Amber Glenn’s face revealed the magnitude, even as the women’s finalists warmed up on the home ice of the St. Louis Blues. Her high-beam eyes aglow. Her smile straightened by the intensity. Her lips moved only to whisper to herself. The crowd doting on her as she skated by, in her sparkly navy blue costume, may as well have been invisible as Glenn focused.

She had every reason to be loose. Her short program at the U.S. championships last month set a national record. Her previous excellence had already secured her a spot in Milan. U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body, decides who goes instead of leaving it to the results of that year’s nationals. Glenn also won the previous two U.S. championships, so she’s been on this stage, under that weight, before.

But anxiety doesn’t read the resume. And competitive edge comes with tunnel vision. This free skate before her in early January mattered most, which meant she felt every ounce of pressure. Her expression declared its presence.

“I felt like I was gonna throw up,” Glenn said after notching the highest-scoring free skate of her life and capturing a third consecutive national championship.

Also revealed, in the same expression: Glenn’s freedom.

She had battled stomach issues all day, so much so that she felt relief after getting through the warmup. Everyone could see her gutting it out, trying to “get in touch with my body and get a feel of the ice.” That inward struggle made it to the surface because Glenn no longer bothers with charades. She discarded the notion of hiding. Rejected the sport’s microaggressions.

As a result, her career took off. She enters these Winter Games as a serious medal contender. The culmination of a one-of-a-kind journey that’s taken her from an ice rink in a Texas mall to a pursuit of gold in Milan. She reaches this peak at 26, a proverbial auntie in a sport full of teenagers. For the longest time, this level didn’t seem to be part of her story.

Glenn has spent much of her career in a wide, frustrating space in figure skating. That place where talent is undeniable but transcendence keeps its distance. Glenn could always be described as a great skater. Pretty good skaters don’t win junior national championships at 14. But this sport reserves its greatest rewards for the exceptional while demanding so much that exceptional seems the only acceptable payoff.

Glenn landed the hard jumps, trained through the pain, endured the anvil that is expectations, year after year, yet got close enough to the summit only to confirm she didn’t reach it.

Figure skating is ruthless that way. It doesn’t just measure what skaters can do, it penalizes what they didn’t. It constantly reminds them of perfection not attained. For Glenn, the imperfection lay with her identity. The ceiling thwarting her exceptional talent originated from the constraints of tradition. She tried. Softened her edges, so to speak. Sharpened her skating. The difference between great and the best in figure skating exists in the margins, often small enough to be microscopic.

But while adding a clean triple axel to her repertoire in 2023 elevated her to another level, Glenn’s real elevation came from within. When she stopped expending energy on concealing her intensity, her aura, her truth.

“I didn’t fit the mold, and I tried so hard to fit into it,” Glenn said. “And once I accepted that just wasn’t going to happen, honestly, I started to kind of lean into it a bit more. I just let myself be me. And through that, I was able to find a new, unique shape that hadn’t been taken before.”

That new shape is unique indeed. The Texas roots. The delayed ascent. The triple axel she added during the pandemic. The coming out. The protective spirit she hovers over the other skaters. Based on tradition, she arrived late to this precipice. But, truly, Glenn is on time. Her time.

Now, she makes her Olympic debut as a favorite to end an American drought. The U.S. women haven’t won a medal since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006. The last American gold medalist was Sarah Hughes in 2002.

If Glenn wins gold, she’d be the oldest women’s Olympic champ since Madge Syers in 1908, back when figure skating took place in the Summer Games.

Of the 78 medals awarded all-time in the women’s singles competition at the Olympics, 17 have been won by women 23 and older. Eight of those medalists were at least 25 years old, with only three coming in the last 100 years. The average age of Winter Olympic gold medalists in women’s singles: 19.5 years old.

Glenn, however, found her stride past the prescribed prime. Because liberation worked out to be a competitive advantage. Because authenticity weighs less than facades.

The same skater who long hovered at the foothill of elite finally began to look it, be it, because she stopped editing herself. And instead found perfection in her imperfections. Now she’s an ambassador in a sport relishing a new era. A sport growing to appreciate individuality rather than squeezing it out.

“And some people love it,” Glenn said. “Some people think it’s a bit too much for figure skating. But who are they to judge? I’m figure skating. Obviously, it works. And if that’s not your preference, then don’t watch. I’m not forcing you to like what I’m doing, but I’m doing it anyways.”

North Texas isn’t an obvious figure skating pipeline. But as in the sport, timing is critical. The Dallas Stars’ trip to the Western Conference finals in 1998, followed by consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final, winning it all in 1999, helped spark a boom in ice rinks in Texas.

One of those opened in 2000 at the Stonebriar Centre. It lasted 13 years at the Frisco, Texas, mall. The NHL-sized rink, which hosted hockey practices and public skating near a California Pizza Kitchen, lost out to retail shops in Stonebriar’s renovation. But before it became a Forever 21 or whatever, the rink inspired a girl from nearby Plano, sparking the passion of an Olympian.

“That really helped fortify a large skating community in Texas,” Glenn said. “… I’m really lucky that I got into it at a young age in Texas.”

Back then, the sport for Glenn wasn’t about medals and scores and degrees of difficulty. It was about being with her sister and cousins. The way the movement felt like gliding. The way fantastical became tangible.

Glenn, who started skating as a 5-year-old, took to the ice like ham to burger. Even as a third-grader, her athleticism caught the attention of coaches. She started competing nationally. She developed rapidly as a figure skater. Before middle school, she could nail five of the sport’s six types of triple jumps. The only one she couldn’t — yet — was the triple axel. She became the U.S. junior champion at 14.

But the low point came soon.

“I didn’t want to be on this earth anymore,” Glenn said.

At about 16 years old, per her timeline, she battled depression, anxiety and an eating disorder. The pressure of being a prodigy, from within and without, proved too much. It landed Glenn in a mental health facility.

She withdrew from everything, returning to her source of security and peace. Her family, her friends and the relationships that maintained significance when the blades came off. She found the person again, the one valuable beyond her potential.

And later — when the brutality ever present in this sport of beauty extracted its pound of flesh from Glenn — she was equipped to deal with professional adversity.

In 2021, at 21 years old, she medaled at the U.S. championships, finishing second. It established Glenn as a serious hopeful for the 2022 Winter Games. In the next U.S. championships, though, she caught COVID, forcing her to withdraw from the competition before her free skate. At 22, she was passed over for an Olympic spot, named an alternate.

She called it her professional low point. But her previous suffering taught her to handle the disappointment.

“And it took just completely stripping down to just survive every day,” Glenn said. “Just wake up and make it to the next day. It’s taken a decade to get to where I am now. But I’m grateful to even be here and to be able to live out this dream after having suffered for a while. I still am working on my mental health. It’s something that’s with you forever.”

In 2024, she finished 10th at the world championships after several falls in her free skate. In 2025, after winning a second consecutive U.S. championship, she fell in the short program of the world championships. It was enough to keep her off the podium.

Still, Glenn got better and stronger as she got older. Each disappointment seemed to unlock more of her resolve. Her resilience required answers, and the answers she acquired produced wisdom. And wisdom helps her maximize her combination of experience and athleticism.

The battle with Glenn is never just about gravity and the math of rotations. But with her brain and her psychology. Years of high-level skating leave her dealing with neuropathy and the lingering effects of multiple concussions. Injuries that don’t always announce themselves with visible scars but quietly impact how the body responds to the stress of their profession. Glenn described how adrenaline can hijack her system, pushing her into a constant fight-or-flight state. Spiked heart rates. Dulled sensations. Command slipping away.

She learned how to regulate her intensity so it wouldn’t consume her halfway through a program. Glenn doesn’t need to get hyped before a skate, but to harness.

It forced her to delve deeper into her own brain and nervous system. Working with a sports psychologist, she turned to neurofeedback — a therapy that trains the brain to improve its performance.

“If I suppress it,” Glenn explained, “I’m gonna go out there and I’m just gonna like fall over. I have to have some sort of adrenaline and excitement to be able to go and do these jumps that are done in less than a second. But if I’m too excited and I get to about a minute and a half … I can’t feel my legs, no matter how much physical training I’ve done. So finding that perfect balance, the zone, has been absolutely essential, and I’m still looking for it.”

After winning her third consecutive U.S. title last month, Glenn stepped to the podium with the silver and bronze medalists, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito. Before they sat down to answer questions, Glenn had a command. She lacquered in enough warmth to make it feel like a great idea. She orchestrated a picture with them on the podium.

With their happiness to oblige evident on their faces, Liu and Levito posed on both sides of Glenn. The big sis. The fun aunt. The standard bearer.

