We then touch on some news from FIFA, in terms of their appointing an experienced head coach for Afghanistan’s refugee women’s national team, which they are sponsoring, and their revenue goals for future Women’s World Cups. We also have news from the Netherlands that their top tier league now has a fully independent women’s team that is not part of a men’s team.
2025 Islands Games Tournament—Women’s Football
The 2025 Island Games Women’s Football Tournament was held in Orkney (off the North Coast of Scotland) from July 12 through July 18, with 11 teams in three groups:
Group A: Orkney, Gozo, Isle of Man, Froya
Group B: Jersey, Shetland, Bermuda, Isle of Wight
Group C: Ynys Mon, Hitra, Western Isles
Bermuda’s WNT won their second consecutive Islands Games tournament in 2025 in Orkney, defeating the Isle of Man (U.K. Channel Islands) 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 tie in the championship final, and Western Isles (also Scotland) finished third after a 3-0 win over Gozo (part of Malta), who finished fourth as a result of the third-fourth place match. The top four were followed by Ynys Mon of Wales in fifth, Jersey (U.K. Channel Islands) in sixth, Shetland Islands (Scotland—the northern most point in the U.K.) in seventh and Hitra of Norway in eighth. Isle of Wight (U.K. Channel Island) was ninth, host Orkney was tenth with Froya (Norway) at the bottom of the table in eleventh place.
Bermuda WNT head coach Naquita Robinson talked about her team’s win in the final: “It’s absolutely amazing, I am so proud of these young ladies. Before the match started, I expressed to the girls how proud I was of them for getting through such a grueling week.”
For Bermuda, which unlike the other Island Games participants is a full member of FIFA, after a goalless 90 minutes, Isle of Man broke the deadlock in the 112th minute. Bermuda fought back and won a penalty in the 119th minute when Trinae Edwards (23) was impeded in the penalty area, with Khyla Brangman (31) of PHC Lady Zebras in Bermuda scoring the tying goal to send the match to penalties.
Brangman, Koa Goodchild (22) of Howard University in Washington D.C., goalkeeper Zakhari Turner (22) and Jaden Masters (22) of the University of Louisiana-Monroe (after starting at the University of Houston) converted their penalty kicks, with Turner also making a save from an Isle of Man kicker, while another effort was put wide of her post. Turner is studying law at DeMonfort University in Leicester, England. Edwards and Turner both play for River City Women’s & Girls in the Leicestershire Women’s and Girls Football League Division One.
Coach Robinson added about the final: “Regardless of the outcome, we defied the odds. When Isle of Man scored, I remained calm because I knew they would dig deep and grind out the result. What carried us through was their will to fight through the pain. They grew into the game and always believed in each other throughout the tournament. The girls didn’t crack under pressure and trusted the process. To concede a goal with five minutes to go in the manner they did, many teams would have dropped their heads, but the team kept fighting.”
(See our interview with coach Robinson from two years ago after their previous Islands Games title: The Week in Women's Football: Victors Bermuda exclusive; Guernsey target England invite; Greenland turn to CONCACAF - Tribal Football) and review of the Bermuda WNT later that season (see: The Week in Women's Football: Enasia Colon exclusive; Liga MX teams face best of Spain & US - Tribal Football).
Bermuda’s U-23 men’s team also won their tournament in Orkney, defeating Ynys Mon 3-1 after finishing in fourth place two years ago, which was the second time the men’s and women’s teams both triumphed, which they did in 2013 when Bermuda hosted the Island Games. Men’s head coach John Barry Nusum (44)—who scored 19 times in 36 matches for Bermuda from 2000-2013, played indoors and outdoors in the U.S. and coached the former men’s team Bermuda Hogges in the second tier USL—referenced the women’s win earlier in the day as a great motivator for his side: “The women’s match showed their fight and determination to win it. We knew that we had to have the same energy, and started the game in that same fashion.”
