembered - and the start dates for the women’s seasons are rapidly approaching (you can find them at the end of this letter!) Meanwhile there’s always pre-season camps, and Damallsvenskan, the NWSL, and international fixtures, and so on and so forth …
A few weeks ago I was on a call with J, a friend who previously has had no interest in football but has recently gotten into playing Fantasy Premier League and wanted some advice. This woman has known me for yeaaaars, but it was with an astonished voice that she declared in how much awe she is of football fans.
J: “I was SHOCKED when they said that the league starts now in August and lasts until MAY, we have to play until May? That’s almost a whole YEAR, with games basically every week?”
Me, quietly: “and that’s just one league….”
J: “and that’s just ONE league! Imagine if you want to follow several, that’s so much time and effort”
Me: “try to balance school/work/social life with that, and now you understand why I would always want to drag yous to a pub that showed football”
J: “yeah, football fans really are the misunderstood souls of our generation*”
Me: “and then they’re going to attempt to wedge in the men’s World Cup in November/December as well”
J: 😯
I’ve written about football fandom burnout before, which was something that became so clear in 2020 once we had to take an actual break from these hectic (and rather insane) football schedules, but upon returning to something considered more “normal” pace, it’s as if these lessons have been erased. I mean, even professional footballers are having to say “STOP! I need to rest” which is scary on multiple levels (for Caroline Graham Hansen because it’s part of her job and we all know how precarious an athlete’s career can be, and it’s also scary because it reminds us that they’re only human like the rest of us and if they need a rest maybe we need a rest too?) and simultaneously such a brave move that needs to be fully supported.
These past two months I’ve watched so much football, I’ve laughed and cried football, I’ve played tons of football, I’ve worked a lot in football. I’ve not been writing here, but I refer back to previous statements - it’s been busy :)
*she did not say these exact words btw (but that’s how she made me feel - she made me feel seen. Thank you J love u)
England won the Euros! I’ve got … A LOT to say on the Euros in general, England and the other teams. Can I be arsed to? It’s been quite nice to keep my opinions (semi) to myself lol. I think I’ll write up some general thoughts next week and then put it to rest. But let’s just say that I’m fucking fed up with UEFA getting clout for treating their men’s and women’s tournaments the same when it’s SO CLEARLY not the case, as in the matter of VAR cameras.
Brazil won Copa America Feminina!
Banyana Banyana fiiiiinally got to win WAFCON!
But why the hell did they schedule all of these tournaments, and the final matches of all of these tournaments, on the same days?
On a much lighter note, obsessed with Lo’eau’s goal celebration hahaha
There’s an influx of players to England, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd went to Chelsea, Grace Geyoro is rumoured to join her with an offer ‘rare’ in women’s football, and Lina Hurtig has gone to Arsenal. To borrow an expression from my pal Lindsay, the WSL are vacuuming up the talent right now. At the same time there’s a strange exodus happening over at Manchester City, with one player after another leaving. Lucy Bronze to Barcelona, Caroline Weir to Real Madrid, Georgia Stanway to Bayern München, rumours of Keira Walsh moving …
The NWSL is getting a primetime slot for the 2022 Ally Financial NWSL Championship!! CBS will broadcast the game at 8 pm ET. This is the game that last year originally was scheduled for a 9 am kick-off on a turf pitch in Portland lol.
On the sidelines the huge turnover of coaches in the NWSL keeps going however, as Washington Spirit fired head coach Kris Ward following a run of poor results and an “incident” at the training. Ward came to the Spirit team only last year, replacing Richie Burke who was let go after being called out for allegedly creating an abusive and toxic environment. Burke was one of FIVE coaches (out of 12 in the league) fired last year, and here’s a timeline over all the messy stuff that went on last year.
There’s been a lot going around about sexual assault and r*pe cases lately, with the spotlight on the Premier League. Here was a thread I found helpful on the relation between the club/player in regards to suspension following allegations like these.
When do the women’s leagues start?
As previously mentioned, most of the women’s leagues in Europe have yet to start, and if you’re someone who feels like it could be beneficial for you to know when that happens, then please see below.
Damallsvenskan is currently mid-season, they picked right back up again after the Euros on the 6th of August, and they’ve had a few exciting games already and it’s even at the top, with Rosengård, Linköping and Kristianstad within a few points of each other.
Serie A Femminile - first match is on 27th August between Juventus - Como.
Division 1 Feminine - PSG - Soyaux-Charente is the first game which is being played on the 9th September.
Women’s Super League - the fixture Tottenham - Manchester United kicks the season off on the 10th of September <3
Primera División - matchday 1 is played on the 11th September.