Tom Garry
@TomJGarry
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Women's football writer for @guardian_sport Previously at the Telegraph/BBC Sport. Proud husband. Rapidly-deteriorating tennis player. Tired & weary Bluenose.
Northwich, United Kingdom
Joined December 2010
Exclusive for @guardian_sport: The FA is proposing the introduction of B teams as part of a planned expansion of tiers 3-6 of the English women's pyramid. WSL & WC clubs could enter B teams in the lower tiers from 2026-27 onwards. Consultations ongoing.
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At London2012 I volunteered at the tennis (great fun). One morning, my 'job' was to open a door that players walked through. Maybe 40, 50 players came past. Some were busy chatting, most walked by silently, focused. Only one said "thank you, good morning" - that was Andy Murray.
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Passengers applaud the England team as they board their flight home from Sydney #Lionesses #FIFAWWC
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Lauren James is 21 years old. She's made a huge mistake, but it's a mistake. She'll learn from it and will, I'm sure, make a giant contribution to English football across her career. She doesn't need to be crucified tonight. And yes it was bad but it wasn't a 'stamp'. #Lionesses.
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In fact, if you'd like a little laugh this evening, here I am holding open another door on a different day that week. I'd like to think I perfected the art of door-opening before the medal matches came around. But no, I don't know why I look so annoyed. Anyway, thank you Andy 🚪
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87,192. That's the largest ever crowd for a women's football match in the UK. And the biggest ever attendance at any Euros, men's or women's. Seismic. #WEURO2022.
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Amidst so many more iconic images from last night, a little one standing out for me is, seconds after the whistle, as Wembley goes wild, Leah Williamson consoling a distraught Lena Oberdorf. That's your captain right there. Bronze also went to the youngster quickly. Such respect
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Beth Mead wins #BBCSPOTY for 2022 - meaning women have won the night's main award, the Team award, the Coach award and the Young SPOTY award all in the same year for the very first time.
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As an Englishman I'd be damn proud of Harry Kane if he said 'I'm wearing it anyway - book me'. My gut instinct is that most of the England women's team would be prepared to get booked for what they believe in. But don't blame Kane if he doesn't, the FA should be stronger on this.
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Excl: Brentford set to appoint ex-Leicester women’s boss Lydia Bedford as their new U-18s head coach, sources tell @TelegraphSport, in a landmark moment for women coaching in the men’s game, as one of the first woman to coach at a men's Premier League club
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Understand Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has just landed in Gothenburg and will be at tonight's Women's Champions League final. A significant statement of backing #UWCLfinal.
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Alex Greenwood is being treated by six paramedics and four members of England's medical team on the pitch here in Leuven and appears to be receiving oxygen, after an accidental clash of heads with Jassina Blom. She's been down for 11 minutes. Very worrying sight #Lionesses #UWNL.
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Georgia Stanway says the England Women's players nominated for the #BallonDor have decided they won't be at tonight's ceremony because they're preparing to face Belgium. She says "it would be nice in future if it wasn't on a matchday-1 so we can enjoy the experience." #Lionesses.
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Sarina Wiegman, when asked about Mary Earps' post-match interview where Earps told ITV her performance had cost the team: "I don’t want her to talk like that. You win as a team and you lose as a team. Of course she didn’t let the team down." #Lionesses.
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Georgia Stanway: "We’re the Lionesses, we’re not done yet. We’ve got many years [ahead of us], and I’m sure that one day this [medal] will be gold." #Lionesses.
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Chelsea reaching 31 points by the halfway stage in their WSL campaign is truly exceptional. The WSL points record is 58 points (reached by Chelsea, of course) and that record looks under threat. We're witnessing a very special team. #ChelseaFCW.
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Gianni Infantino congratulated Messi on his #BallonDor win on Instagram last night but, so far, hasn't said anything there about Bonmati's win. Yes, that's relatively trivial, but the little things you say and don't say do matter, as the president of all football, not just men's.
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ESPN has agreed a one-year deal to broadcast live TV coverage of the Women's Super League exclusively to the following overseas territories: The USA, South America and the Caribbean. It starts tonight with Chelsea v Aston Villa live on ESPN+.