Per the cliche of the sport, they should have beef. Their competitiveness should resemble animosity, and Glenn should draw their ire. The old head who won’t step aside.

But it takes two seconds to see how much they love Glenn. The new faces of the sport, in this new generation of figure skaters, promote congeniality much more than cutthroat competitiveness.

In St. Louis, after notching a program that vaulted her to first place, Liu sat and watched Glenn’s skate. Not in the back on a TV screen but live, rinkside. Liu smiled. She leaned on the jumps, as if to help Glenn rotate. Either she’s a great actress, or she was rooting.

“She’s just like a big sister to me,” Liu said. “I really just see her as like one of my friends and truly one of my teammates.”

It’s a spirit Glenn brings. That kind of unity doesn’t happen organically. Glenn knows too much, has been through too much, to not look at her fellow skaters and see them. Really see them. Because she knows the benefits, finally, of being really seen.

After wrestling with coming out as bisexual and pansexual, she decided she’d take a baby step by casually mentioning her orientation in a local article about training mates in 2019. If she slipped it in casually, she thought, the response would match her understated delivery. It became international news overnight. The baby step became a long jump.

The attention was a lot to process. But the clarity was unmistakable. No longer shoehorning into skates never made for her, the next version of someone else’s ideal.

“Eventually, I realized, if I’m gonna keep doing this, I want to at least do it as me,” Glenn said. “I’m going to be at the top anyway, so I might as well do it as myself. And in doing so, I ended up making it to the top. So I learned a lot, and I think that being an advocate for the queer community and for mental health is one of the reasons why I keep going and being able to be that person who has this platform. … I came out, and I’ve had success, and that motivates me to keep having success. ”

The success didn’t come all at once. Glenn wasn’t a superstar yet when she came out. Just a great skater finding her way, revealing her truth, leaving it all on the ice. Oddly enough, she learned a valuable lesson. People responded with an embrace. In a sport obsessed with flawlessness, Glenn appealed with genuineness. Perfection, she learned, belonged in mythology. The chase for it is worthy, but grace must follow.

Glenn gives it to herself. She showers it on others.

For the woman once knocked for her hard appearance on the ice, she’s as mushy as they come about skaters. She knows the harshness of their sport and bears the scars from her love of figure skating. Her survival inspired camaraderie. Her struggle produced appreciation.

Because she’s still here, her best self, long after the sport’s usual expiration date. The Olympic gold medalist from eight years ago, Russia’s Alina Zagitova, is three years younger than Glenn.

Because liberation is rejuvenating.

Today, Glenn stands on the cusp of becoming a legend. Rooted in her own skin, embraced by the next generation, she isn’t just skating toward history. She’s modeling what it looks like to arrive there whole.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics

2026 The Athletic Media Company

Everton have sacked head coach Brian Sorensen with the club four points clear of the Women’s Super League’s relegation zone.

Assistant coaches Stephen Neligan and Ashley Tootle have also been dismissed.

The Athletic reported Sorensen’s departure on Wednesday and the club later confirmed the news, with under-18s coach Scott Phelan placed in interim charge. He will be assisted by Jennifer Foster, who had been part of Sorensen’s backroom staff for the past 12 months, and goalkeeping coach Ian McCaldon.

Sorensen’s dismissal comes after Everton secured just their third league win of the season, and first since December 7, on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa thanks to an 89th-minute Martina Fernandez goal.

The result left Sorensen’s side ninth in the WSL, four points clear of Liverpool in the division’s single relegation spot. There is no automatic relegation place in the WSL this season, with the league’s bottom side entering a relegation play-off with the team that finishes third in WSL2.

Sorensen, 45, had been at Everton since the summer of 2022 and signed a new two-year contract in April that had been due to run until 2027.

The Athletic reported on January 26 that there was recognition internally at Everton that the performances under Sorensen had not been good enough this season.

Everton brought in nine new signings in the summer, their first transfer window under the new ownership of the Friedkin Group, including midfielder Ruby Mace for a then club-record fee of approximately £200,000.

They have, however, been hit with key injuries, including to captain Megan Finnigan and forward Katja Snoeijs. France striker Kelly Gago was made the club’s highest-paid player in the summer, but was involved in a transfer row in January following interest from elsewhere. Forward Toni Payne suffered a muscle injury after the Villa victory and is set to be about for four to six weeks.

Despite the injuries and absences, Everton’s winter business was remarkably sparse. Inma Gabarro was recalled from her loan at Sevilla. Eighteen-year-old defensive midfielder Laila Harbert was secured on loan from Arsenal and midfielder Zara Kramzar was signed from Roma on deadline day.

While Everton broke their club-transfer record to sign Kramzar for £250,000, according to sources briefed on the deal, Everton’s overall squad budget this season ranks among the lowest in the WSL.

Everton’s women’s team relocated to Goodison Park this season following the men’s side’s move to the Hill-Dickinson Stadium for the 2025-26 campaign.

Sorensen joined Everton from Fortuna Hjorring and led the club to sixth in the WSL during his debut season in charge, followed by successive eight-place finishes.

Everton return to action against London City Lionesses on Sunday.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Everton, Women's Soccer

2026 The Athletic Media Company

“If I was West Ham, I’d be hammering down the door of Olivia Dean’s management and asking her how she wants to get involved in the club,” says Al Greenwood, drummer for the British band Sports Team.

On Sunday, Dean, the singer-songwriter of global chart-topping hits like Man I Need and So Easy (To Fall In Love), won the Grammy for best new artist. “I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated,” she powerfully said during her winning speech. 

The 26-year-old has been releasing music since 2019 but her soulful, pop-sounding second album, The Art of Loving, has cemented her status as one of the most exciting artists of her generation.

The weekend before performing and winning at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for the music industry’s most glitzy event, she was at the London Stadium cheering her beloved West Ham United during their 3-1 Premier League win over Sunderland.

Given Dean is one of the most famous artists in the world — she has joined names such as Amy Winehouse and Adele as winners of the breakthrough award — the question is: how can West Ham tap into Dean’s global appeal and will they try to?

Dean has been a lifelong fan and has mentioned them — and sometimes shouted the word “IRONS!” — in multiple interviews.

Growing up in Highams Park in north east London, Dean regularly attended West Ham matches at the team’s former stadium, Upton Park, with her father and brother. In previous interviews, Dean, who was a student at the renowned Brit School of Performing Arts, has spoken of going to the Black Lion pub before every match, of how their seats were near to the corner flag and recalled standing up for an entire game to cheer on her team.

During an interview on Apple Music 1, Dean excitedly received messages from men’s team captain Jarrod Bowen congratulating her on her new album and was invited to Chadwell Heath training ground by women’s team players, Ffion Morgan and Shelina Zadorsky. But other than the personalised messages and passionate mentions, Dean is yet to collaborate with her team.

Manchester United fan Greenwood, who has been photographed for her team’s kit launches in the past, is not alone in hoping Dean will be at a home West Ham game soon to show off her Grammy. The Athletic asked West Ham whether they were planning to invite Dean but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Greenwood is also one of the founders of Inmotion Collective, the creative group behind the Lionesses’ squad announcement video for the 2022 European Championship, featuring cameos from singer Joy Crookes, presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg and former England players such as Alex Scott, Ian Wright and David Beckham.

The drummer, who interviewed Dean in 2022 for Glorious Sport, a digital media brand centred on women’s sports, tells The Athletic: “I wrote that piece (for Glorious) four years ago and, at the time, I was like, West Ham need to jump all over this because she speaks so eloquently and has such an authentic connection to the club.

“Obviously, she just picked up a Grammy, her rise to stardom has been stratospheric and she’s such a great overall representative for the women’s game beyond just being an incredible artist. The way she speaks, the amount of brands she’s involved in. She is just such an impressive individual.

“But it’s not about saying: ‘Oh, do you want to be in the kit launch?’ That’s also brilliant, but you need to find ways to really engage with artists in ways that are meaningful to them.”

Last year, Dean performed alongside Newcastle United fan Sam Fender, with whom she collaborated on the song, Rein Me In, during his sold-out headline show at the London Stadium. At that show, Dean told the crowd it was nice to be performing at her “home ground” and the Newcastle-strong contingent booed. It wasn’t quite the homecoming she had planned, but she took it in good jest.

Fender has linked up with Newcastle in several creative ways. To promote his Mercury Prize-winning third album People Watching, the singer sponsored the back of the team’s shirts for their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford during the 2024-25 season. The shirt was then released as a limited edition by Adidas, with the match-worn shirts auctioned for charity. Fender has also performed multiple sold-out shows at St James’ Park, the home of Newcastle, and continues to authentically lead the way when it comes to the famous fan collaboration.