Some of Robinson’s squad was missing from the squad in Scotland, including LeiLanni Nesbeth (24) of the NWSL’s Chicago Stars, who scored four goals two years ago in Guernsey, along with captain Eva Frazzoni (28) of AFC Sudbury in England and Ashley Tutas, who plays at the University of Oklahoma. She did have Jaden Masters, Jahni Simmons (20) of Dandy Stars on her squad as well as Victoria Davis (26) of SCC Lady Trojans, who has returned from an injury.
Prior to their six hour ferry ride from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, Bermuda played two warm-up friendlies in Aberdeen. They tied Inverurie Loco Works of Scotland’s lower tiers 3-3, with goals from Masters, Khyla Brangman and an own goal. The following day, Simmons, Emily Cabral (20) of Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florda and Masters scored as Bermuda defeated Elgin City 3-0 , who won the Scottish Women’s Football League North title last season, in only their second season.
In related news, Guernsey FC are making history in 2025-26 as they joined the English football league system in the Southern Region Women’s Football League Division One South, the sixth tier of English women’s football, in their new US$13.4 million Victoria Park stadium.
The move into English football is good for Jersey football as last year they played in the Jersey Football Combination, dropping only two points and netting 66 goals, while conceding only eight goals. Head coach Anna Gauvin told BBC Radio Guernsey. “I think there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of chat amongst the group. There’s also a little chat about being nervous and it’s going into a bit of the unknown. You expect the girls to be nervous, but it’s all something we’ve wanted for a long time, so definitely some excitement around there too and it means the world to us as coaches as well as the players.”
Guernsey FC’s men first entered the English leagues in 2011 but this is the first time a women’s side from the Channel Islands has played in an English League. Guernsey’s women started playing competitively two seasons ago.
2025-26 WCL Second Qualifying Phase League Path Review
The four final winners join Real Madrid, Häcken, Paris FC, Atlético de Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sporting CP in the third qualifying round (played as two-legged ties with the five winners advancing to the league phase).
League Path
Group 1 (Hosts: Hammarby)
Wednesday 27 August:
Semi-finals
Manchester United (ENG) 4 vs PSV Eindhoven (NED) 0
Hammarby (SWE) 5 vs Metalist 1925 Kharkiv (UKR) 4
In an enthralling match between Hammarby and Metalist, Norwegian international forward Cathinka Tandberg (21) scored two goals, including the winner in the 93rd minute after Ukrainian international midfielder Veronika Andrukhiv tied up the match in the 90th minute. Ellen Wangerheim (21), who won her first full cap for Sweden this year after playing for youth international sides and has been rumored to be a target of Manchester City and Chelsea in the WSL and Wolfsburg in Germany, also had two goals for the 2024 Swedish champions.
Elisabeth Terland (24), a Norwegian international who has 45 caps and 10 goals since her senior debut in 2021, scored a hat trick for United in their 4-0 win over PSV.
Saturday 30 August:
Third-place match
Metalist 1925 Kharkiv (UKR) 0 vs. PSV Eindhoven (NED) 2
Final
Hammarby (SWE) 0 vs. Manchester United (ENG) 1
Elisabeth Terland scored again with the only goal for Man United in the 61st minute.
Manchester United advanced to the WCL third qualifying round. Hammarby (second qualifying round) and PSV Eindhoven (first qualifying round) move on to the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.
Hammarby
Their imports this season included six from Norway, and one each from Denmark, Finland, Germany and Japan. Head coach Martin Sjögren—who coached Norway from 2016 to 2022, making the 2019 WWC Quarterfinals after a win over Australia on penalty kicks in the Round of 16, but failing to advance out of the first round at the 2017 and 2021 EUROs and didn’t qualify at all for the 2020 Olympics Finals—will leave at the end of the 2025 Damallsvenkan season to coach the Chicago Stars in NWSL for the 2026 campaign, after finishing the season with Hammarby.