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Manchester United’s women’s team will be moved into portable buildings at the club’s Carrington training complex this season to allow the men’s squad to use the women’s building while the men’s building is being revamped. Excl. story for @guardian_sport.
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With Carrow Road almost empty, Mary Earps has just been spending time in the stands chatting to a fan who had been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. Earps spent lots of time chatting to her and helped calm her, which is such a kind thing to do #Lionesses #WEuroqualifying.
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The FA have been granted permission to build a statue outside Wembley honouring the England women’s team, whatever happens on Sunday, and talks have been ongoing with Brent Council. Next up will come the design process. More here for @Telegraph #Lionesses .
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Alessia Russo: "First and foremost the Colombians tonight were incredible, not only the players but the fans. That's what the World Cup is all about." #fifawwc #Lionesses.
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Update: Alex Greenwood is conscious, talking, and is being monitored by medical staff here at the stadium in Leuven. Encouraging news #Lionesses #UWNL.
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"Women aren't small men, physiologically. We're different. [At Chelsea] we have a women’s health coach, a pelvic floor coach. individualised programmes to help the players in different phases of their period." @emmahayes1 on ways to minimise injury risk.
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"It won't be easy. But it has to be the vision." Vinai Venkatesham on the club's long-term target to play every Arsenal Women game at the Emirates in future, in the first part of an excl. interview with Arsenal's CEO, ahead of today's #BarclaysWSL action.
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I wrote this two years ago but the same issue still applies today - scheduling the Ballon d'Or ceremony in the middle of the women's international window shows you the organisers simply don't care about the women's award #BallonDor.
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Liverpool boss Matt Beard on Arsenal: "I hope Renée gets the job because she's done a fantastic job. It's night and day from Jonas' side, to now. I hope she gets it, I really do." #BarclaysWSL.
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Understand Man Utd have rejected Arsenal's bid for Alessia Russo. Would have been a world-record fee, as first revealed by @David_Ornstein. MUFC don't want to strengthen a rival in January. Talks aren't 100% dead, yet, though. More detail on @TeleFootball
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Worrying scenes here. Frida Maanum just collapsed on the pitch, off the ball.
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The #BBCSPOTY winner comes from women's football for the second year in a row as Mary Earps wins the public vote. It's the third consecutive year that a female athlete has claimed this prize, which hadn't happened since 1964.
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The main #BBCSPOTY prize has now been won by a female athlete for a fourth year in a row. That's never happened before in the award's history. Invest in women's sport, folks.
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Working on their Uefa A licence: Karen Bardsley, Izzy Christiansen, Cheryl Edwards, Lisa Evans, Sophie Harris, Steph Houghton, Sophie Howard, Kim Little, Sandy MacIver, Aoife Mannion, Beth Mead, Viv Miedema, Zecira Musovic, Samantha Tierney & Lia Walti. That's great for the game.
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Alex Greenwood has made the most interceptions at this #fifawwc and the most touches on the ball. I've written about England's quiet, unsung hero, who somehow combines a Rolls Royce's calmness with a Fiat 500's ability to get out of tight spaces #Lionesses.
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There are lots of people booing around Wembley as Korbin Albert comes on as a second-half substitute #Lionesses #USWNT.
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Keira Walsh is back in normal training with the full squad of 23 #Lionesses ahead of Monday's #fifawwc last-16 game against Nigeria.
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New: DAZN is removing its paywall for its women's football coverage worldwide, including the #UWCL.
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Emma Hayes, to the crowd: "Let me be clear. It's not f****** over. There's no time for sentimentality. All work drinks are cancelled. There's a title to be won. This group of players taught me something so special this week, that you never ever give up." #BarclaysWSL #ChelseaFCW.
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Beth Mead is the first woman to score a hat-trick for England at Wembley, in what is the #Lionesses' 7th appearance at the home of English football. It's a special, special night for the Arsenal forward.
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Exclusive: Canada's Jessie Fleming is set to leave Chelsea and join Portland Thorns for around £250,000, believed to be an NWSL record. Fleming said goodbye to her Chelsea team-mates on Monday. She's adored by everyone at Chelsea and parts on great terms. More on @TeleFootball.
