Women's Soccer

FIFA is slowly being dragged into the 21st century. On Friday, soccer’s global governing body approved increased protection for female players and coaches by establishing minimum standards for employment, including guaranteed paid maternity leave.

FIFA’s only a few decades late in catching up to the rest of the world on this matter, but at least it plans to do far more than the U.S. government.

Stephanie Frappart became the first female referee to officiate a men’s UEFA Champions League match on Wednesday, taking charge of the Juventus-Dynamo Kyiv game in Turin. 

You just love to see it

Stephanie Frappart becomes the first woman to referee a men's @ChampionsLeague match

Way to blaze a trail, Stephanie pic.twitter.com/j20ywQi4Z1

The Finland women’s national team scored a ridiculous last-minute goal against Scotland on Tuesday to win 1-0 and keep its dream alive of qualifying for the 2022 UEFA Women’s Championship. A 95th-minute Amanda Rantanen Finaldn goal vs Scotland could be one of the crucial moments that sends the Nordic country to its first major tournament since 2013.

The U.S. women's national team and U.S. Soccer Federation reached a settlement in their long-running lawsuit over working conditions on Tuesday.

The parties filed in court a proposed settlement in which U.S. Soccer agreed to implement various policies regarding working conditions for the women's team related to hotel accommodation, staffing, venues and travel.

Sam Mewis is a familiar face among the USWNT squad and has been a solid midfielder for the World Cup champions. Her sister Kristie, on the other hand, had not made an appearance for the USWNT since 2014.

However, after suffering an ACL injury and returning back to the NWSL stronger and more confident, Kristie earned herself an NWSL Challenge Cup with Houston and a roster spot on the USWNT as they faced the Netherlands. After a six-year hiatus, USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski decided two Mewis’ were better than one. He was definitely right!

Younger generations are making their mark on the footballing world, and Sophia Smith is one of many that have the proven ability to make everyone around them feel old.

Smith graduated early from Stanford University after winning an NCAA Championship to pursue her dream of playing professionally in the NWSL. After being the No. 1 overall 2020 NWSL College Draft pick and scoring her first professional goal in her debut with the Portland Thorns, Smith has shown she's capable of playing at any level.

History-making Vanderbilt football kicker and goalkeeper Sarah Fuller only saw the field once during the Commodores’ embarrassing 41-0 loss to the University of Missouri on Saturday.