This week, we look at the surprising news that Canada women's national team coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller has resigned to take a coaching education job in his native Denmark, leaving a plumb position open in the women's game for a squad that has qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games Finals. We look at two high-profile moves to French clubs by Australian internationals who were also 2019-20 W-League Premiership and Grand Final winners.
We also look at news that the UWS Summer League in North America—which first cancelled its 2020 season, then had one 4 team division in its new UWS League 2 state that it would play its regular season—finally announced that they would stage a small tournament in Texas next month, currently with 7 teams participating, including one side each from California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. However, that planned tournament was cancelled last week as Texas experienced a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. We finally present the revised schedule for the delayed 2019-20 and upcoming 2020-21 UEFA Women's Champion's League campaigns.
Kenneth Heiner-Moller resigns as Canadian National Women's Team Head Coach
Kenneth Heiner-Moller has left his position as head coach of the Canadian National Women's Team to return to his native Denmark, accepting a position with the Danish Football Association as their head of coaching education. Heiner-Moller took over the Canadian position in January 2018 when then women's head coach and English native John Herdman transferred into the Canadian men's head coaching job (in an equally unexpected move at the time). Heiner-Moller was an assistant coach to Herdman when the Canadian women won their second consecutive Olympic Bronze Medal at the 2016 Rio Games and then guided the Maple Leafs into the Round of 16 at the 2019 Women's World Cup in France (losing to eventual Bronze Medalists Sweden 1-0). He earlier this year guided the squad to Tokyo Olympic Games qualification as CONCACAF runners-up to the U.S.A., for a tournament that was to be held this summer but has been delayed a year because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Heiner-Moller explained his move, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic was a key factor in his decision, "It's beyond words how hard, how difficult the decision is. Obviously this wasn't the plan. The plan was going to the Olympics, have that gold medal around our necks and then say 'You know what, congratulations, team, I'm off to the next task.' Then this COVID thing hit." The always thoughtful and calm Heiner-Moller then added, "I've always said you cannot plan a career. But I knew that there was an opportunity to [take] kind of a different path in my career after the Olympics. But it was always 'After the Olympics, after the Olympics.' And when all of a sudden I wasn't capable of doing both, it was definitely something that shook the foundation underneath everything and then a decision needed to be made."
Kenneth Heiner-Moller coaching Canada's WNT on the sideline. Photo Courtesy Canada Soccer.
He continued: "This was not an easy decision to make because of the quality of the people that I have had the pleasure to work with since my time at Canada Soccer. As a leader in the women's game, Canada Soccer's investment in the Women's National Team Program will ensure its continued success. I would like to thank the players, staff and Canada Soccer for the opportunity to represent a great nation and program who I have every confidence will return to the podium at Tokyo 2020."Heiner-Moller leaves the Maple Leafs with a record of 20 wins, 5 draws and 10 losses as head coach, with second-place finishes at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship and 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship respectively, both times held in the U.S. and won by the Americans. He had previously served as Denmark's Women's National Team Head Coach from 2006 to 2013, leading the team to a Bronze Medal at the UEFA Women's EURO 2013 in Sweden, and also into the 2007 Women's World Cup Finals in China. Ironically, his last match in charge of Denmark was at EURO 2013 when Denmark fell to Norway in the semifinals via penalty kicks, with Norway coached by former Canadian national team head coach Even Pellerud, who kick-started the program in his 8 years in charge (2000-2008) from moribund to competitive on the world stage. As part of the transition, Heiner-Møller (49) will continue to manage the program and provide support to the new Canadian National Team Head Coach to ensure program continuity. As a player, he was based primarily in his home country, with the exception of a two year stint with Ferencvarosi of Hungary, winning the league once and the Hungarian Cup twice.
Former Canadian WNT player Rhian Wilkinson (38)—who has drawn rave reviews as the U-17 national team coach at the FIFA U-17 WWC in Uruguay in 2018, where her side finished in fourth—is an early candidate for the head coaching job, though this position will literally draw applications from all over the world. In 181 appearances for Canada, Wilkinson scored seven goals and added 23 assists. She retired in January 2017. Wilkinson is currently in charge of Canada's U-17 and U-20 teams and was an assistant coach on Heiner-Moller's 2019 World Cup staff and has a UEFA A license. She played the bulk of her career (8 seasons) in Norway with Team Strommen and had short stints in the NWSL with Boston in 2013 and Portland in 2015, after starring at the University of Tennessee in college. One international coach to not discount is former Sweden and Nigerian women's national team coach Thomas Dennerby, though he is currently under contract in India helping their team get ready for the U-17 WWC, which they were due to host later this year, but that tournament is another delayed casualty of the Coronavirus. Dennerby is vastly experienced and could be a nice addition for Canada. We expect many applicants to apply and will keep readers posted.
UWS Initially Plans to Host an Invitational Tournament in Texas in July but a Steep Increase in COVID-19 Cases in the State Forces the League to Cancel the Event.