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) represent Dean. As senior creator marketing director for brand consulting, Ellen Topley works on the sporting side of the business. She has no crossover with Dean or her team, and a collaboration “really depends what the individual themselves is looking to get out of it”.

“It can be such a smart partnership (sports teams and artists) to win over new fans, bring in new revenue and new relevance for the club when it comes to culture,” Topley says.

“A lot of them probably don’t want to be doing a big kit launch with the club, right? They just want to go and enjoy their club and have a nice time with their friends and family. But I think that’s just where those relationships and conversations start. It is about understanding is there an opportunity to do more?”

Take a look at the Hollywood effect at Wrexham. When actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought the Welsh club in 2021, they used not just their fortunes but their fame to transform a then non-League side battling it out in the fifth tier of the English pyramid to a team currently knocking on the door of the Premier League. One more promotion and they’ll be competing in the world’s wealthiest football league.

Eva Longoria, Will Ferrell, Hugh Jackman and Channing Tatum are just some of the celebrities who have turned up to watch Wrexham play, bringing with them the extra social media likes and headlines that celebrities tend to garner. A fifth season of Welcome to Wrexham is currently being filmed, a documentary which has, over the past five years, captivated a global audience. On the pitch Wrexham are succeeding but off it too, thanks to some major brand deals, revenue has hit another stratosphere.

Other teams, like Birmingham City, who count NFL great Tom Brady as one of their minority stakeholders, have taken notes from the Wrexham playbook by using star power as a foundation for success both on and off the field.

No one is suggesting Dean should become an investor. But for Greenwood, who has experience of directing shoots and being in them, partnerships between artists and sports teams are important for many reasons. She can’t quantify whether her work with Manchester United or the Lionesses has brought her Mercury Prize-nominated band even more listeners, but it would be a surprise if those collaborations at least hadn’t boosted name recognition.

“What we always talk about as a band is the fact that there’s six of us who are all different individuals. And I think the more that you can do to express yourself as an individual, the more there is for a fan to get behind,” says Greenwood, the only female in the group.

“It’s always been key to how I see the sport expanding and more women getting involved, more people accessing and enjoying women’s sport.

“Culture is going to be key to unlocking that. Through my career as a drummer, and through the work we’ve done as a creative collective, we’ve tried to always blur that increasingly permeable wall between culture, music, art and sport.”

Ahead of the women’s World Cup in 2023, Dean wrote the song Call Me A Lioness and sang on the track alongside a talented collection of artists, who called themselves Hope FC, including Self Esteem and Melanie C, the former Spice Girl. “It feels like she’s got her own sort of creative pursuits and endeavours,” Greenwood, who drummed on the song, says. “And if I was working with her, I’d be trying to open doors to enable her to express herself in a way that feels good and meaningful to her.”

The photograph of Dean applauding at the London Stadium, with a claret and blue scarf draped over her shoulder, was shared on X by West Ham, getting 1.5 million views and over 10,000 likes. There was also a collaboration post on Instagram between the club and the Premier League using the same image which had over 59,000 likes. By contrast, West Ham’s post at full-time for the 3-1 win against Sunderland had nearly 40,000 likes on Instagram.

Spotted in the stands: Olivia Dean ✨ pic.twitter.com/QxmGhG6jDi

— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 25, 2026

Topley adds: “Across any kind of brand partnership, if someone is excited about the brand or the team it’s so much easier to get something over the line. If you’re having to force something from the beginning, it just makes it hard.

“If you can tap into talents’ passions, whether that is the way that you bring the partnership to life or whether it is the actual partnership itself, it’s just so much easier for negotiations and even getting that initial conversation started.”

Might we even see Dean and Lionesses captain and Arsenal defender Leah Williamson creatively linking up on a future project? The two-time European Championship winner is now represented by fivethree, an agency co-founded by Emily Braham, Dean’s manager of 10 years and a person whom she thanked on stage last Sunday. Williamson joining forces with fivethree is just another example of how football, music, fashion, art and film are already deeply intertwined.

And there is clearly an opportunity for West Ham and Dean should they wish to collaborate. But, for now, it seems both are content with being nice to each other, to half borrow a line from Dean’s most viral track.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

West Ham United, Soccer, Sports Business, Women's Soccer, Culture, Premier League

2026 The Athletic Media Company

Jordan Binnington will prove once again to be the greatest goalie on Earth.

A debate is about to break out over who is the best women’s player in the world.

Czechia will return to Olympic glory.

Those were among the responses The Athletic got this week when it asked its hockey staff for their bold predictions for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Here are some prognostications from writers, with puck drop around the corner.

Czechia plays for a medal in the men’s tournament

Goaltending is the great equalizer in a single-elimination tournament. The goalie is the only player on the ice who can truly singlehandedly narrow the talent gap between countries. In Sochi, little-known Latvian goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis put quite a scare into Canada — now considered perhaps the best hockey team ever assembled — with a superhuman performance, making 55 saves. The game was tied 1-1 until late in the third period, when Shea Weber finally scored on a power play, allowing Canada to escape with a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals. Lukáš Dostál is far more accomplished than Gudlevskis and is capable of stealing a game or two. He’ll knock off one of the Big Four in the quarterfinal, which will put Czechia in one of the medal games. — Mark Lazerus

Czechia returns to glory in the men’s tournament

Back in the old days, Czechia was one of the top hockey powers, headlined by a generational duo of Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek. The Czechs have fallen from their gold medal heights in 1998, but appear to be a nation back on the rise. What this current version lacks in quality depth (just 11 NHL players), it makes up for in star power (David Pastrnak, Martin Necas) and potentially strong goaltending. It’s the latter that gets Czechia back on the podium. — Dom Luszczyszyn

A debate for the world’s best women’s hockey player emerges

Marie-Philip Poulin is the current best player in women’s hockey, cementing that status with every gold she wins (and gold-winning goal she scores) with Canada. But that debate could be opened if Kendall Coyne Schofield keeps up her 2025-26 PWHL dominance and Team USA grabs gold this time around. While Poulin has been the better player the past two seasons (league-leading plus-12.4 Net Rating to Coyne Schofield’s plus-9.4), it’s her American counterpart that holds the edge in 2025-26. Coyne Schofield’s league-leading plus-5.1 Net Rating is backed by a PWHL-best 10 goals and 16 points in 15 games. That’s closed the gap in overall PWHL value; a big-time Olympics with a gold medal around Coyne Schofield’s neck could make it a real discussion. — Dom Luszczyszyn

Brianne Jenner runs it back

Think fast, and don’t look it up: Who was the MVP of the 2022 tournament? Was it Poulin, who’s approaching GOAT status in the sport? Hilary Knight, hands-down the best American player of her generation? Sarah Fillier? Sarah Nurse? Buzzers all around. It was Brianne Jenner — a player who spent a too-large chunk of her career operating in Poulin’s shadow and then, post-2022, struggled both in the PWHL and at World Championships. She’s having a bounce-back season for the Ottawa Charge, though, and seems capable (once again) of forcing her way past higher-profile stars. She might not have another nine-goal tournament, but I’d bet on her being a force. — Sean Gentille

The American women lap the competition and don’t lose a game

The only thing that could derail the United States is overconfidence or a bad goaltending outing at the worst possible time. The U.S. proved during the 2025 Rivalry Series that it is younger, faster and better balanced than its rivals from Canada, which will be its chief competition. In a four-game sweep of Canada between Cleveland, Buffalo and Edmonton, the U.S. outscored Canada by a whopping 17 goals. While the Americans said all the right things after their fourth consecutive win, such as Knight calling themselves “underdogs” and Laila Edwards pointing out that the Olympics is a far different “battlefield,” it’s just hard to imagine any country defeating the Americans, let alone them not taking home gold. — Michael Russo

Quinn Hughes leads all Olympians in ice time and defensemen in points

Well, the ice time part isn’t exactly bold. Maybe not even the points part. But what many folks took for granted during the 4 Nations Face-Off when the United States came up one goal short to Canada in the championship is that the Americans played the tournament without the country’s most electric offensive defenseman, the injured one-man breakout that is Quinn Hughes. Nobody in the NHL has the puck on his stick more than Hughes, and what he has done for the Minnesota Wild offensively since his Dec. 14 arrival has been nothing short of extraordinary. Hughes should pile up points for the U.S. in the Olympics and help create a daunting power play for opposing penalty kills to extinguish. — Michael Russo