The Stockholm-area side is currently in first place with 39 points from 17 games, with Malmo a point behind in second with 38 points, Hacken of Gothenburg is third with 37 points and popular Stockholm side Djugardens sits fourth with 34 points; Hammarby finished in third last season and made the WCL field. His long-time assistant coach Anders Jacobson left to join the Stars after the summer international break and will serve as interim head coach through the end of 2025. Current Stars interim head coach and former Chicago player, Ella Masar, will continue as an assistant coach.
Metalist
The Ukrainian side originally from Kharkiv—but now playing outside of Kiev because of the war with Russia—utilized an entirely domestic side except for midfielder
Kristina Aleksanyan (36) of Armenia, who has played in Russia and Ukraine in her career.
PSV Eindhoven
Eindhoven utilized four imports for the 2025-26 WCL, with two from Belgium and one each from Denmark and Switzerland.
Manchester United
The global brand of Manchester United has drawn players from three continents: with three players each from Norway, Wales and Sweden, two from Canada and one each from France, Japan, Netherlands and the U.S.
The North American imports include Canadian midfielder Simi Awujo (21). Awujo was born in the U.S. and played for their U-17 national team before choosing Canada for the senior team, where her mother was a citizen; she also qualified to play for Nigeria where her parents were born. She has 26 caps with one goal since 2022 for the Maple Leafs. She played three years at USC in Los Angeles. She has one more year in 2026-27 on her first Man U contract.
Canadian attacker Jade Riviere (24) has 50 senior caps for Canada, with one goal since her debut in 2017. She played at the University of Michigan and in the first year of the W-League in 2022 with AFC Ann Arbor (Michigan). She has played in the last two Women’s World Cups and Olympic Finals, winning a Gold Medal in Tokyo in 2020 (held in 2021 because of COVID).
American goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce (28) played in both of the second round WCL matches qualifiers. She is currently viewed as the U.S. WNT starting goalkeeper. She played at the University of Miami (Florida) where she studied marine biology and is a certified diver. Professionally she played in the NWSL with OL (now Seattle) Reign for three seasons and Reims in France for two campaigns.
Other imports for Manchester United include French international forward Melvine Malard (25), who is in her third season with Manchester United, scoring four goals in 17 regular season matches last season, after joining from Lyon. She spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Man U and had five goals in 19 matches. Japan’s international midfielder Hinata Miyazawa (25) is starting her third season with the Reds, from Mynavi Sendai at home, and is approaching 50 caps for her national team.
Group 2 (Hosts: Sparta Praha)
Wednesday 27 August:
Semi-finals
Roma (ITA) 2 vs Aktobe (KAZ) o
Sparta Praha (CZE) 4 vs Nordsjælland (DEN) 3 (Sparta advanced 4-3 on penalties)
American forward Hallie Bergford (23) scored a hat-trick for Sparta (see more below).
Saturday 30 August:
Third-place match
Aktobe (KAZ) 2 vs Nordsjælland (DEN) 4
Final
Roma (ITA) 5 vs Sparta Praha (CZE) 1
Roma advanced to the WCL third qualifying round. Sparta Prague (second qualifying round) and Nordsjaelland (first qualifying round) move on to the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.
Roma
Roma made the League Group stage last season and just missed out on a quarterfinal spot—losing out to Wolfsburg after the two sides tied for second with 9 points, but lost out on goal difference between the clubs (Wolfsburg +4 vs. Roma -4 as they split their matches); Lyon won the group with 18 points. Three of Roma’s imports came from Denmark, with one each from Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Nigeria, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
Forward Rinsola Babajide (27) grew up in England and was a youth international at multiple age levels, but became a Nigerian international in 2023. She is in her first season with Roma after three seasons in Spain with Real Betis (1) and Tenerife (2).
