Inspiring

The 2019 USL Championship season began this past weekend with the league welcoming over 90,000 fans across 17 games, including a sellout crowd of 12,896 to watch New Mexico United’s opening match at Isotopes Park (that's more than the Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids drew to open their MLS campaigns).

In all, five clubs drew more than 8,000 spectators for their opening matches, an extremely promising sign for the health of the league as it enters its ninth season.  

Son Heung-min is one of the most popular footballers in the world. A superstar in Asia and beloved in Europe, the 26-year-old Tottenham forward is at the top of his game right now with 16 goals on the season.

Just don’t expect him to settle down and get married anytime soon.

Manchester United completed a stunning comeback to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Wednesday in Paris, turning around a dour first-leg defeat to advance on away goals, 3-3 on aggregate. It was an unforgettable match that came down to the final minute. But there was an forgettable hero: Fred. 

PSG shot itself in the foot multiple times but nearly pulled through until VAR was called into play, giving Manchester United a penalty kick in stoppage time. 

We’re now just a few months away from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, and the hype is starting to build apace. Here at The18, we’ve already covered 18 players to watch at this summer’s tournament, but here are five coaches that are worth following come June. Some have served as pioneers of the women’s game, while others are taking their respective countries to new found heights.

When the U.S. women’s national team lines up to play England in the SheBelieves Cup on Saturday, you won’t see the names of Morgan, Rapinoe and Sauerbrunn on the backs of the jerseys. Not that Alex, Megan and Becky will be missing, but the USWNT jerseys vs England will be displaying something more important than the surnames of some of the best players in the world. 

To honor Women’s History Month, the U.S. players will wear the names of women who have inspired them on the back of their jerseys.

Earlier this week, 13-year-old Olivia Moultire made headlines when turning pro by signing an endorsement deal with Nike and a representation agreement with Wasserman Media Group. This is an unprecedented move in the women’s game — and really a rarity in all of sport given how young she is — but it’s certainly not without parallels on the men’s side. 

During the Oscars TV broadcast on Sunday night, Nike debuted the “Dream Crazier” ad to mark the start of the company’s push toward this summer’s Women’s World Cup in France.

The commercial is a follow-up to the “Dream Crazy” spot which featured narration by Colin Kaepernick and appearances by the USWNT and Canadian international Alphonso Davies.

Legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who was pivotal in bringing his country its only World Cup victory, died earlier this month at the age of 81. On Saturday, his former club Stoke City honored him with this amazing throwback Jack Butland Gordon Banks jersey.