Team USA’s rising stars steal the spotlight in the women’s tournament

In 2022, Fillier’s breakout performance for Team Canada was the story of the tournament. And on the other side of the gold medal matchup, Team USA was criticized for over-sheltering its up-and-coming talent. There was no smooth “changing of the guard” transition; it was an over-reliance on veterans instead of a balance between Team USA’s stalwarts and Olympic rookies. But it’s not 2022 anymore; there is so much rising talent on Team USA this time around, and a coaching staff that is more than willing to deploy them. So while Knight will rightfully get a lot of attention in her final Olympic Tournament, the story will be the young guns making an impact. It’s going to be the Abbey Murphy show up front, with Hannah Bilka earning a lot of recognition. And on the back end, with some Olympic experience under her belt (in a very limited role in 2022), Caroline Harvey is going to show that she is one of the most dynamic offensive defenders in the world. Edwards will become more of a household name, too, with her all-around game. It’s finally going to be a new era at the Olympic level. — Shayna Goldman

Rasmus Dahlin is Sweden’s MVP

Team Sweden is dealing with a lot of key injuries. Jonas Brodin and Leo Carlsson are out, and defensive snub Simon Edvinsson is now injured and can’t replace them. While Gabriel Landeskog and Victor Hedman (who only just recently returned for Tampa Bay) are expected to be back for the tournament, the real question is whether they will be healthy enough to play or truly make an impact. This opens the door to another defenseman getting the chance to step up: Dahlin. He really hasn’t had the chance to show what he can do in this type of setting, since he has never played at the Olympic level or in the NHL postseason. But considering how elite his all-around game has been on a Sabres team that struggled through a lot of ups and downs over the years, Dahlin should be able to amp things up even more on a star-studded roster. That could be the key to Sweden going on a real run here, especially with a disruptor such as Czechia pushing for a medal this year. — Shayna Goldman

Sweden upsets to get on the women’s podium

Most players and pundits predict a Finland versus Czechia bronze medal match. And it’s a safe bet; that’s how it’s been at back-to-back women’s world championships. However, Sweden is a fun dark horse team to watch with an exciting young roster, headlined by Ohio State freshman Hilda Svensson, who has 44 points in 26 games. The Swedish team has suffered in international competition due to the women’s group format. So, the team would need to win Group B and upset either Finland or Czechia in the quarterfinals to make a real podium push. But these are supposed to be bold predictions, after all. — Hailey Salvian

U.S. men fight for bronze

If these are truly bold predictions, I’m going to say Team USA fails to make the Olympic gold medal game. They lost to Canada at 4 Nations and didn’t really tweak the roster in a way that appeals to me. But mostly I’m thinking about how Team USA won only a single game in 1998 when NHL players debuted at the Olympics. Almost 30 years later, as a Canadian, it’s funny to think about history repeating itself as NHL players make their return to the Olympic stage. I’ll be realistic and assume they at least make the bronze medal game this time around. — Hailey Salvian

Jordan Binnington, the greatest goalie on Earth

“Goaltending is voodoo” is a very trite phrase. It is a very annoying phrase. It is also a very accurate phrase, and it may as well have been coined with Binnington in mind. The worse Binnington looks for the Blues — and as I write this, he has literally saved fewer goals than expected than any goaltender in the league, with a save percentage that’s one of the league’s worst — the better I believe he’ll play in Milan. That’s simply how it works. In 2014, Carey Price allowed three goals in five games. Put Binnington down for two. And if he stinks? You’re welcome, America. — Sean Gentille

Switzerland wins the bronze medal

There is legitimate star power on Team Switzerland with Roman Josi, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Kevin Fiala and others. But more importantly, there is team cohesion. Most of the players on this year’s team were also on the team that reached the 2024 IIHF men’s worlds final before losing to Czechia (a country that will also benefit from that experience). There is a shared experience of success there that could transfer to this tournament. Also, Switzerland’s non-NHL depth all play in the highly competitive Swiss NL. They are good players who might be unfamiliar to NHL fans but will play depth roles effectively. The big question is goaltending and whether the trio of Josi, J.J. Moser and Jonas Siegenthaler can carry the load on the back end. But in the grander scheme of Swiss hockey, there is a “Last Dance” feel to this team as some of their NHL stars begin to age with not much in the way of young talent coming through the pipeline. The world championship silver in 2024 was a big moment for Swiss hockey. This might be their last chance for a while to do something ever bigger. And a bronze at these best-on-best Olympics would definitely be much bigger. — Arpon Basu

One of the biggest stories of the Olympics will be one we don’t find out about until later

All the lobbying that will go on between players in advance of this year’s trade deadline and free agency. NHL teams aren’t allowed to tamper, and while we can quibble about how strongly that rule is actually enforced, we know GMs can’t call up players who are under contract to another team and beg them to jump ship. But that rule doesn’t apply to players themselves, who’ll want to have conversations with the temporary teammates they’re spending all that time with. If that conversation happened to turn to how much fun it is to play for a certain team or in a certain market, well, that’s just some friendly banter, right? Sure … until a player from your favorite team comes back from Italy and suddenly seems to have his eye on a new home. Will any players receive any salesmanship talking points before they head over? Will any teams complain about their players being targeted? Would the league want to open a can of worms by doing anything about it? It would be interesting to find out. — Sean McIndoe

The Canada-USA rivalry sees more bad blood on the women’s side than on the men’s

Some of that is based on history — the women’s rivalry has been hockey’s best for the last decade or so. Some of it is familiarity, with the recent Rivalry Series still lingering. And some of it will be international experience. Remember, last year’s epic 4 Nations battle essentially came under NHL rules, while the Olympics is a different deal. The men will have to be careful to adjust, while the women already know the drill. Add it all up, and while we won’t see three fights in nine seconds, don’t be shocked if we see more scrums, trash talk and general nastiness from the women. — Sean McIndoe

Matt Boldy is Team USA’s best offensive game breaker

Team USA is stacked with an elite blue line and strong goaltending. The big question for them, though, is whether they have enough elite offensive game breakers up front to outgun Canada, especially because they controversially left Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield at home. Jack Eichel is a two-way superstar, but he may not dominate offensively because of how daunting his defensive matchups could be, particularly if he’s matched against Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon in any potential games against Canada. The Tkachuk brothers were a force at 4 Nations, but Matthew is coming off an injury and Brady has played well but isn’t filling the net offensively this season (14 goals in 34 games). Perhaps Auston Matthews, who has turned a corner since Christmas, becomes Team USA’s best offensive weapon, but I’m going to predict Boldy is the one who steps up. Boldy was really noticeable at 4 Nations, and he’s taken another step this season, on pace for 46 goals. Most importantly, I think Boldy’s combination of size, athleticism and high-end skill will translate well offensively in what will likely be a tight-checking tournament where space is hard to find. And since his defensive duties on the wing won’t be as demanding as Eichel’s and Matthews’, there’s extra reason to believe he can emerge as America’s best pure offensive game breaker at forward. — Harman Dayal

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, NHL, Olympics, Women's Hockey, Men's Olympic Hockey, Women's Olympic Hockey, NHL Highlights, Olympics

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Gold ticker tape rained down on Arsenal for the second time in eight months as captain Kim Little and vice-captain Leah Williamson lifted the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup gilded plate.

Following their Women’s Champions League triumph in May — continuing their record as the only English club to conquer Europe — they made history yet again on Sunday by beating Brazilian side Corinthians 3-2 in extra time and pocketing $2.3million (£1.7m) in prize money.

Little described the victory as a “different feeling” when asked how this intercontinental title compares to the Champions League. “It’s another trophy,” she told reporters after the win. “As players and a club, that is what we want to do.”

The Corinthians players were left disconsolate after losing a final with a real edge. “We wanted to give our fans their dream to be world champions,” head coach Lucas Piccinato said in her post-match press conference. “It was a magical moment for us. We will never forget playing the European champions in their own home.”

It is hard to assess what significance this new competition holds. Perhaps Arsenal season ticket holder Kevin Price put it best.

“It doesn’t compare to the Champions League trophy,” he told The Athletic outside the Emirates before kick-off. “A four-team competition, albeit champions of their respective continents, but you play two games and win a trophy. That’s not how most competitions work. Champions League — the best. This will be good for bragging rights. Best team in the world and all that.”

But the tournament was marred by last-minute organisational issues, a presenting partner with a conflict of interest and a winning side handed an overwhelming home advantage.

It was always going to be a challenge to attract fans to a midweek midday kick-off in Brentford, but FIFA had recruited hundreds of local school children in high-vis jackets to try to fill the 17,250-capacity Community Stadium for Wednesday’s first semi-final between Corinthians and Gotham FC.

As it was, the shrieking children met their match as the Corinthian supporters were the stars of the show, out-singing and outlasting the neutral crowd. England manager Sarina Wiegman watched on alongside FIFA’s chief football officer Jill Ellis.