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Women's football fans, how often do you see this in the UK?.I'm told it is outside @kingandqueenpub in Brighton, listing all the games they'll be showing. Fair play! #FIFAWWC
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5.2m people watched England's win over Nigeria on penalties on BBC One yesterday, plus a further 2.6m streams on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport Online. The largest UK audience of this tournament so far #FIFAWWC.
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Breaking news: @TelegraphSport understands a deal has now been reached for Sonia Bompastor to be the next manager of Chelsea. She'll make the big switch from Lyon this summer along with her trusted assistant Camille Abily. More follows @TeleFootball.
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Sarina Wiegman wins the Coach of the Year award here at #BBCSPOTY - Wiegman is the first woman to win this award since its inception in 1999. That's quite something.
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Don't give men awards for respecting women. I'm sure Jenas is a nice guy but 'ally of the year' shouldn't exist. If it must stay, give it to Vinai Venkatesham, Paul Green, Wrighty or Paul Barber. But men don't need medals for merely just not being a dick.
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Marc Skinner on Leah Williamson going off: "Nobody wanted to see that. I've just seen her inside, she seemed in really high spirits. We obviously wish it's something minor and just a precaution. We wish her all the best. We all want to see her lead the Lionesses in the summer.".
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Maanum is now wheeled off on a stretcher down the tunnel, and the game is resuming. She was receiving oxygen through a mask the entire time she was being treated on the pitch.
Worrying scenes here. Frida Maanum just collapsed on the pitch, off the ball.
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Arsenal announce 'tickets sold' for this game was 46,811. Worth remembering, for this same fixture last season (also played at the Emirates), the attendance was 8,705. That's a huge difference. 47,367 remains the WSL attendance record (also a game at the Emirates) #BarclaysWSL.
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I'm told the reason Chelsea haven't revealed a specific end date for Emma Hayes' new deal is because there isn't one. She's staying essentially on a permanent, long-term basis. Neither party felt the need to set an x-year length because their commitment to each other is absolute.
As @TomJGarry exclusively revealed in May, Emma Hayes has signed a new #CFC contract
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New: White shorts have been dropped from England's kit, after discussions about players playing while on their periods. Both the #Lionesses' home & away kits now have blue shorts. Here's their brand new Nike kit for the April camp, ready for the #FIFAWWC .
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Joking aside, there aren't enough Spanish players here, so many of the Spain team deserve better. Morgan's inclusion in this year of all years devalues the XI. But I'm pleased to see some rare recognition for Greenwood and Walsh, who are often under-appreciated in these awards.
The Fifa Best women's world XI (3-5-2): Mary Earps; Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Olga Carmona; Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Ella Toone, Aitana Bonmati; Alex Morgan, Sam Kerr.(no, your phone is working, they did have Alessia Russo in midfield rather than up front. ).
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Scotland captain Rachel Corsie is very unhappy at any suggestions Scotland might not want to win tomorrow because of Olympic qualification, saying: "It's so disrespectful. It's absolutely outrageous to question anyone's integrity and it's a huge insult to us." #UWNL #Lionesses.
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NWSL club Angel City have partnered with UK-based safety tech company GoBubble to shield the team & staff's social feeds from online hate, bullying, racism, misogyny & anti-LGBTQ+ messages. The first pro US sports club to protect its team/staff on social media in this way #NWSL.
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Erm, is it just me. or was Russo just fouled by Wolter and the officials responded by giving Germany a penalty? #Lionesses.
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Over 1,000 people turned up to watch England's #Lionesses hold an open training session at the Sunshine Coast Stadium today. The entire England squad trained, including Millie Bright, but Katie Robinson only did a lighter session because she has a very minor ankle injury #fifawwc
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Asked how close Beth Mead was to being named in her October #Lionesses squad, Sarina Wiegman says: "To be honest, she was not close. She had those first minutes, which was nice to see. First she has to build at club, show performances at club and get that consistency back." #UWNL.
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Arsenal now adding their Leicester home game to their Emirates fixture list means they will have played more than half of their home #BarclaysWSL matches at the Emirates this season, making it their most commonly-used league home venue in a single campaign for the first time.
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Wiegman says Greenwood is "walking around" and "OK" but has a concussion, but in general she says it is good news that she's walking and doing fine #Lionesses #UWNL.
