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.

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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

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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