Speaking to the media before the tournament, Ellis emphasised the importance of continuing to “elevate, grow and support the ecosystem” of women’s club football. FIFA sees the Champions Cup as a stepping stone towards the delayed 2028 Club World Cup, designed to grow global competitiveness and investment.

This intercontinental tournament can incentivise confederations to invest in the women’s game.

The winners’ cheque is the highest payout awarded in women’s club football, according to FIFA — although World Sevens Football (W7F), a new seven-a-side tournament introduced last year, awarded Bayern Munich $2.5m when they won in May. Arsenal’s players will receive a winning bonus, but the $2.3m they won represents 10 per cent of the women’s team’s overall revenue in the 2024-25 season, and is nearly six times what the Champions League winners earn ($398,000).

Such numbers are praiseworthy but could also distort competitive balance in domestic leagues. That is even more important in women’s football than in the men’s game, and the growing gaps between teams could threaten the long-term sustainability of women’s club football.

There had been a misguided assumption that the Champions Cup would culminate in a showdown between Arsenal and Gotham, the Women’s Super League (WSL) against the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), but Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti upset that party.

If there were any questions about what this tournament meant to her, she made it clear. “I have dedicated my whole life to reach this point,” she said, describing her decisive semi-final goal as “the most important” of her career.

The 40-year-old said the introduction of such competitions “took too long to happen”, and it was important to develop women’s football globally.

Most players shared Arsenal’s Olivia Smith’s view that it was an “honour” and a “great opportunity” for their club to play in such a tournament. She welcomed the addition of more tournaments like the Champions Cup, and insisted that any chance to win a trophy is significant.

There have, however, been large wrinkles in the process.

First, the tournament was played in January. For Gotham and Corinthians, this is usually their off-season, whereas Arsenal and Moroccan side AS FAR are in the middle of their campaigns. There is no perfect solution that suits all parties, given different leagues play at different times of the year. But the 2027 and 2029 editions of the Champions Cup will also take place in January, as will the 2028 Club World Cup, although the hosts of all editions are yet to be decided.

Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers said the schedule “works for us” and they have a deep enough squad to compete on all fronts, whereas her Gotham counterpart, Juan Amoros, said it was “challenging”. The NWSL side brought their usual season preparation three to four weeks ahead of schedule, travelling from the United States to Spain on January 2. This time last year, they would have only been having their first-team meetings at this point.

“We hit the ground running right after New Year’s in a way that is significantly earlier than any other NWSL team has ever started historically, including us last year,” Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch West told The Athleticbefore their 1-0 semi-final defeat. “This is not pre-season for us, this is an extension of the end of last season.”

Gotham took this competition seriously. They wanted to win another trophy and put their brand as well as the NWSL on the map. From that aspect, their defeat, in Amoros’ words, was “a missed opportunity”. But he said the club does not look for excuses, rather solutions.

“The more you win in the world of football, the more games you play,” said Amoros. “That is the club we want to be, the one that plays all the games.”

The same scheduling issue applied to Corinthians. Zanotti described preparation for such a tournament as “very demanding”. Their last domestic game was in mid-December. “We’ve only had two weeks to get ready to come here,” she said. “It’s not ideal.”

Spare a thought for the WSL, too, which would have been particularly frustrated that attention was being taken away from its heavyweight clash between Manchester City and Chelsea, a hugely influential game in the title race.

Other teething issues centred on organisation.

The introduction of the 2026 edition and its dates were only confirmed in March 2025. Since then, confirmations of venues, broadcasting and commercial partnerships have been very last-minute. A new competition needs a much longer runway to get it off the ground. Ellis acknowledged this.

Six weeks before the competition started, fans did not know where the games would be held. FIFA announced Brentford as host of the semi-finals and Arsenal for the third-place play-off and final as late as December 12. The attendance for the final was 25,031 fans, 7,210 for the third-placed match and 6,177 and 8,066 for the semi-finals.

The Price family’s main motivation to go was their unwavering support for Arsenal, but Kevin criticised the tournament’s marketing when asked why the crowd may not be as big as the game deserves. “I don’t think it’s been as well publicised,” he said. “It was sprung on everyone about six weeks ago. I don’t think anybody realised how important it was.”

Upon the announcement that the tournament would take place, FIFA said the semi-finals and final would be held at a neutral venue. North America was considered but FIFA decided upon Europe, a decision Ellis acknowledges was made late.

“We know Arsenal is such a pillar in terms of driving the game,” she told members of the media. “Dropping it in a neutral site just doesn’t make sense for where the women’s game is.”

A FIFA statement said: “Key factors such as visibility, player experience, climate, accessibility for global fans and teams, media infrastructure, and commercial potential were thoroughly evaluated.”

But the selection of the Emirates for the final gave Arsenal a significant advantage, not only playing at home but also avoiding the logistical challenges from travelling.

“It is what it is,” said Piccinato, who wants future editions to be held at a neutral venue. The Corinthians head coach also said his club had complained to FIFA after two Arsenal youth players were pictured watching Corinthians train at their base, which they shared with Arsenal’s academy. Slegers described the incident as “innocent” and “unfortunate”.

At one point, there were question marks over whether one of the semi-finals would take place. Morocco’s FAR were due to arrive in London on Saturday but they were delayed until Monday evening because of “administrative issues”, according to their press officer.

“We didn’t have the time to acclimatise and adapt, but we’re doing the best we can,” manager Mohamed Amine Alioua said, even if goalkeeper Hind Hasnaoui added, in all sincerity, that their preparation was “perfect” for Wednesday’s 6-0 semi-final defeat against Arsenal. Corinthians also had their own visa issues as Dayana Rodríguez, Gisela Robledo and Paola Garcia arrived on Tuesday, a week later than the rest of their team-mates.

A broadcast partner was not announced until two weeks before the final stage, when Sky and FIFA agreed to air the games in the UK and Ireland. CBS Sports in the U.S. picked up the final and third-placed game, announcing its coverage on Wednesday.

CazeTV, FIFA’s broadcast partner in Brazil, received around one million concurrent views of the final on its live stream. By comparison, it had a similar number for Brazil’s group-stage game against Panama in the 2023 World Cup.

VISA was announced as the global sponsor two days before the semi-finals while Kynisca, Michele Kang’s multi-club ownership organisation, was controversially named the presenting partner of the inaugural competition less than a week before the start date. That led to suggestions of a conflict of interest, as Kang owns WSL side London City Lionesses, NWSL outfit Washington Spirit and eight-time Champions League winners OL Lyonnes.

Even if those teams did not compete in this year’s edition, they could compete in future tournaments and at the 2028 Club World Cup. A financial link between an owner and a global tournament organised by the sport’s governing body is deeply problematic, and any seed of doubt that there is a perception of bias — however small — has now been irreversibly planted.

It was an unusual arrangement given people cannot buy a product but instead, the partnership indirectly boosts Kang’s own clubs’ brands and at the final, earned her a seat at the high table alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger and Ellis.

FIFA said it is “delighted” with the partnership and is “comfortable”, adding the arrangement was only for the 2026 edition, with Kynisca-associated clubs involved. “Kynisca’s support of this tournament reflects their wider commitment to transforming women’s football through unprecedented investment, while also advancing elite women’s club football,” it added via a statement.

Others will argue Kang has contributed more money to the women’s game than any other individual, and that her investment and ambition are needed. If Kang’s mission is to advance women’s football, as she has repeatedly stated, funding an event that could trigger more investment seems logical.

Considering how late the partnership was announced, had Kang not stepped in, the tournament may have been left without a presenting partner altogether. But while Kang’s intentions may be well-meaning, FIFA might have opened Pandora’s box.

The sport’s world governing body has invested significantly, paying for teams’ business-class flights, transport, accommodation, food, beverages and on-the-ground support. Amoros praised the tournament’s organisation as “fantastic”, adding that Gotham had everything they needed.

Proper investment in marketing the product is essential, however. FIFA ramped up paid marketing in the week leading up to the tournament and called upon former England international Jill Scott and Arsenal legend Ian Wright to encourage fans to buy tickets.

The tournament’s tagline, “a new era of women’s football”, did little to capture fans’ attention, nor did it add any sense of jeopardy. Just because something is happening does not mean people will turn up. The UK women’s football audience is not mature enough yet and FIFA leaned heavily on Arsenal’s fanbase. But it would also be understandable if Arsenal were cautious in how they advertised the final — they are also trying to push a pivotal home game in their league campaign against Manchester City on Sunday.

“It stimulates growth when you create competitions,” added Ellis. “We’ve got to start somewhere. Let’s be patient. We’re committed to growing this every year.”

