Women’s Super League

HOPE POWELL is unsurprised by Graham Potter becoming Chelsea boss with the Blues due to play their first game under the ex-Albion gaffer.And the Brighton manager is looking at strengthening her side in the winter transfer window after a busy summer of player arrivals and exits.
Hope Powell says Brighton’s Prem stars have had an excellent start to their season under former boss Graham PotterCredit: Reuters
Chelsea will play RB Salzburg in the Champions League in their first home game under their new bossCredit: Getty
Wednesday night will see Powell’s former Seagulls counterpart in the Stamford Bridge dugout for the first time since his appointment last Thursday.
The Blues take on RB Salzburg in a Champions League encounter at home after falling to a surprise 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on the road in their first group stage game this term.
Brighton Women’s chief Powell said: “He’s had an excellent start to the season.
“I think it was muted last year (there was interest in him) when Tottenham had a vacancy. 
“It just shows that everybody recognises the good work he’s done with the resources that we have as a club in terms of players and the calibre of players (at the club). 
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“The fact that Chelsea has come in for him, am I surprised? Absolutely not. I think he deserves everything he gets and good luck to him.”
Powell and her team – who finished seventh in the top tier last season – travel to Arsenal’s Meadow Park home on Friday.
The 7:30 pm evening clash will be the first game of the 2022-23 WSL term following the postponement of last weekend’s opening fixtures following the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
On Monday, the FA announced WSL and Women’s Championship games would resume this week.
Powell’s side will take on the Gunners following the departures of seven senior figures and rising stars.
Players who left in the summer transfer window include Maya Le Tissier, 20, Ellie Brazil and Emma Koivisto, both 23.
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The Lionesses Under-23 aces and Finland full-back joined Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool.
Inessa Kaagman and Danique Kerkdijk sealed summer moves to Dutch clubs PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente.
And Dani Bowman, 33, joined West Ham’s coaching staff following her retirement after a five-year Seagulls spell.  
Meanwhile, Aileen Whelan, 31, joined Leicester on a free transfer in July following a
And her old team-mates Fliss Gibbons, 28, and Emily Simpkins, 32, sealed transfers to Championship sides Crystal Palace and Charlton.
This was probably the toughest transfer window yet.Hope Powell
Powell added: “Players leave for all sorts of reasons. With Inessa and Danique I think Covid had a massive part to play in that.
“Danique been away from home for five years and they told me very early on, that they will be going home so we expected that.
“With Maya, we did well to keep her last season.
“Chelsea came in for her back then and she was committed to the club, so it was no surprise that another club came in for her.
“Her head was turned with the prospect perhaps of Champions League and everything else that goes around with that.
“We did well to keep her last term. We are disappointed for ourselves but I’m pleased for her. She’s such a nice kid.
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“With Emma Koivisto – we didn’t see that coming. We wanted to engage (with her) and we engaged very early.
“She didn’t give much away so her move was a big surprise for us.
“We were sad to see them go, but this is football and some players will come, some will go.
“Now it’s just about now rebuilding and going again.”
Powell reckons this summer’s transfer window has been the toughest yet recruitment-wise with competition to sign emerging talent becoming more intense.
The Seagulls chief said: “It is really challenging. This was probably the toughest transfer window yet.
Maya Le Tissier is among the players who left Brighton this summerCredit: Getty
“There is a lot of young talent out there, not just in this country but abroad.
“But if they don’t meet certain GBE (government body endorsement from the FA) requirements, they can’t come in.
“They can’t get a work permit so it’s quite difficult.
“But it’s the same for everybody and it kind of narrows (the market).
“The biggest clubs can just buy and cherry pick so that talent pool kind of narrows down somewhat.
“But it is what it is, we can only control what we can control.
“There’s another winter transfer window and we’ll be looking again, but that’s the life of football.”
Brighton have bolstered their squad with five players joining the side before their Arsenal trip and first home game of the season against Reading.
Norway forward Elisabeth Terland is among the new players who joined Albion in the summer transfer windowCredit: Reuters
New arrivals include Poppy Pattinson signed from Everton and South Korea midfielder Yeeun Park, 25.
Norway striker Elisabeth Terland, 21, joined from her country’s top tier with a tally of 10 goals in 14 games for former club SK Brann this year.
And the Seagulls also welcome the return of Rebekah Stott following her recovery from stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma.
The New Zealand international defender, who was diagnosed with blood cancer in March 2021, has been in remission for a year.
Powell is delighted to have Rebekah Stott return to BrightonCredit: Getty
Powell added: “It’s so lovely to have her back just because of who is first and foremost.
“When we talk about someone having cancer (and recovering) the football just pales into significance.
“The fact that she’s still with us she’s healthy, she’s happy to be back is the most important.” More