Australian international defender Winonah Heatley (24) joined Roma in the off-season after three seasons in Denmark with Nordshaelland, where she won two cups and one league title. She has also played with Vaxjo in Sweden and with Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City at home.
Sparta Prague
Sparta (Praha) Prague made their 22nd entry in the WCL, behind only SFK 2000 Sarajevo (23). Sparta Prague had four imports each from the U.S. and Slovakia and one each from Serbia and Sweden, with all of the Americans new this year.
U.S. forward Hallie Bergford (23) scored a hat-trick for Sparta in their 4-2 semifinal win over Nordsjaelland and, thus far this season, has two goals in three 1 Liga Zen matches in the Czech Republic. She played collegiately at Seattle University and with Pac NW (Northwest) in the WPSL and Salmon Bay FC (Seattle area) in the summer pre-professional W League.
Nordsjaelland
Their imports this year came from Canada (2), Egypt, Finland, New Zealand and South Africa. Goalkeeper Molly Race (22) of Canada is in her third season with the Danish side and played collegiately at the University of British Colombia-Okanagan in Kelowna. Defender Jaime Perrault (19) of Canada is a youth international and joined Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Academy in 2019 and won League1 BC titles with the team in 2023 and 2024, before turning pro in Denmark in January of this year.
Defender Bongeka Gamede (26) of South Africa is in her second season with the Danish club, joining from the University of the Western Cape; she has played 30 matches for the South African WNT since 2019. Midfielder Grace Wisnewski (23) of New Zealand played for Wellington Phoenix for three seasons and in 2024-25 for Lexington SC in the first year USL Super League, scoring one goal in 11 games. She joined Nordsjalland for this season. She has played in the 2018 U-17 WWC in Uruguay when New Zealand finished in third place, the 2022 U-20 WWC in Costa Rica and the 2023 Women’s World Cup Finals at home.
Midfielder Laila El Behery (21) of Egypt was born in Cairo and played in college at UC-Irvine in California, in Egypt with Wadi Degla, Katr Saad (on loan) and El Gouna, before moving to Denmark in January. She has been capped at U-17, U-20 and the senior level by Egypt.
Aktobe of Kazakhstan
Aktobe made their European debut this year and had five players from Russia and one each from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Turkey. The Kazakhstan women’s league has been dominated by BIIK Shymkent for over a decade, but Aktobe has quickly risen to be a challenger as the game is growing there. The league has expanded to 14 teams, up from five a year ago, and over 10,000 girls/women are actively playing in the nation.
On July 7, BIIK and Aktobe played a league match in front of a women’s league record crowd of 8,478 in Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The game was also the first to be broadcast live on the national sports TV channel in Kazakhstan and Aktobe scored two goals in injury time to turn a 2-1 deficit into a dramatic 3-2 victory.
To date, BIIK still leads in the Championship race over second place Aktobe (58 vs. 53 points) with BIIK playing 21 games to 19 for Aktobe, in the 26 round season that ends in the second week in October. Note: In a significant week for football in Kazakhstan, Kairat earned a place in the men’s Champions League league phase for the first time with a penalty shoot-out victory against Celtic in the second leg. Kairat are only the second side from Kazakhstan to qualify for the Champions League proper, following Astana in 2015/16.
Group 3 (Hosts: Inter)
Wednesday 27 August:
Semi-finals
Brann (NOR) 2 vs Inter Milan (ITA) 1
Valur (ISL) 1 vs Braga (POR) 3
In a shocker, Brann defeated Inter Milan at home 2-1, coming back from an early deficit with Norwegian international forward Signe Gaupset (20) scoring the winner in the 56th minute. She has scored three senior international goals in ten matches for Norway since her debut in 2024. She is starting her fifth season with Brann and has scored 20 goals in 73 matches as of early September.
Saturday 30 August:
Third-place match
Valur (ISR) 1 vs. Inter Milan (ITA) 4
Final
Braga (POR) 0 vs. Brann (NOR) 1
Brann advanced to the WCL third qualifying round. Braga (second qualifying round) and Inter Milan (first qualifying round) move on to the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.