Arsenal played the hand they were dealt — and won — but FIFA must learn from its mistakes.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Arsenal, Gotham FC, NWSL, Sports Business, Women's Soccer

2026 The Athletic Media Company

For a stretch on Sunday, Tennessee looked like it had UConn on its heels. But the thing about a team as talented and well-balanced as UConn is that even on its heels, it can find momentum. Heck, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong could probably find momentum in quicksand.

The two combined for 53 points in No. 1 UConn’s 96-66 win over No. 15 Tennessee (14-5, 6-1 in SEC). The pair’s ability to score from anywhere on the floor makes UConn (23-0, 12-0 in Big East) not just a defensive mismatch, but also an unsolvable problem — at least to this point in the season. After all, having either Strong or Fudd could make almost any team a title contender. To have both? Well, that’s UConn for you.

But for UConn to be as dominant as it is — the Huskies just reeled off their 18th-consecutive 25-plus point victory — Fudd and Strong need to be excellent.

“When we go into these kinds of games, we pretty much know that if those two don’t have big games, it’s going to be really hard for us to win,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Not that we can’t, but it would be really hard for us to win.”

Though Fudd scored the first seven points of the game to indicate a forthcoming rout, the Huskies still managed to hit some quicksand. UConn coughed up a 15-point first-quarter lead and let the Lady Vols tie it up by halftime, and the Huskies turned over the ball nearly as much in the first half as they have in full games this year. Yet with Strong and Fudd, a creeping sense of an inevitable Huskies victory never goes away — the eventual 30-point margin was the largest in the series’ history and was Tennessee’s second-worst loss in program history.

Fudd and Strong combine for 36.5 points per game this season, seamlessly filling the scoring gap left by Paige Bueckers, who was a focal point of last season’s offense. Against their top competition this season — five games against teams that currently rank among the top 15 — the duo averaged 47.8 points a game. Their production against Tennessee marks the second time this season they’ve combined for at least 50 points; their 50 points against Iowa were responsible for another signature victory.

Sarah Strong always shows up 💪

vs. #15 Tennessee:

– 26 points

– 10-18 FG

– 9 rebounds

– 4 assists pic.twitter.com/xYwknsiKGu

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 1, 2026

Azzi HER Fudd

vs. #15 Tennessee:

– 27 points

– 11-17 FG

– 5-8 3FG

– 7 rebounds

– 7 assists

– 4 steals pic.twitter.com/u4VxkqbApS

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 1, 2026

The cast around Fudd and Strong has its moments, too. The energy and defensive prowess of KK Arnold (six steals), the all-around contributions of Ashlynn Shade, transfers Serah Williams and Kayleigh Heckel’s continued growth in UConn’s system and sharpshooter Allie Ziebell — who hit a program-record 10 3-pointers in the Huskies’ previous game and requires constant monitoring on the perimeter — all support the duo. Tennessee looked outmatched for most of the game, and that was even as Blanca Quiñonez, one of the nation’s top freshmen, sat on UConn’s bench with a day-to-day shoulder injury.

For years, the women’s hoops calendar revolved around the UConn-Tennessee matchup. The rivalry helped build and sustain the sport over decades. Today, Fudd said, “it’s not the same as it was back then” when it comes to the circus of the game. But inside those lines, this game still did everything for UConn that games of the past did: It put a mirror up to a UConn team that has national title aspirations.

Auriemma won’t have issues finding faults in that reflection. After Fudd finished three rebounds and three assists short of a triple-double (with four steals and a block), he pointed out that she also had two turnovers. But the uncharacteristic mistakes UConn made in the second quarter when it allowed Tennessee’s defensive speed and pressure to impact its play will resonate more loudly at the Huskies’ practices in Storrs this week than the margin of victory.

“You play these games to be really tested, to find out a little bit of what your team is made of,” Auriemma said. “It’s good that you have to regroup and find yourself.”

UConn found itself on Sunday. It played unselfish basketball in an exclamation point victory. The Huskies have been perfect so far this year, having rough quarters only here and there, and never at a point when or for long enough to hurt them beyond learning a lesson. (UConn’s four-point third quarter in a win against ranked Michigan comes to mind.)

No doubt, when any team in March sees UConn in its path, it will examine these occasional rough patches UConn has experienced. Can Tennessee or Michigan provide a roadmap for future UConn opponents? Can anything be done to slow the Huskies from regrouping and finding their stride?

It’ll be on Auriemma and his staff to plan the reverse. It’ll be on his players to learn from these stretches to find the new version of themselves faster the next time around. To work backward to figure out how to stop issues at the first warning sign. To understand how the yarn started unraveling in the first place. In the rankings, this is another “W,” putting the Huskies one step closer to another undefeated season. But to UConn, it will be a warning sign along the way (and to Auriemma, a close call).

The perennial knock against UConn is that because it plays in the Big East, it doesn’t come up against the night-in, night-out challenges like teams in the SEC or Big Ten. And yet, every SEC and Big Ten opponent on the Huskies’ schedule this year has met the same fate. Even in those games with cold stretches or tough moments, UConn’s UConn-ness was inevitable. The Huskies are appearing to pull away from the field as they go for the first back-to-back women’s basketball national championships since the program’s 2015 and 2016 titles.

For now, UConn remains perfect. It’s a sentence that has been typed a thousand times over the last few decades in women’s hoops. The Huskies’ last loss came 39 games ago in Knoxville last season. Since then, the only thing they’ve lost is the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick. Somehow, with Fudd and Strong leading the charge, this season’s Huskies team might be even more dominant.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Connecticut Huskies, Women's College Basketball

2026 The Athletic Media Company

On a cold Wednesday morning on the River Thames, where Brentford touches Kew Bridge, the clock ticks past 10:30 a.m., and the typical leafy riverside neighborhood in west London meets its visitors.

Joggers hug the Thames path. Geese and seagulls mudlark on the bank. Then suddenly, drums and flags fill the air. A mosaic of São Paulo soccer culture has arrived.

The plaza outside the old Victorian warehouse-turned-pub, One Over the Ait, is filling up with black-and-white-clad SC Corinthians Paulista fans from all over the world. It is still two hours before Corinthians kick off against NJ/NY Gotham FC in the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup semifinals at the Gtech Community Stadium, a short six-minute walk away.

The atmosphere is building as more fans congregate, pinning up their flags and banners, and joining in with the chorus of chants. Soon, a few hundred will march through the streets to the match.

Holding a 12-foot pole with the Corinthians flag at the top proudly flying high, Deborah, who lives in London but was born and raised in Brazil, says that around 400-500 Corinthians supporters are expected to be at the semifinal.

No matter the physical distance from Corinthians, the passion for the club endures. “We are born like this. We live Corinthians. Corinthians is our lifestyle. Corinthians is everything for us,” she said.

This is also not Corinthians’ first rodeo. As many fans in London were keen to share, at the 2012 men’s Club World Cup, they said more than 20,000 Corinthians traveled to Yokohama, Japan, to watch their 1-0 win over Chelsea in the final.

There is a small traveling contingent of Corinthians’ largest supporters group from São Paulo, Gaviões da Fiel, founded in 1969, but the vast majority of the group attending the Women’s Champions Cup are expats who have joined or created international chapters of Fiel.

“There are fans from Europe, London, São Paulo, Dublin, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal, some people from Malta, a lot of places,” Deborah said.

Deborah and her cohort showed off another enormous banner, printed for this particular crusade, that read “As Brabas in London” (The fierce ones in London). Brabas is a popular Brazilian slang word referring to empowered women.

A Corinthians fan since birth, over the last few years, Deborah has become a keen follower of the women’s team. On her hat is printed “Minas do Timão,” which translates loosely to a very local São Paulo slang word for “girls of the big team.” This is also the name of a popular fan-led media group that closely covers the Corinthians women’s team.

 

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Meanwhile, Joao, a Corinthians fan who travelled especially for the game that morning from Dublin, Ireland, had never attended a women’s match before and struggled to see the men’s team while living in Europe. He said he wasn’t going to miss his chance to support his team, no matter who adorned the crest.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s basketball or football, women’s or men’s, I’m a Corinthian supporter,” he said. “It’s so special for me because Corinthians coming to play in Europe is so hard (rare).”

Many of the faithful are like Joao. They have taken a vow to Corinthians many years ago but for the first time are taking to the streets and a stadium for the women’s team.

“I would fly miles and miles to support Corinthians. For me, it’s just a train ride away,” said Natalia, based in London. “I wouldn’t miss the chance to be here and support the girls, the very first Women’s Champions Cup. I’m here. I watched the men in Brazil two years ago. Watching the women, it’s my very first time.”