After previous announcements earlier this month that UWS Leagues 1 and 2 were postponing their 2020 campaigns because of the coronavirus, and then the four team Southeast Conference of UWS League 2 stating that they would play a regular season format (which started late in June), the league has now announced a 2020 National Cup competition in Texas, to be held from July 9-17 in Round Rock Texas, at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex. The event, hosted by FC Austin Elite, provides an opportunity for teams to compete this summer. The tournament will feature current UWS teams and new teams committed to joining the standards-driven pro-am league in 2021. Seven teams have confirmed their intent to play, including four teams from the state of Texas: Bat Country FC (the Round Rock-based side which was founded in 2017 but is joining the UWS for the first time in 2020), CTX Hornets (based in Kyle, Texas and joining UWS League 2 for 2021), Dallas International (another new entry for 2020 in UWS League 1 and the first Dallas-based team is the league, which is coached by Jamie Lovegrove—a native of Crawley England who played with Crawley Town in Football League Two) and FC Austin Elite (FC Austin is in its fifth season of existence, having played in the 2016 and 2017 seasons in the WPSL and the past two seasons in UWS). Out-of-state teams include 2019 East Conference Champions Lancaster Inferno of Pennsylvania, 2016 National Champions Santa Clarita Blue Heat of California and Worcester Smiles of Massachusetts, who have won only one game in their two seasons in the league (2018 and 2019).
The concept of a tournament was suggested by Calgary Foothills (2019 UWS National runners-up) back in April during one of the league's conference calls. As more time passed, limiting the length of the season, the idea evolved into an event open to the entire league. Danny Woodfill, the General Manager of FC Austin Elite, offered to host the tournament and has been instrumental in planning and figuring out the logistics. Woodfill said, "We're excited to bring UWS down to Round Rock for this National Cup tournament. We realized pretty early on that this would not be a 'normal' season and we thought with the low instance of infections in Round Rock & Williamson County, we might have a better chance of getting on the field than the rest of the country and it was up to us to make something happen. Fortunately, we already had a great medical partner in Medicine in Motion to help develop safe return to play protocols and allow us to get back on the field. We can't wait to host our friends from around the country in a truly unique women's soccer event."
The 9 day tournament will consist of three preliminary round games, then semifinals and final and will be live-streamed, since fans will not be allowed. The league's teams will follow public health guidelines and safety protocols, for team travel (air and ground) lodging and the tournament venue. Teams can still sign up to play and we will follow the tournament and have updates on the final teams comprising the field.
Unfortunately, the above tournament was cancelled by the league on June 26 because the state of Texas was experiencing a massive increase in Covid-19 cases, forcing government officials to roll back some of their previous efforts to open the economy. The league's Medical Director, Dr. Martha Pyron of Medicine in Motion, explained, "Due to the increase in cases in our area and the fact that teams would be flying in, I felt that the risk had increased to a point where we could not ensure the safety of all participants." Danny Woodfill, the owner and general manager of host club FC Austin Elite, said in a statement, "With the rising number of cases and the pause in re-opening that Texas Governor Greg Abbott put in place, we're not going to ask teams to travel to Austin for the UWS National Cup. When we first started planning, things looked very promising, but since announcing the Cup things haven't been as rosy. Woodfill added, that, "We'll look at what we can do within our local area and what competition would be appropriate, but this national tournament doesn't make sense at this time."
UWS League Two is playing regular season games now in the Southeast Conference and there are plans for two regional tournaments in Michigan in July, which we will discuss in the weeks to come. The league is also exploring sanctioned friendlies and other tournaments to provide opportunities for the league's players this summer.
Matildas Carpenter and Checker Join French Division 1 Feminine Clubs
Australian women's national team defenders Ellie Carpenter and Emma Checker have signed with French clubs for the 2020-21 season, Carpenter with Olympique Lyon, the 6 time (4 time reigning) European and French league championships the past 14 years in succession (including being awarded the title in the shortened 2019-20 season as the table toppers) and Checker with FC Fleury 91. The Portland Thorns transferred Carpenter to the French side, which in the offseason purchased the former Reign FC franchise which is playing a few hours' drive north of Portland in Tacoma, Washington. Carpenter played two seasons in Portland and in 2019, appeared in 16 games with 14 starts. The Australian international and 2019 France Women's World Cup selection also recorded one assist and helped Portland's defense to eight shutouts during the regular season. At eighteen years and eleven days, she became the youngest player to take the field in the league and eventually became the youngest scorer in the history of the NWSL. Carpenter (20) said, "The Thorns have played an extremely important role in helping me grow and develop as a player over the past two years, and I am grateful to everyone who invested in me during my time in Portland." In Australia she has played most recently at Melbourne City; after starting her Westfield W-League career at the age of 15 with the Western Sydney Wanderers (2015/16 and 2016/17), she then was with Canberra United for two seasons (2017/18 and 2018/19), where she scored 5 goals and added 2 tallies last season with City.