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"I don’t know the ins and outs of this controversy," the author admits. Yet, despite that, writes 1,000 words on why he feels Vilda's sacking is "shameful". Having a different opinion is OK. But this industry providing platforms without research is not.
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A peak audience of 7.2m people watched England's win over Colombia on ITV on Saturday. It was the biggest UK TV audience of this #FIFAWWC so far. The average audience of 5.9m across the broadcast was a 58% share of UK TV audiences at the time. #Lionesses.
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The Chelsea fans at Old Trafford are singing 'Marc Skinner, we want you to stay'. Brutal. #BarclaysWSL.
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Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten' is blasting out of the Arsenal dressing room at Molineux #ContiCup.
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Villa CEO Christian Purslow is here at Kingsmeadow tonight to watch Villa's women play Chelsea in a friendly. He's just had a chat with the players. Here he is in conversation with Carla Ward. I can assure you, you don't see many CEOs at WSL games, let alone pre-season #FAWSL
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Dreadful news for Nadia Nadim: Sources say the Racing Louisville star tore her ACL last night v Orlando Pride in the #NWSL. She'll undergo surgery within 72 hours, possibly in the UK or Qatar - Nadim wants the best treatment possible as she is determined to fight back for Euro22.
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Great news for Arsenal and England fans that Beth Mead has resumed full-training this week. We also understand that Mead came through an in-house training game with Arsenal's youth team on Wednesday, a big positive in her recovery from last November's ACL injury #BarclaysWSL #AFC.
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"This is f****** Chelsea, get better or I'll get someone else in.".A new behind-the-scenes doc. following Chelsea Women is out on DAZN tomorrow, and shows Emma Hayes like you've never seen her before: Swearing and swearing some more, but also being caring.
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After the WSL season she had, deservedly in the Team of the Year, I think Alex Greenwood can feel very harshly done by to be dropped for this #Lionesses game. Of course, Bright, Carter & Williamson are all great players, but the defender who had the best season is on the bench.
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Good news, women: Infantino says you can achieve equality. All women need to do is "believe, push" and “convince us men what we have to do”. If only he had the number for the guy in charge. My thoughts here on today's patronising speech, for @WomensSport .
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Chloe Kelly cupping her ear, in front of the Stretford End. It's a derby atmosphere now #BarclaysWSL.
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The Germany squad are currently singing 'Sweet Caroline' at their top of their voices from inside the away dressing room at Wembley. #Lionesses.
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DAZN has acquired the global rights to broadcast Spain’s top women's football division for the next five seasons until the summer of 2027. The deal gives them 240 Primera Division matches per season.
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"This is not charity. I’m on a mission to prove that women’s sports is good business.".I sat down with Michele Kang for an exclusive @guardian_sport interview to discuss Kynisca, her recent $50m investment and why she wants to own clubs on every continent.
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We're also reporting in today's paper that @TelegraphSport has learnt a Lionesses Travel Club is going to be set up by the FA in the next few months, in recognition of the demand for fans following the #Lionesses abroad. The FA will work closely with the FSA to set this up (1/3).
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Arranging European fixtures just 10 days before they are being played is not OK. Not for the fans, not for the club staff who now have to frantically organise logistics/tickets, not for the media/broadcasters, not for anyone. Still a huge amount the #UWCL needs to improve on.
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To me it feels daft that the Women's Champions League quarter-final draw won't happen until 7 February. Now we know who's through, get on with the draw. Do it now and give fans more time to buy tickets and flights, rather than just 5-6 weeks notice before March's 1st legs. #UWCL.
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Martha Thomas on the reasons for her Spurs form: "Probably just playing under someone that I know believes in me. That’s important, that’s when I play my best football. Playing in my actual position, things like that. [I’m] just sort of on a roll - hopefully I keep it up." #COYS.
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Sources: Naomi Girma is set to have a medical at Chelsea later this week after agreeing personal terms to transfer to the English club from San Diego Wave for a world-record fee of $1.1m (£890,000). Long-term contract. More info. here for @guardian_sport .
