This week, we review the CONCACAF W Championship Finals in Mexico—which doubled as the region's Women's World Cup Qualifiers—with some reflections on the teams results and reservations about the 10 team Intercontinental Playoffs which are looming next year. We also look at some high-profile as well as some other international player off-season moves, primarily of players to and from European clubs. We also have a quick look at some English lower division Women's Teams who are moving to signing their players to full-time professional contracts.
SIX THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CONCACAF W CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Mexico—What happened and what is their future path?
Mexico was picked by many to finish as runners-up in Group A to the U.S. and advance to the tournament semifinals and an automatic CONCACAF berth at next summer's Women's World Cup but they crashed out for the second consecutive Women's World Cup by finishing at the bottom of the group with 0 points, 0 goals scored and a goal difference of -5, behind first place U.S. (9 points), Jamaica (6 points) and Haiti (3 points).
So many things went wrong for Mexico at this tournament. The attendances at the first two games in Monterrey—a club hotbed for the sport—were underwhelming, with 5,345 for the first day's doubleheader, with Mexico losing to Jamaica 1-0, and only 3,150 for day two when Mexico lost to Haiti 3-0, though 20,522 came out for the last match on July 11 against the Americans to provide a great atmosphere and support for Mexico, which needed a win to at least try to capture an Intercontinental Playoff spot by finishing third, but the host nation lost a close 1-0 game to the Americans.
Mexico began the tournament with a surprisingly 1-0 loss to Jamaica on a Khadija 'Bunny" Shaw (Manchester City in the WSL) early goal. The nadir for Mexico was their 3-0 loss in game two to Haiti on July 7—something that Haiti had been building towards for some years. That loss left too much of a hill to climb against the Americans, who despite the strong Mexican support in the stands, fell on an 89th minute Kristy Mewis goal, but still outshot Mexico in total (15 vs. 5), for shots on goal (6 vs. 1) and had far more corner kicks (11 vs. 2).
Head coach Monica Vergara certainly won't survive in her position and some analysts thought that Mexico was surprised by the physical play of Jamaica and Haiti. Interestingly, that is what Mexico did years ago against Canada to quality for the 2004 Olympic Games Finals in Greece as head coach Leo Cuellar explained to me a few months afterwards. He said that they practiced a physical style before the Canada match—essentially a decider for the second Olympic Games spot from CONCACAF behind the U.S.—surprising the Canadians at their own game, who couldn't adjust to Mexico's strategy during the match. Mexico was also criticized afterwards for only holding two practice matches after the April CONCACAF qualifiers—a pair of wins (5-0 and 3-1) against South American lightweights Peru in late June in Torreon (with the South Americans quite frankly looking quite terrible in their recent CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers and probably are not even competitive with Oceania Women's Nations Cup teams in WWC qualifying—we will review both of these tournaments in the weeks to come). Maybe the Mexican Federation needs to bring in a high profile coach from abroad as Morocco did with French coach Reynald Pedros for the Women's African Cup of Nations and have proceeded to make the championship final and next year's WWC (we will cover the African championships in next week's column)—I would recommend Europe as a good source of coaching talent such as Thomas Dennerby (ex-Sweden, Nigeria and now India's WNT coach), Norway's Swedish coach Martin Sjogren (though Norway's 8-0 spanking at the Women's EURO at the hands of host England was horrible to see for such a tremendous attacking force and will be hard for many to forget) or Kaloyan Petrov of Kazakhstan's women's national team and club power BIIK. Mexico's results this summer could be seen as a setback for the Federation that started Liga MX Femenil six years ago to support the growth of the game in the nation and the national team programs; that league, which leveraged existing men's first division teams, has been very productive. Federation officials need to continue to develop that league and it will become even better with four foreign players allowed in 2022-23, after two were permitted for the first-time last season (dual citizens from the U.S. and other countries who were born outside of Mexico were permitted to play only from the third year of the league onward).
Mexico also needs to continue to help their top domestic players to move to Europe—particularly to Spain's top two leagues, where defender Kenti Robles (Real Madrid) has found success. The new coach—if Vergara is released—needs to integrate the European-based imports with a growing group of Liga MX Femenil stars, something which has not always been done consistently. Mexico also is out of the 2024 Olympic Games reckoning—something that is important to the federation and the country as the nation hosted a very successful games in 1968—since the W Championships winners automatically earn a berth while the second and third place sides—Canada and Jamaica—will play off for the other CONCACAF Olympics Games Final spot in September of 2023.