Women’s football legend Nikita Parris has given a group of unsuspecting youngsters a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of playing with the trophy-winning star.The Manchester United forward who has been capped 65 times for England arrived at her childhood football club in Toxteth for an early morning kickaround, surprising the under 12s team.
Nikita Parris coaches the young players in Toxeth at her childhood football clubCredit: SWNS
The kids were left inspired by Parris’ tales of making it to the topCredit: SWNS
The star has been capped 65 times by England and was part of the squad who won this summer’s EurosCredit: SWNS
As the girls sat down to breakfast, Parris gave them a stirring talk about coming from the area and achieving her dreams of playing the beautiful game professionally – before getting underway with some shooting practice. 
After the session, Mila Williams, aged 7, said she “learnt so much” from Parris and wants to “follow in her footsteps”. 
The heart-warming video comes after research of 1,000 6-16 year olds revealed their heroes, with footballers Beth Mead, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford – and Nikita Parris – featuring in the top 50 list. 
Other idols for youngsters included Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and his sidekick Kevin Hart, Harry Styles and Emma Watson.
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Nikita Parris said: “It was amazing coming back to my old training ground today and seeing so many girls just wanting to give it a go.
“I loved the way the Weetabix Wildcats coaches were keeping the activities fun-based, you could see the girls were all having a really great time.
“It was great hearing all their questions about how to get started in football, and I told them all that as long as they’re enjoying themselves that’s the most important thing.
“It’s been a fantastic summer for women’s football, and it’s great to see brands giving girls the opportunity to get involved in sport. And I’m chuffed to be in the top 50 too.”
Parris is one of many footballers to rank in the top 50 children’s heroes in the research conductedCredit: SWNS
Nikita Parris leads the youngsters in a series of training drillsCredit: SWNS
The 28-year-old has clubs such as Lyon, Manchester City and Arsenal on her expansive CVCredit: SWNS
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A spokesperson for Weetabix, which commissioned the study, said: “Football is for everyone and that’s been highlighted more than ever this year.
“With the England women’s team recently winning the Euros, there’s no better time for young girls to be encouraged to get into football.
“To see Beth Mead, Alex Scott and Nikita herself in the top 50 list of children’s heroes is inspiring and a sign of the times.
“We hope this is just the beginning of girls getting involved in football and the training session showed just how much they enjoy it and have a passion for the sport.
“Weetabix Wildcats offers girls the chance to take part in non-competitive football.
“Especially in the current circumstances, we want to ensure families still have access to affordable and healthy food and opportunities to keep active with the emphasis being on having fun and making new friends.
“Sport should be part of everyday life, and we’re passionate about giving girls access to football.”
The research also found athletes and sportspeople are the most inspiring type of celebrities for kids (20 per cent), followed by musicians (16 per cent) and actors (11 per cent).
Similarly, 24 per cent think a good hero is brilliant at sport, while 26 per cent believe kindness makes a great role model.
It also emerged 31 per cent feel a celebrity has given them an idea of what they want to do for a living and 27 per cent want the exact same job as their idol.
While 54 per cent said their favourite celebrities inspire them to chase their dreams.
CHILDREN’S TOP 50 HEROES
1.            Cristiano Ronaldo            
2.            Ed Sheeran        
3.            Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson       
4.            David Beckham
5.            Lady Gaga          
6.            Emma Watson  
7.            Ariana Grande  
8.            Billie Eilish
9.            Kevin De Bruyne
10.          Miley Cyrus       
11.          Harry Styles       
12.          Lewis Hamilton        
13.          Zendaya                      
14.          David Attenborough              
15.          Jordan Henderson          
16.          Kevin Hart
17.          Marcus Rashford             
18.          Kylie Jenner      
19.          Raheem Sterling                      
20.          Ant and Dec
21.          David Walliams        
22.          Greta Thunberg        
23.          Phil Foden                  
24.          Prince Harry             
25.          Jojo Siwa                     
26.          Beth Mead                 
27.          Megan Rapinoe       
28.          Pep Guardiola           
29.          Alex Scott                   
30.          Kim Kardashian        
31.          Dove Cameron         
32.          Nikita Parris               
33.          Steve Backshall        
34.          James Charles           
35.          Lil Nas X                      
36.          Tommy Fury              
37.          Addison Rae              
38.          Jesy Nelson               
39.          Millie Bobby Brown                
40.          Dixie D’Amelio  
41.          Jack Grealish             
42.          Jake Paul                     
43.          Logan Paul                 
44.          Rylan Clark                 
45.          Junior Andre             
46.          Leah Williamson
47.          Molly-Mae Hague
48.          Charli D’Amelio
49.          Bukayo Saka      
50.          Big Zuu
Parris moved to Manchester United last monthCredit: SWNS
Young football stars of the future lined-up to be pictured with ParrisCredit: SWNS More

ARSENAL are on course to set a new WSL match attendance record after flogging over 38,500 tickets for their clash with Tottenham.The derby could become the league’s highest-attended match should every fan who bought a ticket turn up for the game at the Emirates.
A WSL record crowd of 38,262 watched the Gunners’ 3-0 away win against Spurs in November 2019Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Arsenal hope to draw a WSL record crowd to their duel with Tottenham at the Emirates in SeptemberCredit: Getty
The 1:30 pm fixture – to be broadcast live on BBC One – will take place on September 24.
The current record for the biggest crowd at a women’s top-flight game was set when Spurs took on the Gunners at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November 2019.
Back then 38,262 match goers turned up to watch the game with the visitors winning 3-0 courtesy of goals from Beth Mead and Caitlin Foord.  
Gunners head coach Jonas Eidevall said: “It’s been incredible to see the demand for tickets for the North London Derby,
“You can really feel the excitement around the game at the moment so it’s amazing to see that translate into a record-breaking attendance.  
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“Now it’s our job to repay that enthusiasm with a big performance in this crucial clash for our supporters.”
Arsenal are among a number of top-flight sides experiencing a surge in ticket sales following the Women’s Euros.
And the club says it has sold its full allocation of season ticket sales this term.
Elsewhere Brighton are reported to have seen a 249 per cent rise in ticket sales.  
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Arsenal, who finished second in the top tier last season, will play two more WSL games at the Emirates this season.
And the North London giants plan to hold all their Champions League group stage home fixtures at the stadium should they progress to that phase.
The Gunners will go up against Dutch side Ajax in the second round of qualifiers with both rivals seeking a place in this season’s group stage.
Last term the club reached the quarter-finals of the competition before being knocked out by Wolfsburg.
They are currently the only English side to have won a Champions League crown when they triumphed in the contest in 2007. More