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Greenwood has just been stretchered off, with her body strapped tightly to the stretcher to keep it very still. She is responsive, squeezing her hand to meet the outstretched hands of Bright and Stanway as she goes off #Lionesses #UWNL #MCWFC.
Alex Greenwood is being treated by six paramedics and four members of England's medical team on the pitch here in Leuven and appears to be receiving oxygen, after an accidental clash of heads with Jassina Blom. She's been down for 11 minutes. Very worrying sight #Lionesses #UWNL.
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Exclusive: Every Women's Championship game will be streamed live on the division's YouTube channel from next season. Huge increase in live #BarclaysWC games. Also understand each game will be produced with a minimum of two cameras, not just one. More here:.
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No women had a vote in this decision, to choose the hosts of the Women's Euros. Just let that sink in for a moment. There are women up for election for Uefa's exec committee tomorrow so things should change, but nonetheless, 13 votes from 13 men does not feel right #WomensEuros.
Switzerland will host the next Women's Euros in the summer of 2025, where the #Lionesses will seek to defend their title. More follows on @TeleFootball.
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Chelsea got home around 4am on Thurs after playing Real Madrid and then faced the Sat lunchtime #BarclaysWSL game, yet still they've convincingly beaten a good Liverpool side. That's ominous for their rivals, if they're not even close to dropping points in these circumstances.
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England's #FIFAWWC2023 opener v Haiti attracted a peak audience of 4.2m on ITV 1 on UK television, a 39.4% audience share, for what was a 10.30am kick-off UK time. It surpassed the 3.7m peak that saw the #Lionesses' opening match at Euro 2022 on the BBC (an evening kick-off).
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Frida Maanum in stable condition - more for @TelegraphSport .And, after the touchline aggro, I can tell you, in the tunnel loads of Chelsea staff/players asked how Maanum was. CFC medics also helped treat Maanum. There's lots of respect behind the scenes.
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You probably heard about the historic Women's FA Cup prize money increase. It rose by around £2.5m. What you possibly didn't hear is that the men's prize pot increased by nearly £4m. The gap is now wider. So I wrote about it for @TeleFootball @WomensSport.
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Sefton Council in Merseyside has tonight unanimously approved the motion of awarding the Freedom of the Borough, Sefton's highest honour, to local #Lionesses star Alex Greenwood, hailing the England player as an "outstanding role model for women & girls", here at Bootle Town Hall
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A nice moment here as one of the original #Lionesses, Margaret McGroarty (6 caps, 2 goals) receives her England legacy cap (she's legacy no. 6, from the very first XI) from Mary Earps. McGroaty lives in Melbourne and hasn't been able to receive her legacy cap until now #fifawwc
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England defender Lucy Bronze is to be awarded an honorary doctorate by Leeds Beckett University for services to sport. Bronze was previously a student at Leeds Beckett, graduating with a Sports Science degree in 2013 in a year when she won the WSL title with Liverpool #Lionesses.
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According to sources, Arsenal’s interim head coach, Renée Slegers, is among the final-round interview candidates as the WSL club’s head coach recruitment process nears a conclusion. More here. #BarclaysWSL.
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This is the first time since Feb 2013 that Manchester City have been knocked out of the Women's FA Cup by a team not called Chelsea. Ever since turning professional, they've either won the cup or lost to Chelsea. That tells you how significant tonight's result is #WomensFAcup.
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Still struggling to get my head around the fact that 53.9 million people in China watched England's 6-1 victory on Tuesday on Chinese television. Such vast numbers #Lionesses #FIFAWWC.
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In a weird way, this should benefit England for the World Cup, because that sloppy second-half performance needs to be a wake-up call, and now they get to practise a penalty shootout in front of a huge crowd, ahead of maybe having to contest a shootout this summer #Lionesses.
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J*** B***** now adding homophobia and racism to his jealous, attention-grabbing crusade against women is disgusting but he's not the real concern. My big concern is that, so far, more than 8,000 people have liked his racist, homophobic, sexist tweet. It's a major societal issue.
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Understand Chelsea are willing to smash the #woso transfer record to sign Grace Geyoro if a deal can be reached by Thursday. As she's made clear, Geyoro wants the move. But sources say PSG need to line up a replacement first. It's not done yet. More here:.
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