Baroness Sue Campbell says developments in English women’s football in recent years have inspired females to “feel that they can” – both within the game and beyond.
Campbell is this year retiring from her role as the Football Association’s director of women’s football, having been at the helm since 2016.
The past eight years have seen considerable progress, including England achieving firsts of winning a major tournament – the 2022 Euros on home soil – and reaching a World Cup final in 2023 under boss Sarina Wiegman, and access to football for girls in schools being boosted.
Speaking ahead of International Women’s Day, Campbell told the PA news agency: “The reason I took the job was I have been passionate all my life about the power of sport to change people’s lives.
“And that’s not just in sport – yes, for some people, like our elite players, you can help make their dreams come true, or support them on that journey to that special moment. But for many people, it isn’t the sport itself, it’s the way it gives people confidence, self-esteem, self-worth.
“So when we wrote our strategy, the team and I (in 2020), we called it Inspiring Positive Change, and we meant not just in football – we meant bigger than football, because we believe for the women’s game it is bigger than football.
“It is about inspiring women to recognise they can play at the highest level, coach, referee, sit in the boardroom, and I do think, just listening to people talk generally, we’ve inspired, the players, the Lionesses particularly.
“But I think the strategy and what we’ve done has really inspired girls and women to feel that they can, it’s possible. Do you want to be an astronaut? You can be an astronaut. You want to be an engineer? You can be an engineer. And I think that’s really, really important.
“I feel we’ve taken a big step on that journey, and whoever I hand the baton to I’m sure will be someone with the same passion to really drive that wider societal change.”
The FA’s update on its four-year strategy published in December reported a target for 75 per cent of schools to be offering equal access to football in PE lessons had been met.
On International Women’s Day last year, the Government announced a package to support equal opportunities in school sport after England’s players called for change following their Euros win.
Asked what she was most proud of from her tenure, Campbell said: “I feel we’ve built a really good equal-access programme for girls in schools, I think we’ve done a terrific job there.
“You’ve got to put on my list winning the Euros, a special moment. But I think the thing I’m most proud of is the team I’ve built in the FA to continue the journey – they are, like me, missionaries.”
The FA’s December update reported increases in terms of female players, youth teams, coaches and referees, and there has been a rise in average attendance in the Women’s Super League, which went fully professional in 2018, was the subject of a major broadcast deal in 2021, and from next season will be overseen by a new organisation currently known as ‘NewCo’, with Nikki Doucet as chief executive.
A big talking point has been a lack of diversity in the women’s game in terms of ethnic minority representation, an area in which Campbell says “there’s a lot of work to do but we are addressing it”, pointing to changes that have been made to the talent pathway.
On former England midfielder Karen Carney’s women’s football review, Campbell said: “I think we recognise it as being a series of recommendations which all of us are signed up to and want to make happen – it’s just how.”
Campbell stressed the importance of finance for the future of the women’s game, saying: “I think we’re all very proud of the journey we’ve been on. We all recognise there’s still a lot to do. But I think it’s investment that’s going to drive us now.
“I think we have real clarity in the vision, we know where we’re trying to go.”
The 75-year-old says a conclusion to the process of appointing her successor is “fairly close”, and added: “I haven’t finished. I have a massive desire still to change the world we live in. I want to continue while I can, if I can make a difference – where and what I don’t know yet.”
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
Fulham 2-1 Brentford: Wilson's late brace seals comeback win
Harry Wilson scored twice in stoppage time as Fulham came back to beat Brentford 2-1 in an enthralling West London derby.
Wilson was the hero from Fulham's bench on Monday, as Marco Silva's team – who were on the wrong end of a late comeback against Everton last time out in the Premier League – salvaged a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Fulham will feel it was a win they earned from a match they dominated from the off, with the Bees having taken the lead against the run of play through Vitaly Janelt's stunning 24th-minute strike.
But the Fulham pressure finally told when Wilson rose high to flick in his first in the 92nd minute, and – after Bernd Leno made a superb stop to thwart Brentford at the other end – the former Liverpool midfielder nodded in again to send Craven Cottage into raptures.
Fulham's win takes them up into ninth, while Brentford drop to 12th after suffering a fifth league loss of the season.
Data Debrief: Super-sub Wilson to the rescue
Fulham will feel they deserved to come away from that match with three points, having had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, in an incredibly dominant display.
They also had 46 touches in the opposition box compared to Brentford's nine, but they could not make those count, at least until Wilson's late intervention as he finally broke through Brentford's stubborn defence.
The Welshman scored with both of his shots on target, having three attempts overall, with his goals coming from a combined 0.19 expected goals.
The Bees looked sure to get a first away win, and first clean sheet, of the Premier League season until their late lapse in concentration, and they have now dropped 14 points from winning positions in the competition this season, more than any other team.
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