Women’s football

ENI ALUKO has criticised the lack of diversity in the WSL and England Women’s side and labelled it as concerning.The former Chelsea ace questioned the current cultural landscape of the women’s game with only one non-white player featured in the Lionesses 6-0 thumping of Northern Ireland.
Aluko has questioned the lack of diversity within the WSL and the LionessesCredit: PA
The Aston Villa Women’s football director feels progress with diverse representation has hit the skids since Hope Powell’s departure from the Lionesses’ dug-out in 2013.
And Aluko believes a loose links between talent in urban areas and youth set-ups at top clubs could be one of the causes.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Aluko said: “I’m not sure progress has been made.
“I think when you look at the representation across the England women’s team, it is concerning.
“I’m not one to say that anybody should be picked just because of their race.
“But I certainly think that in a country like England you have to ask the question of why there isn’t as much representation as certainly there was before, under managers like Hope Powell.
“I think there’s a variety of reasons for that, maybe there’s a disconnect between academies now.
“Where the game is professionalising, there’s a little bit of a disconnect between inner-city talent and academies that are training in the suburbs of cities.”
However, Aluko stressed players should be picked for club or country based on merit and ability rather than skin colour.
Aluko believes a disconnect between top women’s football clubs and inner-city academies is a potential cause of a lack of diversityCredit: PA:Press Association
And she believes Bristol City’s Ebony Salmon should walk into the Lionesses team based on her current performances.
The former Man United striker, 20, has been in fine form for Bristol this term netting six goals in 16 league games.
Aluko added: “I think at the top level there has to be an appreciation of making sure that every player is given the best opportunity to be judged on their performance.
“Somebody like Ebony Salmon for example absolutely deserves to get into the team, based on her goals and based on her performance, not anything else.
“And I think that we need to make sure that we are assessing everybody objectively whichever background they come from, whichever experience they’ve had.”
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Aluko believes Ebony Salmon deserves a place in the England squad based on her current performancesCredit: Rex

Aluko enjoyed a glittering career with the Lionesses winning 102 caps, scoring 33 goals in the process.
And the ex- England striker won Women’s FA Cup medals with Birmingham City and Chelsea.
The former WSL ace played an influential role in the Blues’ Cup win in 2012 with Blues and in the triumph of Emma Hayes’ team in 2015.
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JI SO-YUN has been appointed the first female co-president of the Korean Pro-Footballer’s Association.So-yun, 30, will lead the organisation alongside veteran men’s national team player Lee Keun-Ho.
Chelsea star Ji So-yun has been named the first female co-president of the KPFACredit: Reuters
The decision by the KPFA makes them the first player union officially led by a male and female.
The Chelsea maestro said she hopes to use the role to “develop” Korean football.
She said: “The KPFA, as a member of FIFPRO, underlines that players should not be distinguished by gender.
“I hope to establish a platform where we can think of ways to develop Korean football and protect player rights for both men and women.”
So-yun was given the role to help promote gender equality in South Korean football.
Breaking barriers isn’t new to So-yun, who became the first foreign player to make 100 appearances in the WSL last December.
She has also won several accolades during her time with the Blues since joining in 2013.
In 2015, So-yun was named PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year, and made the PFA WSL team of the year.

Last year, she was nominated for the Fifa Best Women’s Player award but missed out to Manchester City’s Lucy Bronze.
But the Korean star wasn’t done yet, and was named in the Fifa Pro World’s Best XI, which she lauded on Instagram.
She has won several WSL titles with Chelsea, and the Blues are in pole position to add another to their tally this season.
So-yun said she hopes to use her role to push forward Korean footballCredit: Getty
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ROMAN ABRAMOVICH has hailed Chelsea Women team and revealed how important they are to the club.The Blues owner said he feels the women’s side are “critical” to his side and help to shape their identity.
Roman Abramovich invited Hayes and women’s side to Israel last summer, having not watched the men play in over a year
Chelsea owner Abramovich has trusted Hayes with the women’s side for NINE years
He also said he was baffled by why other clubs don’t feel the same way and give their women’s team maximum support.
In an interview with Forbes, he said: “Chelsea Women is a critical part of Chelsea and shapes who we are as a club.
“I see no reason why clubs wouldn’t want to support women’s football and provide the best possible opportunity for them to succeed.”
The women’s game has been on the rise exponentially around the globe in the last few years, which Abramovich is privy to.
Last month, Chair of Women in Football, Ebru Koksal claimed that women’s football will be worth the same as most men’s sport by 2030.
And Abramovich also agrees, stating that the if both sexes had the equal amount of exposure, there’s no doubt that the business opportunities will be the same.
He continued: “For me, this is both about the principle, but, also, women’s football has huge potential.
The Russian billionaire believes that the women’s game would receive the same business deals as men’s of given same exposureCredit: AFP

