Laura McAllister’s football journey has taken her from modest beginnings on the playing fields of South Wales to sitting at the top table of the European game.
From being excluded by football’s law-makers and having nowhere to play her “first love” to being the only woman on UEFA’s 20-strong executive committee (ExCo) and in a position to implement real change for women in the sport.
Last month UEFA agreed a new statute to protect two places for women on ExCo, while the body’s president Aleksander Ceferin has asked McAllister to head up a new Gender Equality Committee.
It is a start in the quest for greater equality in a sport emerging from the fallout of Luis Rubiales’ three-year ban after the former Spanish football federation president kissed Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the World Cup final medal ceremony in August.
“The Rubiales incident showed there’s a huge underbelly of misogyny in football – in most sports, quite frankly – and we have to think how we change that,” McAllister told the PA news agency ahead of International Women’s Day.
“An obvious way is to get more women’s voices heard, normalise women in the boardroom and the committee room, on the coaching field and in the classroom – and to accept that men don’t have a monopoly on football.
“There are still some men who think that because they’ve been in the game a long time they deserve to be in charge, but the game’s moved on.
“We’ve spoken about this at UEFA and we need more women on ExCo. Not because men are not good, but because we are missing experience and knowledge, not just of the women’s game but of women in football.
“Until we get that right, we’ll miss opportunities for our sport as well.”
McAllister’s own playing career in Bridgend and the nearby Llynfi Valley was put on hold at the age of 12 when, like scores of other girls, she was told she could not play with boys any more.
The fact there was no organised girls’ football beyond that age left a sense of “burning injustice”.
It would be a cause taken up in the 1990s after university days in London, to help organise a national women’s team recognised by the Football Association of Wales and one that she would captain.
“We were using the men’s cast-offs, extra large or large kits, and for those who were not as big it was not fit for purpose,” said McAllister, who went on to become chairperson of Sport Wales.
“At the same time, we recognised this was the first step, and we knew we had to suck up some of the disadvantages for the next generation.
“Now we’ve got equal pay (playing for Wales), similar conditions to what the men receive, and the women’s games are covered live on S4C and BBC.
“I don’t think any of us would have anticipated the growth as being as fast as it has been.”
McAllister, however, appreciates there is a long way to go for women throughout the game, especially in football’s corridors of power.
Women occupied just 74 seats (18.1 per cent) of the 409 positions available on UEFA committees in the last year. UEFA plans to raise that number to 25 per cent for the period to 2027.
“The Gender Equality Committee is a working group with a very broad remit to look at the culture of football,” said McAllister, who is deputy chairperson of UEFA women’s football committee and was appointed on a four-year term last April.
“What can be done in terms of role models and good practice, but also possibly quotas and encouragement and incentives to federations in UEFA to promote more women.
“I don’t have a problem with quotas for the very obvious reason that if there was a simple meritocracy in operation where you weighed up the respective CVs and skill sets and the best candidate won, then great.
“There would be plenty of women coming through that system, but that’s not how it works and everyone knows that.
“It’s based on status, profile, deals and bargaining, so women can’t always penetrate that world and, if they do, it’s a very slow process.”
'Super simple' – Lille president rules out January exit for Jonathan David
Lille president Olivier Letang has categorically ruled out a January exit for forward Jonathan David amid links with a number of European clubs.
David is out of contract at the end of the season and has been touted as a target for the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona.
Speaking this week, the Canada international named Barcelona as his "dream" club but suggested he would prefer not to leave Lille mid-season.
And in an interview with After Foot RMC, Letang confirmed no bids have yet been tabled ahead of the January window.
"We are not going to sell him in January, and we have not received any offer for him," he said.
"Jonathan's situation is super simple. We are very happy to have him with us.
"Last season he had one more year left on his contract. We were trying to qualify for the Champions League.
"You have a guy who scores 20 to 25 goals a season. We had no obligation to sell him."
David is into his fifth season with Lille and has scored 97 goals in 202 games for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions while assisting a further 18.
Seven of those goals have arrived in 11 appearances this term, including in Champions League games against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.
The 24-year-old's best league season with Lille saw him score 24 goals in 2022-23, while he has netted 19, 15 and 13 in the other full campaigns.
Lille chief Letang reiterated that David has been offered a new deal to stay on at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but selling him has never been an option.
"He is a player who scores between 20 and 25 goals and helps us qualify for the Champions League," he said.
"Plus, Jonathan loves Lille, which is his club. Our position was very clear from the beginning – we think of the athlete.
"Obviously, he already has an offer that is in his hands, the ball is in his court."
Guardiola suggests Man City's recent form played part in signing new contract
Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City's run of four successive defeats was part of the reason for his contract extension.
The 53-year-old recently signed a two-year deal, which will run out in 2027, ending months of speculation about his future after his contract had been due to run out at the end of the campaign.
Following a 2-1 defeat to Brighton before the international break, Guardiola's side have lost each of their last four matches in all competitions for the first time in his managerial career.
"I felt I could not leave now. Maybe the four defeats was why," he told the club's website.
"I think we deserve, after four defeats in a row, to bounce back and try to turn the situation. I think we deserve to be here. I am not arrogant to say, but it's the truth."
Guardiola has led Manchester City to 18 major trophies during his nine-year stint at the club and posted a 72% win ratio.
He added that he was determined to help the club get back to a state where they are "more stable and more consistent".
"We have to recover that because right now we don't have it and that's the target we have to do," he said.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak added: "Like every City fan, I am delighted that Pep's journey with Manchester City will continue, allowing his dedication, passion and innovative thinking to continue to shape the landscape of the game.
"His hunger for improvement and success remains insatiable and the direct beneficiaries of that will continue to be our players and coaching staff, the culture of our club, and the English game at large."
Leicester's Fatawu ruled out for rest of season with ACL injury
Leicester City manager Steve Cooper confirmed Abdul Fatawu will miss the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) while playing for Ghana against Angola during the international break.
Fatawu has featured in all 11 of Leicester's Premier League matches so far this season and has registered two assists.
No Leicester player has attempted (61) or completed (29) more dribbles than him, while his 30 crosses is also a team-high in the top-flight this season.
"It's not good, it's a serious injury," said Cooper ahead of their match against Chelsea on Saturday.
"It's a real blow, first and foremost for him, being a young player and having an injury as serious as what an ACL is.
"Albeit, it can be quite common in sport, and in particular football, but it's still a serious injury.
"For it to happen at a young age is a blow for him and a blow for us as well.
"He's obviously a big talent and a young player, as exciting as he can be at his age, with lots to learn.
"It's only a pause, and we will make sure, as difficult as it is at the moment for him, that he comes back being a stronger player and person, which, with the mentality and character that he has, I think will be the case."
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