Strong Story

It was a season in which Leah Williamson fulfilled several dreams at once. With her childhood club Arsenal, she won the UEFA Women's Champions League, then as captain defended England's European Championship title, finished seventh in the Ballon d'Or rankings, the best result of her career, and was awarded a CBE by King Charles III. But the fairytale season was followed by one full of injuries.

“So… thank you for everything, Arsenal.” When Swiss midfielder Lia Wälti left Arsenal last year, it broke the hearts of many Gooners. Her departure from the club she had called home for almost seven years became one of the most emotional farewells in recent memory. Now, she's back in the Women's Super League. But what is the story behind her journey?

On July 7, 2018, Sam Kerr scored a hattrick in her first game against her former team Sky Blue FC. In a moment where most players would celebrate, she instead walked away with her head down. “If I’m honest, I didn’t enjoy it,” Kerr commented after the match. “I wish things were better here, and that I could stay. It just sucks that that’s the way it had to be.”

Spanish women football league Liga F will welcome two familiar names in the upcoming season. After advancing from a lower division, Alavés and Valencia are returning to the top flight, taking the spots of relegated teams Alhama and Levante. Before the battle for the first league points kicks off in full force in August, it’s worth taking a moment to recall what these two teams are all about and how they earned their return to the elite.

Every football playing child grows up with heroes and a club they love above all others. They ask for that team’s shirt every birthday and dream of one day wearing it themselves with their own name on the back. For these players, that dream became reality.

England is the pioneer of women’s football and sets an example in many areas. It is where investment continues to grow, and the Women’s Super League is often presented as proof of how far the women’s game can progress. Yet even in the country of the reigning two-time European champions, not everything is perfect as the recent case involving third-tier side Plymouth Argyle Women highlighted.

Although one of Germany’s biggest football institutions, Borussia Dortmund, long remained one of the few major clubs without a women’s side in the top division. And while the club is still playing in the third league, its plans and ambitions are already impossible to ignore.