“If women’s football received the same level as support as men’s football, the sport would obviously be equally successful on the business side.”
The Blue’s women’s side were formed in the second year of Abramovich’s reign and he has seen them go from strength to strength.
Emma Haye’s side have won a slew of trophies since then and are en-route to potentially winning the Champions League this season, which has eluded them previously.
But unfortunately, Abramovich has had to miss out on witnessing their meteoric ascent in person due to visa issues.
Despite these difficulties, he claims he remains committed to the Blues and their future.
He added: “The ambitions are as true now as they were when I first became owner and I hope that can be seen through the work we have been doing on and off the pitch over the last 17 years.”
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EVERTON are reportedly set to sign goal-keeper Cecilia Ran Runarsdottir from Icelandic outfit Fylkir on a four-year deal.Runarsdottir, 17, will join the Toffees in July when she turns 18 for an undisclosed fee, according to Goal.com.
Runarsdottir will reportedly join the Toffees in the summerCredit: Getty
The Icelandic national is currently on loan at Swedish club KIF Orebro where she will stay until summer, Goal also claim.
Everton seem to keeping the deal under wraps, and neither club nor player have announced the move yet.
Runarsdottir’s career has been on a steady rise since she began playing football at 13.
She started out at Afturelding and helped them win the Second Division title before joining the Urvalsdeild, Iceland’s top-flight with Fylkir.
Her career took off while she was at the club, and she was named the league’s Young Player of the Year in 2020.
She also won her first international cap in 2020, after receiving her first senior call up the previous year.
Willie Kirk’s move for the wonder-kid to bolster his squad comes a week after his number-one stopper Sandy MacIver signed a new deal with the club.

MacIver stated that the Toffees ambition to break into the WSL top four was one of the main reasons she decided to stay.
She said: “The Champions League is where we want to be. I really believe the foundations are in place to do that.
“I don’t see why we can’t break into that top three or four in the WSL and cement ourselves as a top side in Europe.”
Everton seem to be keeping the deal under wraps and have not yet announced the moveCredit: Reuters
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THE FA have awarded Tottenham three points and ruled out a replay for their postponed WSL game against Birmingham in January.The Blues cancelled the clash due to a player shortage caused by Covid and injuries.
Spurs have been awarded three points after Birmingham cancelled their game in JanuaryCredit: PA
Despite their plight, the FA told them not to cancel the game but they went ahead with the decision to do so.
Last week and independent tribunal ruled that the game will not be replayed and Spurs will be given the victory for the breach.
A statement by the FA read: “The FA can confirm that an Independent Tribunal has determined that Birmingham City’s unfulfilled fixture against Tottenham Hotspur in The FA WSL on 10 January 2021 will not be replayed and three points will be awarded to Tottenham Hotspur.
“The tribunal found that Birmingham breached competition rule 11.3.18, which outlines ‘the failure to fulfil an engagement.’ 
“As a result, Tottenham Hotspur have been awarded the victory”
The tribunal’s decision will be a shock to Blues manager Carla Ward who was confident of a replay.
At the time, she said: “I would expect the outcome for us to be our game being rescheduled. 
The Blues cancelled the game due to injuries and Covid issues despite the FA saying they wanted the game to go aheadCredit: PA

“To be honest, I would have been happy to go there with ten players. 
“That’s just the sort of manager I am and I think the players were quite content with going there with ten players and to be honest part of me wishes we did. 
“But from a welfare point of view, the club doctor and I had lengthy discussions and as much as I didn’t want to (call off the game) it probably was the right decision. 
“But that decision wouldn’t have been taken if I thought there would be even a two per cent chance that we wouldn’t get to replay that game.
“So I’m fully confident that it will be replayed.”
The points will be a big boost for Spurs who languish in eight place in the league, just four points behind Reading.
They come up against bottom-placed Bristol City tomorrow who will be desperate for a win as they battle for WSL survival.
Carla Ward was confident the game would be replayedCredit: Alamy
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