But there’s more than one supporter group represented at the inaugural women’s club competition. Camisas 12, which translates to the “shirts 12,” akin to the concept of a 12th player, is another Corinthians supporters group, founded in 1971, with members adorning custom white bomber jackets, complete with a small stitching of a young man and the number 12.

What are the differences between the two factions?

“We wear black, all black,” said Neto, from Dublin, referring to Gaviões da Fiel. “They wear white, sometimes white and black,” he said, referring to Camisas 12. “Both are crazy. They give their lives for this support.”

No matter the chapter, no matter the group, in London everything swells together like a great Brazilian monochromatic gumbo. As the banner for Fiel Londres read: “The favela is here.”

As more fans arrive, more banners are unfurled. Fiel Londres, Fiel Dublin, Fiel Drogheda, Fiel Porto, Fiel Lisbon, Fiel Malta and so on. Fiels’ banners are all on black fabric with white lettering in yin and yang harmony with the white banners and black lettering that reads, “Fiel Torcida Jovem Camisa 12.”

The march to the stadium gets underway and soon the stadium security team is helping stop traffic on the A4 so this black and white parade can begin its cacophonous trot to the concourse. The streets outside the stadium are filled with a chorus of “Eu Nunca Vou Te Abandonar” (I will never abandon you), as the fan groups stop and perform.

Inside the Gtech Community Stadium, section N125 is the designated Corinthians fans section. For anyone attending the match, it becomes the epicenter of the action. Two of the best teams in global women’s soccer may be on the pitch, but the phenomenon that is the traveling Corinthians quickly steals the show.

Just a few weeks into preseason, Gotham and Corinthians labor through a tense, low-quality semifinal. While the players on the pitch show plenty of rust, this patchwork tapestry of supporters groups, who are coalescing for the first time, appears orchestral.

There is unwavering support from the Corinthians fans. Steady drums, chants and adoration roll for 90 minutes. Certain big tackles, hopeful shots and fouls draw the odd reactive shriek, but this is a group that has come to sing for 90 minutes off the same hymn sheet.

The game is settled late in the second half, when Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti produces the semifinal’s best bit of quality and spins the ball into the net. Pandemonium ensues in section N125.

“I can’t explain the feeling, this feeling inside. The love for this team,” said Deborah, when asked how she felt when Zanotti scored the only goal. “She (Zanotti) is amazing. She’s the best woman in football now.”

After the full-time whistle, Zanotti and her teammates paid homage to the hundreds of Corinthians fans. They celebrated among them, took selfies, sang songs, all while Zanotti stood on the advertising hoardings, arms stretched out, like some sort of prodigal conductor.

“It had to be her, she is our queen,” said Sabrina, a Brazilian living in Munich, Germany.

Twenty minutes after the final whistle and Corinthians players lingered on the pitch while the fans continued to sing songs and hurl praise at the heroes. Eventually, the masses began to disassemble and head back to the pub on the river to celebrate.

But not all. About 60 fans waited outside the stadium by the Corinthians’ team bus for over an hour to see the team depart after their historic victory. High-pitched cries and guttural roars began as each player walked on and waved to the crowd, some stopping for selfies and signatures. The loudest noise, of course, came for Zanotti.

One of the dedicated fans waiting was Nayara. She is one of the minority of fans who has not only traveled from São Paulo to see Corinthians but is also already invested in the women’s team.

While Nayara is not surprised to see such tremendous support for Corinthians, she was moved by just how many chapters turned up.

“It means a lot,” she said. “They are amazing, the most passionate fans in Brazil. Yes, the most passionate fans. We follow connections everywhere. We can’t explain. It’s like religion.”

While many expat Brazilians traveled in groups based on their respective supporters groups, some fans came alone and soon made friends with strangers who shared the same passion for Corinthians. Tainara, a Brazilian based in Canada, and Sabrina, a Brazilian living in Germany, met in section N125, in adjacent seats.

The two had many things in common. Both have been following Corinthians and the women’s team for many years. Neither felt they could miss the chance to be at the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, even if it meant traveling thousands of miles alone.

“We’re always there. We’re always supporting the Corinthians. Doesn’t matter where or when, it’s even one of our chants,” said Tainara.

Now fast friends, Tainara and Sabrina are looking forward to spending the rest of the week exploring London and preparing for Sunday’s final against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. For Tainara, there is more than just pride and $2.3 million at stake for Corinthians.

“It would be proof of what’s happening in women’s football South America,” said Tainara. “It’s so important.” Brazil will have its moment to shine even more when it hosts the 2027 Women’s World Cup for the first time on the continent.

As the sun sets on the Thames, though, drums and songs fill the dimly lit rooms of One Over the Ait. The festivities feel like they could go on forever, but as evening turns to night, the crowd begins to dwindle for the first time.

The Fiels believe there will be thousands of Corinthians fans marching to the Emirates on Sunday. A 12:30 p.m. kick-off on a Wednesday versus a 6:00 p.m. kick-off on a Sunday would certainly give cause for that argument.

As the Women’s Champions Cup battles to establish its own identity and purpose, the Corinthians supporters have already shown how much fans and the power of soccer bring people together from all over the world.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Gotham FC, Brazil, NWSL, Women's Soccer, Culture

2026 The Athletic Media Company

“It’s good when someone remembers that you could be Mourinho in a skirt, right?” says Helena Costa with a smile as she talks to The Athletic on the veranda of a plush Spanish hotel.

The nickname — coined in her and Mourinho’s homeland of Portugal more than a decade ago — is one piece of a globetrotting jigsaw puzzle constructed by a trailblazer.

Costa, 47, has broken new ground for women in states where their rights are restricted (Qatar and Iran), made a controversial principled stand, won a European trophy with Oliver Glasner and shattered glass ceilings at every turn.

Her latest first is becoming the only female sporting director in the men’s game worldwide.

Not that she gets carried away by these sorts of things.

“It has to mean something. But for me, it’s also natural,” she says. “I don’t think it has any impact in my life, but it’s important to open doors as well.”

She pauses before clarifying: “But it’s also a responsibility, because it has to work. Otherwise, it won’t open doors anyway.”

In the role for just over a year at Portuguese top-flight side Estoril, she is speaking in Malaga a day after an event run by TransferRoom, an online platform that facilitates transfer deals between clubs. Watching Costa mingle among 200 to 300 peers and take part in 15-minute ‘speed-dating’ style meetings could not be easier.

Why? Because she is very easy to spot, being one of only two women in the large conference suite.

She says being in her position is a “big step” and hopes to “have changed the mindset of people”, even though it shouldn’t need to be this way. “If you’re a teacher, it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man, you have to be competent and good in what you do,” she says. “Happy, too.”

The Mourinho-in-a-skirt nickname arose when Costa became the first female coach of a men’s side, taking charge of French side Clermont Foot in 2014. “It was at a time when he was really successful,” she says. While crass and lazy, the moniker did at least have a link to reality at a time when her male counterpart was excelling.

Costa — who appears in a special transfers-themed episode of The Athletic FC Podcast — started her coaching journey at Benfica’s academy in the late 1990s, just before Mourinho took charge of the Lisbon club’s senior team for the first time (he rejoined them last September). Following a chance meeting between the pair at a pre-season friendly in 2005, she spent time analysing the academy setup at Chelsea during his first spell as manager there. He had opened doors, but she was the one having to prove herself.

The building blocks of her career came during more than a decade coaching in Benfica’s academy system, and at lower-league sides Cheleirense, Sociedade Uniao 1º Dezembro and Leixoes, where she also took her first steps in recruitment. In Scotland, where she took her UEFA A Licence (she has since reached UEFA Pro standard), she made a connection at Celtic, who took her on as one of the world’s first female scouts.

Via Qatar’s and Iran’s women’s teams, she was given the chance at French second-division side Clermont Foot. FIFA’s then president Sepp Blatter and Arsenal’s manager at the time Arsene Wenger commended a historic step, but it quickly turned into a nightmare.

Within six weeks, Costa had left, falling out with the club’s hierarchy about transfers. “I could have stayed, but I didn’t accept things that I think nobody would accept,” she recalls. “So that’s why I didn’t care if it had a world impact like it did.”

Having been installed as the first female coach of any male team in the top two divisions anywhere in Europe, the decision — which she calls a “moment of huge learning” — was as bold as the initial appointment.

“There was a crazy impact all over the world — Brazil, Mexico, China, Japan… I couldn’t have my phone near me,” Costa says. “But I showed my personality, because I wouldn’t accept things just because I have a top job. All coaches would have done the same.”

It was a win for those who had doubted the appointment in the first place.

“Maybe it closed some doors, leaving Clermont, but you have your principles,” she says. “This is what I believed, and if it was a man, he would do exactly the same thing.”

