FIFA Women's World Cup

It’s that time of year again: FIFA has announced the 10 finalists for the annual Puskás Award, the trophy given to the player, male or female, “judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or ‘most beautiful,’ goal of the calendar year.”

This most certainly wasn’t the case last year when Mohamed Salah scooped the award after Liverpool and Egypt supporters spammed the fan vote. The goal Salah scored against Everton back in December of 2018 hadn’t even won the Premier League’s Goal of the Month, so it was an awful joke to see it given the prestigious Puskás Award.

On the heels of the announcement of Kate Markgraf as the first general manager of the USWNT, the USSF has stated it will be preparing a bid to host the 2027 Women's World Cup. The 2027 bid has been hinted at over the past year, with president Carlos Cordeiro mentioning a potential bid at a USSF meeting in February.

U.S. Soccer also reaffirmed they intend to bid for the 2027 Women's World Cup in the final section.

Frank de Boer, manager of Atlanta United, has become the talk of the town after calling equal pay “ridiculous.” 

In an interview with the Guardian he said:

The United States Soccer Federation announced the first official USWNT general manager will be former U.S. player Kate Markgraf on Monday.

Kate Markgraf, 1999 @FIFAWWC champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist named first GM of the #USWNT » https://t.co/dRYFtKwsuV pic.twitter.com/1lh7QSe0fv

Alex Morgan wants a three-peat. 

The ESPN+ exclusive four-part series “Alex Morgan: The Equalizer” concluded with the USWNT star striker saying she’s not planning to retire anytime soon. The 30-year-old has her eyes on more medals and an unprecedented third Women’s World Cup title.

The work never ends when you’re a women’s footballer, as the 2019 USWNT victory tour makes abundantly clear. 

After a 10-match pre-World Cup schedule and seven grueling games at the Women’s World Cup in France, the USWNT will be trotted out five more times in 2019. U.S. Soccer has announced all five dates on a moneymaking USWNT victory tour, including stops in Philadelphia, St. Paul, Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Cincinatti, Ohio. 

The celebration continues

As was anticipated following the success of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a special FIFA Council vote has unanimously approved the expansion of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to a 32-team field. 

This week, USWNT star and World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe inked a book deal with Penguin Publishing.

Megan Rapinoe, a captain of the United States women’s soccer team, has scored a book deal. “I hope this book will inspire people to find what they can do, and in turn inspire other people around them to do the same,” she said. https://t.co/zlZY2r6v3k

The USWNT will begin mediation soon with the U.S. Soccer Federation regarding the team’s equal pay lawsuit. Hope Solo has filed a motion to the court that is managing the lawsuit requesting to join in on and aid in the mediation process, according to the Wall Street Journal.