Valur
This season Valur used an entirely domestic-based roster with only one import: American forward Jordyn Lee Rhodes (24). Rhodes is the all-time leading scorer at the University of Kentucky and played last season at Tinastoll, in Sauðárkrókur in northern Iceland, in the top tier Besta deild kvenna.
Last season’s two imports for their 2024-25 WCL roster have moved to other clubs:
Defender Hailey Whitaker (25), who played last season at Valur after a year at Aland United in Finland, is now with the Northern Super League’s Montreal Roses. At Auburn University in Alabama, she finished her five year career second in program history for the number of games played (94).
Midfielder Katherine ‘Katie’ Cousins (28) moved back to Throttur Reykjavik, who she was with in 2023 before moving to Valur last season. Valur offered her only a one year contract for 2025 while Throttur gave her a two year contract. She was on the Angel City FC roster in 2022 in the NWSL after playing at the University of Tennessee. She played for the U.S. at the 2016 U-20 WWC in Papua New Guinea.
Sporting Braga
Braga’s nine imports for 2025-26 came from six countries: Brazil, Finland, Netherlands, Iceland, Cape Verde Island and the U.S. (3).
The Americans this season at Braga include:
Defender Leah Nicole Lewis (27), who played at Colgate University.
Defender Ashley Nicole Moon (22), who played at the University of Pittsburgh under former Nigeria 2023 WWC coach Randy Waldrum.
Forward Michelle Dudukovich (22) scored 44 goals in 82 games at Ohio State University, was a 2024 NCAA All-American and played for the U.S. at the youth level.
Among their other imports are:
Cape Verde Island international forward Melany Fortes (25), who is in her second season at Braga after time with S.F Damaiense and Benfica in Portugal.
Forward Maria Luísa Schmidt (24) of Brazil scored nine goals in 20 matches for Braga last season. She has also played with Valdares and Vilaverdense in Portugal and AA Napoli at home in the capital city of Brasilia.
Brann
Brann utilized three imports from Finland, and one each from Iceland, Scotland, Sweden and the U.S. American forward Brenna Lovera (28) is in her first season with Brann, following two seasons at Glasgow City in Scotland, where she scored 28 goals in 49 league matches and 18 goals in 2024-25 to finish seventh in the league in scoring. She has also played in Iceland and Portugal and was with Chicago for a short spell in 2023. She played at Northwestern University in Chicagoland. Winger Lauren Davidson (23) is a full international for Scotland and joined Brann for the 2024-25 season from Glasgow City.
Inter Milan
Inter’s 13 imports included two each from Belgium and Iceland and one each from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden.
New Zealand international defensive midfielder Katie Bowen (31) has played in three WWC Finals, and three Olympic Games Final—and was an alternate for the 2012 Olympic Games Finals squad—and won a NCAA title with the University of North Carolina Tarheels. She has over 100 caps and played in the NWSL from 2016 through 2022 with three different franchises. She is in her second season at Inter Milan after a year with Melbourne City.
Germany’s international midfielder Lina Magull (31) has over 75 caps for her country and won Olympic Gold in Rio in 2016 and finished second in the 2022 Women’s EURO in England. She scored 13 goals in 25 matches last season for Inter in her first time playing outside of Germany.
Forward Haley Bugeja (21) is a full international with Malta and in her third season with Inter in Serie A. She has scored 24 goals in 40 international for Malta and helped them to promotion to League B in the most recent 2024-25 UEFA Nations League from League C. She previously was with the Orlando Pride in the NWSL and is seen by many as the best player that Malta has ever produced in the women’s game.