The quirk in the story is that Clermont appointed a female successor to Costa.

Corinne Diacre was in charge for three seasons before becoming France women’s head coach. Others have coached men’s teams at lower levels: former Italy international Carolina Morace (Viterbese, Italy), Imke Wubbenhorst (BV Cloppenburg and SportFreunde Lotte, Germany) and Hannah Dingley (Forest Green Rovers, England) are among a small cohort to have been given a chance.

Costa thinks there will be more.

“As a coach, that first impact is really important. They have expectations, they have doubts, but once you start working, it has to be natural,” she says. “People might look at you as a woman, but they have to judge how good you are. After, there is a natural acceptance.”

In Major League Soccer, only two women have ever held the general-manager role — a close equivalent at some of its franchises to that of a sporting director in Europe: Lynne Meterparel with San Jose Earthquakes in 1999 and Englishwoman Lucy Rushton — who had held analyst and recruitment roles at Watford, Reading and Atlanta United of MLS — with D.C. United in 2021 before moving into the women’s game the following year.

There are many women who work on the agency side of the game, such as Erling Haaland’s representative Rafaela Pimenta — who spoke about sexism in football boardrooms in this interview with The Athletic in 2025 — and Melissa Onana, sister of Aston Villa midfielder Amadou.

But others are following in the footsteps of Costa via scouting and recruitment roles at clubs.

Julia Arpizou manages the scouting department at Ligue 1 side Toulouse and Amy Woff is a senior positional analyst at Arsenal who completed UEFA’s elite scout programme.

Mariela Nisotaki’s role in helping identify and recruit Emiliano Buendia to Norwich City — a player later sold to Villa for £38million ($52m) — saw her rise from first-team scout to head of emerging talent, after roles at Swansea City and in Greece. She is now head of group talent acquisition for Southampton in England’s second-tier Championship.

“It’s great to have people that have made it,” Nisotaki says of Costa. “Helena was not afraid to go through different challenges, out of the comfort zone. This is what inspires me personally. She has done it very well and deserves to be where she is.”

UEFA’s sporting director programme launched in 2025, but only four of 35 participants were female and they all work in the women’s game. FIFA and the FA run similar courses. Costa hopes more people try and — importantly — are given opportunities, so she is not such an outlier.

Costa has done all this despite being told not to go into football by her parents. “It wasn’t something normal — it still isn’t,” she says. “They tried to change my mind and go in a different direction.”

Undeterred, she would go down the coaching rather than playing road, backed up by a PhD in sports science. It was only last year that her father accompanied her to a game for the first time.

“Everyone accepts it now from my family,” she says, conceding with a smile: “They are proud now, yes.”

Estoril are one of a handful of clubs — including Augsburg (Germany’s top-flight Bundesliga) and Beveren (Belgian second tier) — owned by U.S. businessman David Blitzer’s Global Football Holdings.

“You have to depend on someone who remembers you and believes in you,” Costa says of the opportunity. “It’s a consequence of all the other things I’ve done. Coaching opened the door, then scouting to chief scout, and chief scout to sporting director. This is a very small world.”

Sporting and technical director roles at clubs come in all shapes and sizes, but Costa’s is all-encompassing. “It can be a 24-7 job without any effort,” she says. Player trading comes naturally. And managing a “tight” budget. But that’s coupled with “developing young players, hiring the doctor, physiotherapist and managing the grass”.

She is now indirectly linked — thanks to Estoril’s multi-club structure — to someone with whom she enjoyed great success previously: Crystal Palace manager Glasner. Blitzer is still a minority shareholder in the south London club.

After Clermont, Costa — via a return to Celtic — worked with the Austrian at Eintracht Frankfurt. During the German club’s triumphant Europa League run of 2021-22, Costa helped out due to her Portuguese connections. Four of their six group games were against teams coached by compatriots of hers, Vitor Pereira (Fenerbahce of Turkey) and Pedro Martins (Greece’s Olympiacos). Frankfurt went unbeaten in those matches, winning two and drawing two.

“My involvement was helping out a little bit, translating press conferences, how they think,” she explains. “We created something that still exists. I keep in touch with him (Glasner) sometimes. It’s funny that it has happened.”

Like Estoril now and Frankfurt before, Costa has often found herself at clubs — and countries — that need to change direction.

She spent 18 months at Watford in the Championship as chief scout alongside Ben Manga, whom she followed from Frankfurt. Her arrival in 2022 followed the club’s relegation from the Premier League. She calls it “a really important time”, having to deal with “different personalities” and “economical situations” without parachute payments.

Coaching Qatar’s women’s team was “the hardest job of my life”, she says, “because of the culture“. Just after the Gulf state was awarded the men’s 2022 World Cup, Costa was charged with earning her team a place in the FIFA world rankings. “We had to build it and develop women’s football, but in a very short period of time,” she says of her appointment in 2010.

Primary schools and universities were scouted for talent, training sessions with girls from age eight upwards were organised, and parents were persuaded that their daughters should play, despite traditional restrictions in Qatar on girls and women taking part in football. Costa says: “I couldn’t photograph the girls or show what they were doing, or how fast they were learning.”

She was reunited with many of the young players she had helped at the opening game of that 2022 men’s tournament.

Costa has also kept in touch with those she went on to coach in Iran.

“People I was connected with had their homes affected with the bombs; it was a really sad day,” she says of U.S. air strikes in 2025.

Of the ‘women, life, freedom’ protests that began just before the World Cup in 2022, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, Costa remains steadfastly supportive.

“They just want to have their own personality, their own freedom to choose their daily life,” she says. “They were expecting to have this revolution, and wishing to have freedom. So what’s happening (their protests against oppression) is really natural.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Watford, Premier League, Ligue 1, Sports Business, Championship, Women's Soccer

2026 The Athletic Media Company

Craig Tiley, the leader of the Australian Open, plans to push for a series of transformational changes to the tournament, including having women’s matches best-of-five sets, rather than best of three, from the quarterfinals onward.

“All the research shows interest grows as the match goes on,” Tiley said in an interview Sunday afternoon ahead of the men’s final.

“As a sport, we need to evolve.”

Grand Slams can propose rules that make them different from each other. In the 2000s and 2010s, the majors had different rules for how to end a match, from long sets to tiebreaks at different scorelines. They unified on a 10-point match tiebreak in 2022.

Tiley, who has gained a reputation as the most innovative leader in tennis, said remaking the women’s format was one of a series of changes he wants to see in the coming years.

Other changes include remaking the look of the tennis court, beginning with getting rid of the umpire’s chair. Umpires would still have a role in overseeing matches, but they would carry that out from a seat on the side of the court, a bunker underneath the stadium. From there, they could come onto the court to settle any disputes that arise.

Tiley also wants to speed up the pace of the competition by getting rid of the warmup time ahead of the match and ending “lets” on serve, which he says add about 15 hours of match time over the course of the tournament.

Tiley said that beginning next year, the player benches will change into mini performance centers. They will have heating and cooling technology, the ability to measure a player’s physical condition, and screens that might give players access to the same data the coaches have, if the rules on data collection are adjusted to allow it.

There will also be a series of changes to the fan experience. The tournament plans to add more space, shade, seats and screens to allow the tournament to handle its growing popularity.

Some 1.3 million fans came through the gates during the past three weeks, with record attendance on many of the days. That led to complaints about long lines, as well as fans being unable to watch any matches on courts without reserved seating.

Tiley said the tournament was trying to grow while making sure the fan experience stayed enjoyable.

The tournament will bring back the successful One-Point Slam, likely with even more main draw players who want a shot at the $1 million AUD prize.

Tiley’s proposals come at a unique moment for tennis. Many of them will have to be discussed with players, who are pushing for more input in the operation of all tournaments, and the other leaders of Grand Slams. The women’s players might not

Also, Tiley is a leading candidate to become the new leader of the U.S. Tennis Association and the U.S. Open. He declined to comment on whether he expected to be leading the Australian Open next year, but said Tennis Australia has a five-year plan to incorporate these changes, many of which have a financial component. Remaking the player bench areas could allow the tournament to collect more money from sponsors that supply the equipment. Getting rid of the umpire chairs could remove an obstruction from some of the most expensive seats.

Tiley would like to have the support of the other Grand Slams but knows some of them might resist changes, and Tennis Australia has previously made competition changes on its own. Not long ago, all four Grand Slams had those different rules for final-set tiebreaks.

“There are going to be people who say this is ridiculous and others who say it is a good idea,” he said. “The idea is to have a discussion.”

Women have previously expressed little interest in playing best of five. Many have complained the sport’s leaders are already asking too much of them.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Sports Business, Tennis, Women's Tennis

2026 The Athletic Media Company