Both Carpenter and Checker joined Melbourne City for the 2019/20 season and won the Premiership and Grand Final for dominant City, which was only the second side to go through a regular season and postseason undefeated, after Canberra United initially completed the feat in 2011/12, though for a 10 game regular season rather than 12 games last season.
Emma Checker has played also with Adelaide United (4 seasons), Canberra United (2 seasons) and Melbourne Victory (2 seasons), winning a Grand Final with the Victory in 2013/14 and a Premiership (regular season) title with Canberra in 2016/17. Checker (24) debuted as a 15-year-old in Adelaide in 2011 and has 5 caps for the Matildas. Checker also spent a short time in Korea Republic in 2017 with Incheon's Red Eagles. Checker told Fluery's website. "I am extremely demanding of myself and I hope that this will help the team to accomplish its objectives. I love to win and to be competitive; my ambition is to finish in the top five." Fleury finished seventh in the 2019-20 French Division 1 Feminine season that was cancelled early due to COVID-19.
Another Australian international and 2019 WWC selection, Mary Fowler, moved to the French league late in the 2019/20 W-League season while with Adelaide United to Montpellier, who were in fourth place when the 2019-20 French league season was cancelled, having appeared in one match.
Note: On May 27, OL Reign announced that Steph Catley would not be returning to the NWSL She played six seasons in total in the league since joining Portland Thorns in 2014, with two seasons in Portland, two in Orlando and the last two with the Reign, helping the Washington State-based side to the playoffs in both seasons. Catley scored the winning goal in the 2019/20 Grand Final for Melbourne City, helping the club to its fourth Grand Final Win in 5 seasons. She joined Melbourne Victory in 2009 in the league's second season and won the Grand Final in 2013/14. Catley (26) has played in the last two Women's World Cup for her country and reports have her joining Arsenal, where her fellow national teammate Caitlin Foord joined the FA WSL side in January 2020 from Sydney FC; Foord also decided not to return to the NWSL after her rights were traded by the Thorns to the Orlando Pride season. Arsenal is coached by Joe Montemurro, an Australian native who formerly coached Catley at Melbourne City.
UEFA Sets Date for Women's Champions League Team Tournaments
UEFA recently announced the format, dates and venues to complete the 2019-20 seasons of its Women's Champions League with a central location mini-tournament, as well as the format and dates for the 2020-21 season, whose start has been pushed back by a few months because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
2019-20 UEFA Women's Champions League (Final Eight)
Quarterfinals (one game) Aug. 21-22
Semifinals (one game) Aug. 25-26
Final (one game) Aug. 30
(All games will be played in Bilbao and San Sebastian, Spain.)
2020-21 UEFA Women's Champions League
Qualifying Round (three games) Oct. 7-13
Round of 32 (two games) Nov. 11-12, Nov. 18-19
Round of 16 (two games) March 3-4, March 10-11
Quarterfinals (two games) March 23-24, March 31-April 1
Semifinals (two games) April 24-25, May 1-2
Final (one game) May 16, 2021, in Gothenburg, Sweden
It is great to see that UEFA has prioritized concluding the 2019-20 Women's Champions League tournament (from August 21 to August 30). The central location format in the Basque region of Spain (like the NWSL is doing in Utah for their Challenge Cup) and reducing home and away legs to one match, will certainly heighten the intensity of the contests while prioritizing safety of the players and staff, as they only have one flight/train trip and can stay in one hotel throughout the event, as the two cities are about an hour's drive apart. England's hopes reside on Arsenal in their match with PSG. Arsenal had knocked out Italian side Fiorentina and Czech Republic club Slavia Prague on their route to the last eight. The condensed format could also help some of the underdog sides such as Glasgow City playing VFL Wolfsburg of Germany in the quarterfinals as they only need one good result in a neutral venue rather than 2 good games against a powerhouse to spring an upset and advance. The downside is we only get one match for two high profile quarterfinals involving Atletico Madrid versus Barcelona in the all-Spanish derby and four-time WCL champions Lyon of France playing Bayern Munich of Germany.
Teams will be allowed to register three new players for the remainder of the 2019/20 season, provided such players were already registered and eligible for the club since the last registration deadline (March 18, 2020). It will not be possible for clubs to register newly-transferred players. Five substitutions will be allowed in all the remaining matches in accordance with the temporary change to the Laws of the Game approved by FIFA, whereas the number of substitutions for the 2020/21 season will remain at three.
Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema is the current scoring leader in the 2019-20 UEFA Women's Champions League with 10 goals, including seven across both legs against Slavia Prague.
For the 2020-21 season, the qualification tournament and other rounds will start about two months later than usual. The first stage with 40 teams is the regular format used in past seasons via a 10 group, central location format in 10 selected venues, so again teams are only taking one trip for that round. As always, this column will continue to cover the tournament in the months to come, starting with the qualification rounds.
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 your copy today.
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