Group 4 (Hosts: Austria Wien)
Wednesday 27 August:
Semi-final
Glasgow City (SCO) 0 vs Austria Wien (AUT) 2
FC Minsk (BLR) (bye to Final)
Saturday 30 August:
Final
FC Minsk (BLR) 0 vs Austria Wien (AUT) 3
Austria Wien advanced to the WCL third qualifying round. FC Minsk (second qualifying round) and Glasgow City (first qualifying round) move on to the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.
FC Minsk
Minsk had two imports from Russia and one each from Kazakhstan and Uganda—forward Shamirah Nalugya (21), while last year, they had two imports from Mozambique. Nalugya is a full international for Uganda’s Crested Cranes WNT and moved in July of this year to Belarus from Kampala Queens, who she led to the 2024-25 FUFA Women Super League Title. She finished as the club’s top scorer with nine goals and seven assists in 21 games and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
In her three years at the club, she won two league titles. She also played for Isra Soccer Academy and Kawempe Muslim Ladies FC at home.
Austria Wien
Austria Wein, who previously played in Europe as USC Landhaus, utilized two imports each from Germany and Italy and one each from Croatia, Denmark, Kosovo, Luxembourg and Serbia.
Glasgow City
Their imports came from Ireland (2) and one each from England, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa and Ukraine.
Ukrainian international forward Nicole Kozlova (24) of Glasgow City was tied for sixth in the league last season in Scotland’s Women’s Premier League with 21 goals. She has seven goals in 46 internationals. She has also played for clubs in Denmark and Ukraine. She grew up in Canada and played at Virginia Tech University.
Defender Lana Golob (25) of Slovenia has four goals from 46 caps to date and has played for clubs at home, in Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and joined Glasgow City this season after a year with Bologna in Italy.
Republic of South Africa international winger Linda Motlhalo (27) returned to City this year after a season at Racing Louisville in the NWSL, where she only made three total appearances. She played with Glasgow City in 2023-24 and scored three times in 16 games. She also played for clubs in Sweden, China and at home; she has over 75 senior caps since her debut in 2017.
Scotland legend Pauline Hamill is named the head coach of the Afghan women’s refugee team
FIFA has appointed former Scotland international Pauline Hamill to lead the newly established (and recognized) Afghan women’s refugee team—we have reported in the past on the efforts of Melbourne Victory to train an unofficial Afghan refugee team in Australia (see: The Week in Women's Football: A-League preview (Part I) - imports flood in; but are all top drawer? - Tribal Football and The Week in Women's Football: Interview with beach soccer star Leslie; A-League moves; Afghani national team in Melbourne - Tribal Football).
In a press release by FIFA, it stated: This unprecedented initiative reflects FIFA’s ongoing commitment to offering every girl and young woman the opportunity to pursue their footballing dreams, regardless of their circumstances. It also represents a significant step forward in giving Afghan players the international platform to which they aspire, while creating an environment in which the risk of harm is minimised and well-being is prioritised.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “I warmly welcome Pauline to this important role and wish her and the team every success. FIFA stands firmly with Afghan women—at home and in exile—and remains committed to creating safe, inclusive spaces where they can pursue their football dreams and be seen, heard and supported on the international stage.” He also said that this move by FIFA was “a landmark initiative.” He was certainly right about that and well done to FIFA for this important step to help Afghanistan’s women’s players who have had to flee abroad because of restrictions at home.
Hamill, who earned 141 caps for her country as a player, said about her new position: “It’s a privilege… This is a unique job. It’s way beyond the realms of a normal coaching job. Every player involved has a story to tell about their personal journey in football, and it’s incredible to be part of something that shows them that their dream and ambitions in football still exist. They’ve had to leave their country, they’ve been displaced as refugees, and now all of a sudden there’s this amazing opportunity to come together in this project. It feels bigger and deeper than anything I’ve done before, and that really excites me.” She added that she found her new position “humbling.”
Hamill, who became the first female coach at Rangers when she was appointed to a youth development role at the Glasgow club back in 2003, has worked with Scotland’s women national teams at U-17 and U-19 levels and most recently served as the head coach of the Saudi Arabian women’s U-20 national team.