2023 Women's World Cup Finalists are largely as expected—with Jamaica surprisingly making the Finals for the second consecutive tournament
The U.S., Canada and Costa Rica all moved onto the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Finals as expected, while Jamaica was the fourth side; the Reggae Girlz qualified for their second consecutive Women's World Cup Finals, easily defeating Haiti (4-0) in the final group game. Jamaica played well throughout and should be praised for overcoming their Federation's financial and organizations problems. Jamaica has gone through coaches rapidly since Hue Menzies left after the 2019 WWC because he and his staff were not being paid; Jamaica then hired Menzies' assistant coach Hubert Busby Jr., but that fizzled out when Busby was accused of sexual abuse of players while coaching in Canada and was let go at the end of 2021, though the news had emerged a few months before then and Jamaica's Federation had not provided a comment on the situation. A local women's coach, Vin Blaine, took over and successfully guided the team through the CONCACAF qualifiers earlier this year. Blaine had previously been the technical director for the Grenada national team program. However, reportedly the vast majority of the players lacked confidence in Blaine's abilities, saying that his training lacked structure and that there was little if any analysis of opposing teams before games (which is astounding now that so much scouting can be done at a minimum through video and online streaming services).
Lorne Donaldson, a Jamaican diaspora member based for years in the States and an esteemed youth coach in Colorado for decades, was brought on a month before the Finals in Mexico. He had also helped Menzies' side to France four years ago and has coached the Jamaican U-20's in the past. It took the JFF two weeks to find a replacement for Blaine, with JFF President Michael Ricketts, explaining, "We looked at all the dynamics involved, including the short period to prepare, and agreed that Lorne brings specific advantages to the position including familiarity with the regional football culture and knowledge of the players and is well placed to navigate the team through what will be a difficult qualifying exercise." Now, ironically, Donaldson may need to be convinced to stay on the job through next summer, no doubt with payment for his efforts from the JFF always questionable at best. However, coaching a team in WWC Finals is a great carrot for any coach, particularly one as well thought of throughout CONCACAF as Donaldson is. He deserves the position as a reward for fixing a situation that, in some ways, makes Trinidad and Tobago's WNT organization not look so bad (though they finished at the bottom of Group B with 0 points, no goals scored, 11 against—see more below). Jamaica brought in a number of professionals from England, including forward Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw and some newer players such as goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer of Tottenham Hotspur, midfielders Drew Spence of Chelsea (who was capped in 2015 by England), Jade Bailey from Liverpool and Atlanta Primus of London City Lionnesses. This strategy was not unlike what Brazilian coach Rene Simeos (who later guided Brazil's women's national team to a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games Finals in Greece) did with Jamaica's men's side in bringing aboard five diaspora from England in 1998 during the middle of the men's World Cup qualifying campaign, for which they were successful and made the 1998 Finals in France for the first and, to date, only time ever. The Jamaican women took third place in Mexico after defeating Panama 1-0 on a Kalyssa Van Zanten (20—who plays at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana) goal in the 102nd minute, after no goals were scored in 90 minutes.
Haiti and Panama advanced to the Intercontinental Playoffs for a final chance at a WWC Spot—but the deck is stacked against them
Haiti and Panama will contest the Intercontinental playoffs. Haiti is seen as superior to Panama; though they didn't play each other in this tournament, Haiti defeated the Panamanians 6-0 in CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Final tournament in Houston in 2020. The issue becomes, can Haiti build on their successful play this year in the qualifiers and finals and use the 6-7 months before the Intercontinental Playoffs next February in New Zealand to test and improve a team that has unquestionable talent and panache? With the expansion of the WWC to 32 teams in 2023, the Playoffs is a new format which will be hard to predict and of which I am, at this point, a tad skeptical of. There will be three groups—with two groups with three teams—with a seeded team going directly to a final after a semifinal between the other two teams. The other group will have four teams with two semifinals and two seeded teams. A Confederation can only have one seeded team and no group will have more than one team from the same Confederation. Two nations will compete from CAF, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and the AFC, with one each from UEFA and Oceania. If Haiti is not seeded, it will be harder for them as they would have to play a first group game. They have to prepare seriously during that time and not treat it as a no-hoper. It is hard to envision that the lone European side—which could include the likes of Women's EURO finalists in 2022 Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, Belgium or other building teams such as Serbia or the Republic of Ireland (who could all finish second in their groups in UEFA qualifying and then finish third in two rounds of playoffs as the top two moved on directly to Australia-New Zealand)—will not take one of the three spots on offer. That leaves nine teams from the rest of the world fighting for just two spots. Is this format really fair to teams like Haiti, Panama, Senegal, Chinese Taipei, the 2022 Oceania Women Nations Cup winners, etc. to fly around the world to New Zealand to play for, at best, a 22% chance of a Finals spot? Four of the nations will have to travel that far for one game—the first-round nations who lose at that stage—it seems like a lot of travel, costs and preparation time for these four sides to only play one game. FIFA has billed it as a test run for New Zealand ahead of the WWC Finals, but can you see the general New Zealand public getting jazzed—and paying good money—for a Iceland versus Zambia match? I hope it works and is viewed as an artistic and logistical success, but I am skeptical. The new Playoffs format clearly shows that it is better for debutants to qualify directly in 2022—like Vietnam and Philippines did in Asia earlier this year or Morocco and Zambia from Africa did this month—and have a long period of friendly games in preparation for next summer, than to go through high stress games like potential 2023 WWC nations Chinese Taipei and Thailand (who did qualify in 2015 and 2019), Senegal and Cameroon (who also qualified for the last two finals) from CAF and Haiti or Panama (who advanced to the last round of qualifiers for a final spot for the second consecutive tournament) along with two teams from CONMEBOL, one from Oceania and one from UEFA must face. Another factor that the potential debutants face (Chinese Taipei, Haiti, Panama and Senegal to date) is that—in addition to a more experience European side—they have to face at least two past WWC sides in Thailand and Cameroon, who will have experienced the pressure of a world stage in the past.
Melchie Dumornay of Haiti was superb and NWSL teams seem interested, but is that the right move for the budding superstar?
Speaking of Haiti, Melchie Dumornay (18), who scored 7 goals in 15 matches last season with Stade de Reims of France, was a true revelation to many during the tournament with her speed and dangerous attacking play. Reports are that some NWSL teams are interested in her. She is a burgeoning star but my recommendation would be that she stay in France for now—in part because of a language issue (a U.S. college coach tried to recruit her recently but she spoke no English at the time and would not have qualified for entry to the college on that issue alone) and the growing number of Haitian players in the league and Haitian diaspora in France. I also think that her development will be better there than in the NWSL. I can see some coaches here not utilizing her because of her age and trying unsuccessfully to fit her into a much different style of play. Reports have PSG, Chelsea and Manchester United all tracking the teenage forward, who was named the top young player of the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship. Stade de Reims would like to keep her for another year. No offense to the NWSL but I think Dumornay is the real thing and coming to the States now could stall her development. It's going to be difficult for her to turn down Paris, London or Manchester for Cary, North Carolina or a poor-drawing franchise in Chicago—they aren't comparable for such a true gem of a player.
Haiti and Stade de Reims of France forward Melchie Dumornay in her Haitian Women's National Team jersey. Photo courtesy Ferisports.com.
Trinidad and Tobago's team sinks into recriminations during the tournament
We have documented Trinidad and Tobago's Federation's problems for years, primarily since they just missed out on qualifying for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada to a late Ecuador goal in Port of Spain in their two leg intercontinental series against Ecuador (though their American coach at the time—Randy Waldrum—has guided Nigeria through to their ninth consecutive Women's World Cup Finals this past week in the African Qualifiers as they finished in fourth pace), when they had to get a bailout from Haiti of all players during the CONCACAF Finals that year, which I covered. Head coach and former international player Kenwyne Jones (who played in the English Premier League and at the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany) was viewed as quite harsh in his comments after the team crashed out of the tournament in last place in their group, without a point or a goal, after a 1-0 loss to Panama. He was asked why he didn't bring 20-year-old Afiyah Cornwall into his squad, labeling her as "undisciplined" with previous national team coaches. This was countered in a Lasana Liburd (Wired68.com) article after he talked to three of her past national team coaches, with her mother concerned about the damage to Cornwell's reputation. Jones is also likely to be on his way out as head coach after their final 1-0 loss to Panama on a Marta Cox (24—with Leon in Mexico last season and the first ever foreign player signing in Liga MX Femenil and who is joining Pachuca for this season) goal just before halftime. T&T only had two shots and a single one on goal, when a win would have sent them to the Intercontinental Playoffs. Jones also questioned some of his squad members' desire after the Panama loss, "I am certainly disappointed [and] frustrated. Today was an opportunity for us to gain some momentum and we didn't do that… The fact is we were not good enough today. I am really disappointed because I think we are better than that—I know we are better than that. It's becoming repetitive now that we are having these lapses and the lack of desire between some players sometimes. We have to figure out really and truthfully what the game actually means to them—what they want to achieve from it. It seems as if quite a few are just: here." It was pretty shocking to hear those comments in the press conference after the game—it doesn't help to build the morale for a national teams program that is struggling at youth levels to qualify for regional finals, and yet still has some impressive players involved in the squads. The Women Soca Warriors can't sink much lower and the Federation needs to invest in their women's program and local leagues for women, but we have been saying that for some years now. Unlike Mexico, if Jones is released, they need a strong local coach or a Trinidad and Tobago diaspora head coach with experience coaching women, which can be found in the States as well as in England.
U.S. and Canada still lead the way in CONCACAF
The U.S. and Canada both were not seen as performing at a FIFA Finals level but still were the class of the tournament, winning all three Group matches, not allowing a goal and each scoring nine goals in the process. Julia Grosso (21) of Canada, who is now with Juventus in Italy, tied for the scoring lead after the group stage with Jamaica's Shaw on three goals.
The Canadians famously knocked the Americans out of the Olympic Games Finals last summer with a 1-0 win. It was only their fifth win over the U.S. in 63 games. The U.S. has gone with a much younger team in Mexico than they had in Japan, with Carli Lloyd retired, Julie Ertz out on maternity leave and Christen Press injured, while Canadian goalkeeper Steph Labbe retired earlier this year. Her replacement, Kaelyn Sheridan of the San Diego Wave, stepped in flawlessly and had four shutouts before the final match, confirming the high impression that many of us have had of her play since her rookie year in the NWSL in 2017 with Sky Blue FC, when she made the NWSL team of the month in May for her first games in the league.
The U.S. won the CONCACAF title and the automatic berth to the 2024 Olympic Games Finals in Paris with a 1-0 win over the Maple Leafs on July 18 in front of a good final games crowd of 17,247 in Monterrey. Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave) scored from the penalty spot in the 79th minute and finished with three goals and the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski likely would have been under some severe pressure for his job if he had lost a second consecutive match to the Americans' neighbors to the north. He will want to focus on more stability at defensive mid and for attacks in the middle of the field, but some of the missing veterans should be available for the Women's World Cup next summer. In terms of youth development, Naomi Girma (22—San Diego Wave), Emily Fox (24—Racing Louisville), Ashley Sanchez (23—Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (21—Portland Thorns) and Mallory Pugh (24—Chicago Red Stars) showed how special they are in this tournament. Andonovski reiterated this point after the Canada win, "The team is significantly younger than the previous time we played Canada. They [Canada] came with pretty much the same team from the Olympics, and we changed [six] players in the starting lineup….They're [Fox, Smith and Pugh] going be here for at least three, maybe four World Cups. So get used to them." With the win, the U.S. advanced automatically to the 2024 Olympic Games Finals in Paris.
INTERNATIONAL PLAYER MOVES
Chelsea signs Kadeisha Buchanan and Ève Perisset from French clubs
Canadian international defender and 2020 Olympic Goal Medalist Kadeisha Buchanan (26), who won the Champions League trophy for the fifth time with Olympique Lyon this past May, has left France to join the WSL's Chelsea of London on a three-year deal. Buchanan has been at Lyon for five and a half years and has played 118 times for Canada at the time of her signing in early June. She has been Canada's player of the year three times and was nominated for the 2015 Ballon d'Or. She played collegiately at West Virginia University.
Chelsea Women have also signed France international defender Ève Perisset (27) from French Division 1 side Bordeaux on a three-year deal. Perisset joined Bordeaux in June 2020, and previously played at Lyon and PSG. She has been capped 34 times for France and was on the 2019 Women's World Cup Final side at home. She was selected for the France side for this summer's Women's EURO in England. Perisset told Chelseafc.com: "It's a fantastic honour to join Chelsea and to be the first French female player to become a Blue! I am very thankful for the opportunity that has been given to me. The time was right for me to make this big move to London and join the English Super League and I cannot wait to meet the team and the fans later this summer at Kingsmeadow and at the famous Stamford Bridge!" Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes said about her new signing: "Eve brings a wealth of experience and is a versatile player who is able to play in both full-back positions and midfield. A tenacious defender, with her mentality and professionalism, we have no doubt she will complement the group well."
Chelsea won the Women's Super League for the third season in succession. Photo courtesy Chelsea WFC and FA WSL.
Departures from Chelsea after the 2021-22 season include Korea Republic midfielder Ji So-yun (31), who is joining Suwon Bluewings at home after winning the league and cup double last season for the Blues. She first joined Chelsea for the 2014 season and scored 37 goals in 124 games across 9 seasons, winning five league titles. English midfielder Drew Spence (29) has left Chelsea to join Tottenham Hotspurs on a two-year contact. She had been at Chelsea since 2008 and was capped twice for England before joining Jamaica in late 2021. Swedish center back Jonna Andersson (29) is moving home to join Hammarby in Stockholm on a free transfer after 5 years at Chelsea. She was on Sweden's squad for this summer's Women's EURO in England.
Other WSL Signings—Manchester City sees 6 leave at the end of contract, signs three stars from Spain's League
For other significant WSL signings, Manchester City led the way as they had six players depart at the end of the season as they were out of contract, including: Georgia Stanway (23—Bayern Munich and who joined City at age 16 and made 186 appearances for the club in all competition and is the club's all-time record scorer with 67 goals), English international midfielder Jill Scott (who played the last five months of the season on loan at Aston Villa), English international defender Lucy Bronze (who signed with Barcelona), Scottish international Caroline Weir (reports have her moving to play in Spain—linked with Real Madrid—a move that was confirmed on July 7) and French international goalkeeper Karima Benameur Taieb, while English international goalkeeper Karen Bardsley has retired after 17 years and 82 England caps. Bardsley was born in the U.S., played at Cal State-Fullerton and started in WPS with Sky Blue F.C. in New Jersey before playing in Sweden with Linkoping and then in England with Lincoln City and Manchester City. She played three games last season on loan to the OL Reign in Tacoma, Washington, allowing two goals and recording one shutout. She is likely to stay in football as she has a Master's Degree in Sports Directorship from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Manchester City's first replacement signing was huge as they brought on Venezuelan international Denya Castellanos (23); she signed a three-year deal on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid. Castellanos said, "I'm very happy to be a Manchester City player—it is a huge move for myself in my career and I can't wait for it to begin. Looking around at all the facilities here, it is just amazing—I believe that this club will help to improve me as a player, and I hope that I can help Manchester City too. The style of football that the team play was very attractive to me and I feel as though I can fit in very well here, whilst also being challenged to develop and grow." Castellanos played two-and-a-half years with Atletico, where she scored 26 goals in 71 appearances in all competitions and won the 2020/21 Spanish Super Cup.
Castellanos was a big star for Venezuela at the youth international level, leading the U-17 team to fourth place in the 2014 and 2016 FIFA WWC age group finals and won the Golden Boot for leading the competition with six goals in 2014 and was tied for second with five goals in 2016. They finished as runner-up in the 2014 Women's Youth Olympic football competition in China. She moved to the States in 2016 to play at Florida State University, scoring 48 times in 82 games in four seasons. She was nominated for the 2017 FIFA Best Women's Player of the Year, alongside Carli Lloyd and Lieke Martens, while still at college for her play with Venezuela's youth national teams. Castellanos made her senior international debut in 2018 at age 18 and has gone on to earn 25 caps for her country, scoring 12 goals, and is the team captain for the side as they attempt to qualify for the 2023 Women's World Cup for the first time from CONMEBOL this summer.
Also leaving Atletico Madrid for Man City along with Castellanos is Laia Aleixandri (21), who is an international defender for Spain. She has played in a U-17 and U-20 FIFA Finals and been capped at the senior level, scoring against Cameroon in her debut in 2019. This will be Aleixandri's first time playing abroad.
Another Man City signing from Spain is Spanish international defender Leila Ouahabi (29), who left Barcelona after two spells and 12 years in total. She left on a free transfer and signed with the WSL side for two seasons. She came to England this summer on Spain's side at the Women's EURO Finals and played in the 2019 Women's World Cup in France. While with Barcelona, she helped them win five Primera Division titles and one UEFA Women's Champions League title. Ouahabi explained the move by saying, "I have achieved everything I set out to do….Manchester City have always been a team that caught my eye. I like their style of football so much and the DNA of the club is very exciting. This is going to be a completely different experience for me, and I'm really looking forward to it. I want to continue enjoying my football and City are a strong club. Both personally and professionally, I think I will grow and develop here." City Head Coach Gareth Taylor (an ex-City forward who also had long spells at Nottingham ForestSheffield United and Burnley) added about his new international: "Leila is a player who has become accustomed to success throughout her career, and we're thrilled that she has joined us in a bid to continue that here in England. She has a vast amount of experience in high-pressured situations and will give everything she has to win, which matches our own ethos perfectly. She is a player who we have admired for a long time given her standing in the game and to finally have secured her signature is incredibly exciting. We're very much looking forward to seeing her make her mark on the English game."
Spanish international defender Leila Ouahabi has left Barcelona to join Manchester City for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Photo courtesy Manchester City.
Arsenal Departures—Scottish international Lisa Evans and English youth international Halle Houssein signs with West Ham United but Viv Miedema is staying put with the Gunners
A few players have left Arsenal including Scottish international Lisa Evans, who has signed permanently with West Ham United, who she played on loan with last season.
Scottish international Lisa Evans leaves Arsenal to sign permanently with West Ham United after a year on loan during the 2021-22 season. (Photo Courtesy West Ham United)
Evans, a Scottish international who was on their Women's EURO Finals squad for England this summer, spent the 2021/22 season on loan with the Hammers, making 16 WSL appearances and chipping in with a goal and three assists. The move brings to an end Evans' five-year stay at Arsenal, where she won the 2018/19 WSL title and 2018 Continental Cup, having joined the north London outfit from Bayern Munich in 2017. Evans told West Ham TV, "I'm delighted to be back with West Ham. I knew when my loan was coming to an end that I wanted to be here for the long-term. I really enjoyed being here last season and I felt like it was an unfinished chapter in my life. This is a project that I want to be a part of moving forward, so it was an easy decision for me to come back here." Newly appointed West Ham boss Paul Konchesky (41—who played as a defender primarily for Leicester City and Fulham and was an assistant coach for the Hammers Women last season) added, "Lisa is a fantastic signing. Lisa was unlucky with injuries last season and I'm not sure we saw the best of her. This being said, there is no denying that when she did play, her performances had a massive impact on the team and our success. She's a massive asset on and off the pitch and she's exactly the sort of player that we need at this football club." With Evans on board, West Ham will hope to improve on their sixth-place finish in the Barclays Women's Super League last season, as well as strong showings in both the Vitality Women's FA Cup and Continental Tyres League Cup.
Lisa Evans (in middle in the claret jersey) scored three goals in all matches during her loan spell for the Hammers last season (Photo Courtesy West Ham United).
Evans was a sensation in her early professional years with Glasgow City, scoring 46 goals in 39 matches across two seasons, winning the Women's Premier League in four consecutive seasons and also won the Women's Cup on three occasions. She left Scotland in 2012 to sign her first professional contract with FFC Turbine Potsdam in Germany. Evans featured 49 times for Potsdam, including appearances in the Champions League. In April 2015, Evans signed a three-year contract with Frauen-Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich where she won the league title once and reached the latter stages of the Champions League, making 32 regular season appearances across two seasons. Evans joined Arsenal in June 2017 and helped the Joe Montemurro of Australia-coached side win the WSL title in her second season at the club, as well as the FA Women's League Cup. In total, Evans made 79 appearances for Arsenal during her four seasons at the club, scoring nine goals in all competitions.
Evans is West Ham's second arrival this summer from Arsenal, after they announced the permanent signing of 17-year-old midfielder Halle Houssein. Like Evans, Houssein had also spent part of the 2021/22 season with the Hammers, playing in 21 minutes across five games. Houssein has been capped by England at multiple youth levels.
The big news for Arsenal was that Dutch international forward Vivianne Miedema signed a new contract at the club. Miedema (25) was strongly linked to join Barcelona—with PSG in the running with UEFA WCL ambitions driving a possible move—on a free transfer as she was out of contract, but decided to sign again with Arsenal and will be the highest paid player in the WSL. She scores at almost a goal per game clip and would be virtually irreplaceable for the Gunners.
Other WSL Moves
Austrian international defender (with over 75 caps) Viktoria Schnaderbeck (31) leaves Arsenal after four seasons (she played four games on loan at Tottenham last season). Before moving to England, she played at Bayern Munich, winning two Frauen Bundesligatitles. At the time of press, she has not yet signed with another club.
Midfielder Jade Bailey (26), who has been capped once by Jamaica last October in a friendly against Costa Rica (0-0) and played the past three years at Liverpool, helping them back into the WSL following two years in the second division Championship. Bailey previously played at Reading and Arsenal. She was capped by her native England at youth level. In July, she was brought into Jamaica's CONCACAF W Championship Finals side. At the time of press, she has not yet signed with another club.
Welsh international forward Natasha Harding (33), who is on 101 caps, left Reading after five seasons with the club. While in Spain at the end of June for a national team training camp and game against New Zealand (a 0-0 tie on June 28) ahead of their last Women's World Cup group qualifiers of this cycle in Europe, she said that she had signed terms with a new club but would not reveal the name until later in the summer. She is expected to stay in the WSL, with Aston Villa and Leicester City named most often; Harding has never played outside of the U.K. She explained her reticence about naming her next team, "I signed for a club a few weeks ago, but I want to keep it to myself for a few more weeks. It was all sorted quickly after I said I was leaving Reading. I had options and it all happened quickly." Wales manager Gemma Grainger said that Harding's move will be "a good one." So, if this is a player's decision, why the secretive drama, unless the club wanted the news held up because of other potential signings, but this does not seem to be the case? The delay on the news seems to be disingenuous or puzzling at the least. Note: In mid-July Aston Villa announced that it had signed Harding on a one-year contract.
Former English international defender Anita Asante (37) has called time on a 19-year career in the game. She played the last two seasons at Aston Villa. She played for six seasons in Sweden with Goteborg and FC Rosengard after playing with multiple WPS teams in the States from 2009-2011.
Maeva Clemaron (29), a French youth and senior team international, played one season at Tottenham after two seasons at Everton. In France she played at Saint-Etienne and Fleury and has moved to Servette in Geneva, Switzerland, across the border from France. Servette made the group stage of the WCL last season and lost the championship final two-leg affair to FC Zurich in June, but will make the WCL for their second time ever as Switzerland sends two sides to the continental club championship.
Moves to and from German clubs
Recent moves involving German clubs include Emelyne Laurent (23), who was born in Fort-de-France in Martinique in the West Indies and has played in Lyon, Bordeaux and Montpellier as well as Guingamp on loan and with Atletico Madrid in 2020-21, where she scored 7 goals in 27 games—she is leaving Lyon for Bayern Munich. Laurent has been capped by France at the senior and multiple youth levels. She scored 2 goals in 12 games with Lyon last season and won two UEFA WCL titles, the 21/22 Champions League and in 2017/18.
Brazilian international defender Tainara de Souza da Silva (23) has moved from Bordeaux in France to join Bayern Munich. The centerback was first capped by Brazil at the senior level last year. She played only 10 games in Bordeaux and was on a two- and one-half-year deal after playing at home for Pameiras, Santos, Vitoria of Salvador in Bahia state and Sao Francisco in Bahia state. She signed with Bayern through the 2024-25 campaign and is the first Brazilian women's player at the club.
German Bundesliga Women side FC Bayern women has signed Tainara de Souza da Silva for the upcoming season. Photo courtesy Bayern Munich Women.
FC Bayern Munich has also signed Georgia Stanway from Barclays English FA Women's Super League (WSL) club Manchester City for the coming season (see above). The club has a new coach for the 2022-23 season as well in Alexander Straus (46), a native of Norway. He spent the last five years with SK Brann in Norway, having guided the club to their first title in their history in 2021 and which leads the table this season by 2 points over Rosenborg with four games left, ahead of the new playoff round involving the top four teams to determine the league champion [SK Brann was previously known as Sandviken but merged in the off-season with Bergen's men's team and took their new name]. The Bayern job is Straus' first outside of Norway, and he has also managed his country's Under-23 and Under-19 women's national sides. Straus replaces Jens Scheuer at Bayern, who announced in May he would be departing the club following three years in charge, including winning the Frauen Bundesligatitle in 2020/21 season and ending Wolfsburg's run of four successive league titles. Last season, the club finished second to Wolfsburg by four points (59 vs. 55 in 22 games) and reached the Champions League quarterfinals.
Forward Anna Blässe (35) has moved from Wolfsburg in Germany to Grasshoppers in Switzerland in her first move outside of Germany. She has been at Wolfsburg since 2007 and won seven league titles at the club and two Women's Champions League titles; she has over 25 full national team caps for Germany. Blasse won the UEFA Championship with Germany in 2013 and the 2004 U-20 WWC title. Grasshoppers made it to the Swiss League playoff semifinals in 2021-22, losing to eventual league champion and city rival FC Zurich 4-0 over two legs.
Japanese international forward Mai Kyokawa (28) moved from INAC Kobe Leonessa in Japan to Turbine Potsdam of Germany in her first move abroad.
Moves to and from Spain
Moves to and from Spanish clubs, besides the ones mentioned above in the English Super League section, include: Andreia Jacinto (20), a full Portuguese international midfielder with over 10 caps since early in 2020, joining Real Sociedad in Spain on a three-year deal from Sporting Lisbon. Jacinto made her debut for the Portuguese national team at the age of 17. She won the Portuguese Cup and the Super Cup in the 2021-22 season and was named this year's revelation player of the Portuguese League and was selected for her country's Women's EURO side this summer.
Portuguese international Andreia Jacinto (20) is revealed as a new Real Sociedad signing for 2022-23. Photo Courtesy Real Sociedad.
Spanish U-19 international Laia Codina (22) moved back to Barcelona from AC Milan in Italy, where she played in 13 games on loan last season and hopes to add to her 16 games at Barcelona over three seasons, who she joined in 2018-19.
Forward Geyse Ferreira (24), who is a senior international for Brazil, is joining Barcelona, fending off feelers from Atletico Madrid and Arsenal. She has been playing in Europe since the 2017-18 season, mostly for Madrid CFF, with one season at Portugal's Benfica in 2018-19 in their first season of play and scored 51 goals in 29 league and cup matches in the second division. After scoring only once in eight games in the 2019-20 season in the top tier league, she moved back to Madrid CFF. She was with Brazil in the 2018 U-20 WWC and 2019 senior Women's World Cup—both held in France—and at last summer's Olympic Games in Japan. She led the Spanish league goal scorers with 20 goals in 27 games, tied with Nigerian international striker Asisat Oshoala of Barcelona with 20 goals.
Moves involving Dutch internationals
A major move among a number of Netherlands internationals changing clubs during the summer was announced on June 17 with Paris Saint-Germain signing world class forward Lieke Martens on a three-year deal from Barcelona on a free transfer. Martens (29), spent five seasons at Barca and wrote on Instagram about her move, "After five beautiful years at this fantastic club in this beautiful city I have decided to part ways with the club and start a new adventure. I came to FC Barcelona in a time that the club started an ambitious project to become [a] leader in the world of women's football. We worked hard and I believe that we achieved the goals set five years ago. Winning the Champions League was an absolute highlight as well as winning the FIFA World's Best Player Award as a player of Barca." Martens made 156 appearances and scored 73 goals during her time in Spain. She won nine domestic titles and the Champions League in 2020-21. She made her senior international debut in 2011 and has gone on to win 133 caps and scored 54 goals.
Dutch international Joelle Smits (22) spent one season with Wolfsburg in Germany, scoring once in 13 matches for the Frauen Bundesliga side, and three goals in four matches with Wolfsburg 2 in the second tier. She is moving home to join PSV Eindhoven, where she played for two seasons before her move to Germany.
Netherlands international forward Katja Snoeijs (25) left Bordeaux after two seasons and scored 10 goals in 21 regular season matches for the French side in 2021-22 after scoring 9 goals in 21 matches in her first season abroad in 2020-21. At the time of press, she has not yet signed with another club.
Dutch international midfielder Inessa Kaagman (26) played two seasons at Brighton and Hove Albion in England after two seasons at Everton; she has moved to PSV Eindhoven.
Danique Kerkdijk (26), a Dutch international defender, spent three years at Brighton & Hove Albion and previously two years at Bristol City; she is joining Twente in the Netherlands.
Netherlands international defender Esmee De Graaf (24) left Leicester City after two seasons; she previously played at West Ham for two seasons and returned home to join Feyenoord.
Netherlands international forward Ashleigh Weerden (24) moved from Montpellier after two seasons to join Ajax, who finished second to Twente this season but will also play in the 2022-23 Women's Champions League.
Lineth Beerensteyn (25) of the Netherlands moved from Bayern Munich to Juventus of Italy. She played five seasons for the German side and has over 75 caps for the Netherlands; she was selected for her nation's Women's EURO side for this summer.
Anna-Lena Stolze (21), a German youth international at multiple levels, has been transferred permanently after being on loan with Twente in the Netherlands for the past two full seasons, scoring 17 goals in 40 games during that spell. She was on loan as well for one game in 2019-20 and was impressive initially, scoring twice in one appearance.
Moves involving internationals from the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Poland
Andrea Stašková (22), a Czech Republic international striker, was released by Juventus after three seasons (51 appearances and 15 goals) with 5 goals in 17 appearances last season; she has won three league titles in Italy with Juve and two at home with Sparta Prague. She signed a two-year deal with Atletico Madrid in Spain.
Midfielder Kateřina Svitková of the Czech Republic (26) was released by West Ham United after two seasons with 5 goals in 34 WSL appearances. She is nearing 50 full national team caps for her country. In early July she signed with Chelsea.
Midfielder Luana Zajmi (20) of Slovenia won a league title at home with Pomurje in 2020-21 and was released by Leicester City after one season—she played two games on loan to Blackburn Rovers last season. After receiving 14 Slovenia U-17 and U-19 caps, she went to an Albanian national team camp late last year. At the time of press, she has not yet signed with another club.
Sara Agrez (21), a Slovenian international defender, signed a three-year deal with Wolfsburg after spending two years at Turbine Potsdam.
Martyna Wiankowska (25), a Polish international midfielder, moved from Czarni Sosnowiec to Turbine Potsdam as well.
Other international moves.
In other moves, Norwegian youth international goalkeeper Benedicte Håland (24) was transferred to Hibernian in Scotland from Hellas Verona of Italy. She has played at home, in Iceland with Selfoss, in England with Bristol City (where she played one game in 2020-21) and last season in ten games with Hellas Verona, who finished bottom of the 12-team table with only 5 points (1-2-19 W-T-L) record and were relegated.
China international midfielder Jiali Tang is returning to Shanghai Shengli after playing 10 games on loan this season at Tottenham Hotspur. She is approaching 75 international caps for China and won the Women's Asian Cup earlier this year in India, where her squad won automatic qualification to next summer's WWC.
More English lower division Women's Teams are moving to signing their players to full-time professional contracts
In early June, English Women's Championship (Division II) side Durham became the latest women's football club to adopt a full-time professional model. The club said that their players would transition to full-time training ready for the 2022-23 season. The club, founded in 2014, compete in the second tier of women's football, finishing sixth in 2021-22.The announcement follows the news that Southampton, newly promoted to the Championship, are to offer players full-time contracts. Newcastle WFC, a fourth division side but with the huge resources of their men's team in the English Premier League, just missed out on promotion last season by finishing second to Liverpool Feds in the Women's National League Division I (59 points vs. 56 points in 22 games) but drew a crowd of 22,134 to a game at St. James Park in early May. Newcastle WFC also intends to shift to a professional model in the near future.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get yours copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