Hamill and her coaching team will oversee three talent identification camps for players over the next few months, after which an Afghan women’s refugee squad will be selected to play in international friendlies. Further details on the outcome of the camps, which are intended to identify players for the Afghan women’s refugee team, and the team selection process will be announced at a later date.
These camps, financed and organised by FIFA, will provide players with comprehensive support across key areas, including physical preparation, nutrition, psychological care and safeguarding, delivered by qualified professionals in each field. As part of FIFA’s broader commitment to supporting Afghan players living in exile, specific support will be arranged to facilitate their integration, including the provision of football equipment and club fees, plus help for players to connect with an organised team. There is also ongoing discussion about access to educational pathways, including coaching and refereeing, as well as individual counselling, if required.
FIFA targets $1 billion revenue from Women's World Cup
FIFA announced in mid-May that it is targeting $1 billion in revenue from the Women’s World Cup, global soccer governing body’s president Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday at the Saudi Arabia-U.S. Investment Forum 2025 in Riyadh. The 2023 Women's World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, broke even after generating more than $570 million in revenue. Infantino said: “Women’s football and women in football are crucially important… It’s growing as well, and exponentially, and we are targeting that as well to have $1 billion revenue just with the Women’s World Cup to reinvest in the women’s game.”
The next women's World Cup in 2027 will be hosted by Brazil, making it the first edition to be held in South America. The United States and possibly some other CONCACAF members are poised to be named host of the 2031 edition, which will be expanded to 48 teams from 32, followed by the United Kingdom in 2035, with England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as co-hosts and advancing straight to the finals, with the latter two as debutants if they don’t qualify in 2027 or 2031.
The U.S. and U.K. tournaments should easily generate or exceed US$1 billion—the question mark is if Brazil can achieve that mark. With proper marketing and a long run from Brazil in the knockout stages, there is a chance. Regardless, it will be an important moment for the women’s game in Brazil and throughout South America.
Infantino also said there was massive potential for football to generate more revenue outside Europe. “If the rest of the world, in particular Saudi Arabia or the United States of America, would do just 20% of what Europe does in soccer, we (could reach an amount of over) half a trillion (dollars) or more of GDP impact (with our sport).” That figure includes men’s football. Infantino added: “Saudi Arabia, by the way, is doing exceptionally good, as well, by creating a women’s league (which this column has covered since its launch a few years ago) and, a women’s national team. Women’s football is really the only team sport for women that has such a huge audience and impact as well.”
Hera United has been permitted to join the Netherlands’ Eredivisie Vrouwen as the league’s first fully independent side
Hera United, an independent women’s team, joined the premier women’s division—Eredivisie Vrouwen—in the Netherlands just before the 2025-26 season started, after challenging the football federation’s (KNVB) rule that a professional women’s team had to be affiliated with an established men’s side. They took over Telstar’s license and their first game was against AZ Alkmaar.
The club has an impressive list of sponsors including hospitality website Booking.com, Nike will be the official kit supplier for all Hera United teams, including their academy teams. SportCity (a fitness chain) will move their sponsorship from their former side Telstar Women to support Hera United. VriendenLoterij (a national lottery) joins as a social partner of HERA United and the HERA Foundation.
The club had a good start in their first league game, tying AZ Alkmar 2-2 on September 7, holding a 2-1 lead at halftime with goals by Dutch forwards Jannette van Belen (27) and Samya Hassani (25)—who both came over from Telstar. Hassani was born in Amsterdam but plays internationally for Morocco, starting with the youth level and is now a senior international; she played one season outside of the Netherlands with Gent in Belgium in 2021-22 and for four games with Fenerbahce in Turkey in 2024, while van Belen has played her entire career in the Eredivisie Women’s league. After the first round, they are tied for sixth in the 12-team league with the one point.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey