Latest news with #MegLinehan
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vermont Green FC: Triumph on the pitch, impact beyond the game
Vermont Green FC women lead the charge in showcasing an undefeated 2025 exhibition campaign against Flower City 1872 and AS Blainville. On June 11 and 14, the Vermont Green FC women's team suited up to show the New England community that Vermont is a soccer state. The annual exhibition matches were announced in February, with former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis returning as head coach. Advertisement Vermont Green FC's women's team is still in its early stages, making these exhibition matches the perfect opportunity to showcase the community's support. It also highlights the caliber of talent fans can expect once the team fully establishes itself within a women's soccer league. Vermont shows up for women's soccer Excitement buzzed through Burlington, Vermont, as The Women's Game podcast recorded a live episode ahead of the exhibition games. The event electrified players and fans, promoting soccer nationally while highlighting Vermont's vibrant love for the sport. Women's sports journalist Meg Linehan was the night's special guest, joining Mewis on stage at the iconic Higher Ground venue. If you haven't had a chance to check out the podcast episode, make sure you add it to your list. It's a fantastic glimpse into the energy surrounding women's soccer in Vermont. Linehan and Tamerra Griffin also had Mewis on their Full Time Podcast to discuss Mewis's career trajectory. After the media coverage concluded, it was time to get to work. The roster was named a week before the action was to start, calling on familiar names that Vermont Green fans have grown to see represent this club. With both exhibition matches being sold out at Virtue Field, there was a lot of pride already being shown. A statement win over Flower City 1872 That Wednesday, Flower City 1872 came to town, and Vermont Green wasted no time making their intentions clear: Defeat was not on their minds. The first half saw them take a 1-0 lead, but this was just the beginning of their assertive play. Advertisement The second half brought an explosion of offense. In the 55th minute, Olivia Borgen extended the lead, calmly tucking away a well-placed cross. As momentum firmly shifted to the Green, their craftsmanship truly shone. Moments later, they tacked on a third goal, culminating in a spectacular strike from Sophia Lowenburg, who sent a shot from 30 yards out straight into the top right corner, electrifying the sold-out crowd. The final whistle confirmed their authority with a resounding 4-0 victory over Flower City. Vermont Green FC's unstoppable momentum The next test arrived on Saturday when AS Blainville rolled into Virtue Field. While Vermont Green looked to continue their winning ways, their Canadian neighbors were hoping to end the undefeated campaign. And, sure enough, Blainville held a 1-0 lead at halftime. Advertisement I'm not quite sure what Mewis said at the half, but the Green rallied. They dug deep, breaking the deadlock in the 63rd minute. As momentum shifted to the home side, it was only a matter of time before a second goal followed. In the 76th minute, the crowd roared. Vermont Green extended their lead to 2-1. With time eventually expiring, the final scoreline confirmed the Green's undefeated status in their 2025 summer exhibition matches. Community and impact beyond the field The final exhibition match offered more than just on-field excitement; it also featured a special raffle. Mewis teamed up with the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund to raffle off one of her match-worn USWNT kits. Advertisement 'Part of what makes the Vermont soccer community special is how people come together around the game for a bigger purpose,' said Mewis. 'It is important to utilize this platform to spotlight what is going on in our country and point to an organization that is trying to protect the community that is under attack.' In a world where game results often dominate sports headlines, Vermont Green FC, both its men's and emerging women's teams, consistently redefines what a football club can be. From advocating for immigrant legal defense to pioneering climate change initiatives, this is a club and a community that proves the beautiful game's truest victories often happen away from the pitch. Related articles from Her Football Hub:
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tobin Heath on World Sevens Football: ‘We're going to continue to build and force innovation'
The inaugural World Sevens Football (W7F) tournament — a three-day, seven-a-side competition featuring eight of Europe's biggest clubs in Estoril, Portugal — was an overall success. With rolling substitutions and no offsides, the format allowed players to showcase their flair and creativity, while the smoke cannons and live music created a festival-like atmosphere that lit up social media. Advertisement More impressively, Bayern Munich walked away with $2.5 million after defeating Manchester United 2-1 in the final — more than what Arsenal earned for winning the Women's Champions League, and more than Chelsea received for their Women's Super League and FA Cup triumphs combined. On the latest episode of 'Full Time,' Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan were joined by two-time World Cup winner and United States women's national team legend Tobin Heath, who also serves as chair of the W7F advisory council, to discuss the tournament's future and what might come next. Griffin: Can you talk to us about what growth looks like for this tournament? I know there are plans to have multiple tournaments a year culminating in a sort of Champions of Champions tournament. But obviously, scheduling is a big behemoth of a challenge to tackle, so how do you imagine growth after such an explosive introduction? Advertisement Heath: It's funny because there's so much congestion in the calendar, it's just so ugly. We did step on a lot of toes and some people aren't happy about this, being the big traditional entities that think they own football and the idea of football. But then I take a step back and think, 'You go do it then. You go innovate women's football. You go bring investment into women's football.' Because these traditional competitions, where women's football has always taken a backseat to men's football and followed the exact same patterns, aren't helping women's football. The P&Ls of these clubs are not pretty, so if there's an opportunity to inject fuel and capital into women's football, in a new, innovative and fun way, that's positive. And let me tell you, the schedules are going to clear, just look at the prize pool we set. Bayern just went home from a three-day fun kickabout with more money in their pockets than Arsenal did winning the Champions League in an extremely stressful match, so I hope that the governing bodies and these landlords of football are taking note. Because ultimately nothing's stopping them from innovating and giving to women's football. But right now, it's just like we're stamping the women's side with a men's competition with way less money. That doesn't sound like innovation to me, and that's not prioritizing women's football. So for me, it's almost a provocation which we're going to continue to build, then hopefully it's going to force innovation. To get to what you said about what's next, what's next is more competitions. We want this to be a global event where you're seeing and meeting teams and players for the first time in a way like you've never seen before in global football. I left World Sevens with new favorite players and a better understanding. And I must say Bayern's team was just awesome by the way. Linehan: I really did not expect that from them (laughs). Advertisement Griffin: It surprised us all. I was like, 'Where is this personality coming from, and where was this there before?' It was the biggest surprise of the tournament. Heath: Exactly. The storytelling literally wrote itself, and I'm so in love with that team now. They are awesome, and I didn't even know that before. This is the part about women's football that is so beautiful, and we need to let them write their own stories. So I'm a new fan of football from the event, which is ridiculous because everybody knows I'm a soccer junkie and I'm watching everything already anyway. Linehan: You've mentioned how World Sevens could appeal to a new generation who maybe don't want to sit through a 90-minute football game, which is really interesting. You've also highlighted the tension between the traditional side of football and whatever World Sevens is and wants to be, as they throw things up against the wall and see what sticks. But how do you balance that tension and just stress the point of, 'Listen, we've got to find new audiences, focus on the next generation, and just go to them a little bit more.' Are you excited by that part of the work too? Tobin: Yeah, I'm really excited about it because I do think there is an increasing gap that's happening between the current generation and the current format of football. All things are meant to be innovated, and I'm not saying let's change 11s, but I think this can be complementary to 11s. What was really beneficial for me was that, coming off this tournament, I went immediately to watch the Champions League final. And no disrespect to the Champions League final because it's probably the greatest competition in global football, but the difference in the experience was night and day. You can't really see what's going on in the field. Being in the stadium, you're also really far from it, it's really long, and there are not as many actions. Advertisement Everyone also looked exhausted on the field, and the difference in energy was massive. People were on the ground just trying to catch their breath, and they were understandably exhausted because it's the end of the season. But the contrast between the two was so crazy that I really appreciated it, because it just showed how vastly different the two things are. But I must say I loved both of them, and I definitely loved Arsenal winning because it made it way more fun. Otherwise, I probably would just be saying that I liked my experience at World Sevens. But being there just showed me why this is needed, because the way that the Sevens worked is that it spoke to this current generation and how they're watching things. It was made for social media, and it was made to bring you on the field with these players. I want to produce it even better and differently next time. This was only the first iteration of it. But if you were there and you were on the field, it's almost like you were courtside at a basketball game. There are also way more ways to monetize it, way more interactions, and more personalization between you, the players and the teams. I got a crash course on Bayern and now they're my favorite team. I'm even thinking, 'If the German players can carry that vibe into the Euros, Germany could maybe even win it.' That's how tangible this felt. Everybody saw that the organic nature of this format was built for this age. This isn't anything we had to ask for, by the way, it just organically happened because of the player's experience and the new format. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Women's national team, Soccer, NWSL, UK Women's Football, Full Time Podcast 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NWSLPA's Meghann Burke calls for ‘bright-line rule' following Savy King's collapse: Full Time
In the wake of the concerning incident that saw Angel City FC defender Savy King collapse in the 74th minute of their clash with the Utah Royals last Friday, the NWSL is reviewing its medical protocols after acknowledging that the match should never have resumed. 'Having reviewed our protocols and how they were implemented, and in listening to feedback from our stakeholders, the Angel City vs. Utah game last Friday night should not have continued,' the league said in a statement. 'The health and well-being of the entire NWSL community remains our top priority, and in any similar situation going forward, the game should and would be abandoned.' Advertisement The NWSL Players Association has been firm in its stance that the match should have been abandoned immediately, and on the latest episode of 'Full Time,' Meg Linehan was joined by NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke. She explained why the league's current policies need urgent reform and the importance of establishing a clear and non-negotiable bright-line rule for future incidents. Meg Linehan: Thank you for joining us, Meghann. I know it has been a bit of a heavy week, and we've been doing a lot of reporting on what happened with Angel City's Savy King last weekend. Firstly, I think we've got to frame this as a player health and safety issue, and just put it in the context of what the NWSL Players Association's role is. How are you trying to approach both what happened and what comes next from that health and safety framework? Meghann Burke: First of all, Savy and her family issued a statement yesterday sharing a really positive update that she's recovering, and she has a really extremely positive prognosis. Our number one priority is Savy, her health, her recovery and supporting her. So certainly in the moment on Friday night and in the ensuing hours, it was about focusing on her getting what she needed. I also just need to say how much we appreciate the Angel City medical staff, the responding EMTs and all the people who were on the field that night, because as we said in our statement yesterday, everything we're learning is that it was conducted with the highest level of competence and care. There was an excellent response, I think they were on the field within under a minute and were able to tend to her right away. That's the first thing, and that is absolutely the highest priority and the most important thing that needs to get done in the right way. Advertisement Secondary to that, of course, is the decision to continue to play. We've taken the last several days to talk to our people and get a sense of how they were doing, and I can say it was very difficult. I think you've already heard players speaking out about that, so our attention then turned to the decision to continue playing and whether that was the right decision. The fact that they continued to play, we feel it was the wrong call, and the game should have been stopped as a human matter. The protocols almost don't matter, and we need to reframe this and think about it in terms of, 'What was the right thing to do?' And the right thing to do was to just stop playing. That's the beginning, middle and end, and that decision needed to be made on Friday night. That said, in the days that followed, we had a very strong working relationship with league office personnel and the opportunity to meet with them. I won't get into the details of those conversations, other than to say there's been a commitment on their part to share information and help us understand what happened here and what needs to change. But at the end of the day, this decision should have been made on Friday night. Nothing has changed in the days since, so we feel an urgency to call for an immediate change to the protocol that would require the suspension of a match in the event that life-saving measures are used. I want to be clear, we're not talking about a gnarly broken leg, which I know you've had, Meg. We're not even talking about a head-to-head collision or even a bench-clearing. We're talking about the exceedingly rare, hopefully, circumstance where life-saving measures are rendered for one of our own on the field. Whether it's a player, a match official, or a coach, the game and play should stop immediately. Linehan: Are you encouraged by what you're seeing there that the logistics can come after? And that someone will step in, be the adult in the room and say, 'We'll figure this out later, human life has to come first'. Burke: We're concerned, candidly. And the reason we're concerned is because this is a decision that needed to be made Friday night, and something happened where that didn't get done. We have four games tomorrow night – we have eight teams playing on a Friday night. And the rest of our teams are playing on Saturday and Sunday. Things move fast in professional sports, and you make snap judgments. Sometimes, if the snap judgment is not the right one, you reflect and say, 'Okay, how do we do it better and differently?' But some of the hand-wringing around this, and not being willing to immediately adopt a very humane and obvious bright-line rule, is the reason we're concerned and why we need a bright-line rule. Now, six days later, we still don't have a clear decision from the league that they would have stopped play if this were to happen again. Advertisement Linehan: There's a trust part and an accountability part. Let's start with the accountability part, because I think there is always a difference. We saw this with some of the other things that have happened in the NWSL. There's public accountability, then there's this internal sense of accountability where players have to feel comfortable with what decisions are made. You need that communication, and that communication is, and should look different from what I'm being told and from what fans are being told. So, from an accountability point of view, do you feel like there is a path to figuring out, 'Okay, this is how we're going to move forward from this moment that is really concerning?' Burke: I do think there's a path yes, but the concern I have is the lack of decisiveness. This is very clear to me. This is a human issue and is not even a close call, this is very obvious. And to the people who are on the field, this is obvious. And if you put yourself in those shoes, a clear message that 'We should have stopped this game' would be a powerful and cathartic decision right now in this moment. I do believe it can still happen, and you can tell from the decision on our part to issue the statement Wednesday, we did not feel that without more pressure, it's not going to happen. Linehan: Is there anything else that you think we should be learning from this moment beyond being able to make the right call in that moment? Burke: First of all, we need to focus on operational integrity. I have no doubt in my mind that every human being who had any role to play whatsoever with what happened on Friday night had the best of intentions. I don't think there was malice or ill will at any point, so I want to be clear about that. But what we're talking about is operational integrity. Having the right people in the right roles, with the right training and the right channels of communication to be able to execute on the things we know are the right thing to do. That's thing one, and I would say that's true across the board, not just in this incident. Advertisement The second thing is that we live in a very complicated world right now, and we cannot let basic standards of humanity slip away from us. I'm having a hard time with the idea that there were any countervailing factors or things to consider in this moment that would have outweighed the basic human decency to call off the game. There might have been some other things that were on the table to talk about and figure out later, but that can be figured out later. At the moment, we needed to protect basic human dignity, and the right thing to do was to call off the game. I would cite, and a lot of people have raised the Christian Eriksen example with me. You talk to those players, and we consulted with FIFA Pro, too. That game carried on two hours later, and Kasper Schmeichel, the son of one of my heroes, Peter Schmeichel, is quoted as saying, 'We had to make the least bad decision. And in hindsight, we shouldn't have played.' The players agree that they shouldn't have played. And in fact, they even said, 'We shouldn't have been consulted because we shouldn't have been forced to make the decision.' This is why we're calling for a bright-line rule, and we remain ready to work with the league to make that happen. I do believe we can get there, but we do feel it's necessary to bring more pressure to bear on that decision. Linehan: Before I let you go, in terms of what's next, I know there's going to be more conversations between the Players Association and the NWSL in trying to get the protocol changes pushed through. But is there anything else that you think might be discussed? Burke: We certainly review the league's policies and rules constantly to try to see where some of our paramount priorities, particularly around player safety, are being prioritized. I do want to use this as an opportunity to say we regularly have those conversations with the league. I know, Meg, that you've been in this business for a minute, and a lot has changed over time. One of the big changes is the much more productive relationship between the Players Association and the league, and the opportunity to work on issues like this. And I still think we're going to continue to work on bringing about changes to protocols that were implicated on Friday night. Advertisement However, protocols are only as good as the people who are in the roles to execute them. So I'm focused on whether the league is adequately investing in operationalizing all these things. Not just the competition manual or the operations manual, but the collective bargaining agreement, and making sure the things we've agreed to do are being enforced and complied with. That is where our primary focus lies. Meg: All right, well Meghann, I definitely appreciate the time and thank you so much for joining us. Obviously again, all of our thoughts are with Savy King and her family, and that health update that Angel City provided probably gave everyone a massive sigh of relief. We really appreciate your time. Meghann: It really did. Thank you for that, and thank you for thinking of Savy and her family. It's been great to be with you. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Angel City, NWSL, Full Time Podcast 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
24-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
USWNT to face Republic of Ireland in set of summer friendlies, returning to Colorado
Meg Linehan is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers the U.S. women's national team, the National Women's Soccer League and more. She also hosts the weekly podcast "Full Time with Meg Linehan." Follow Meg on Twitter @itsmeglinehan
New York Times
04-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Our thoughts on the new NWSL kits, plus a Women's Club World Cup update
Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is The Athletic's weekly women's soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. Cut your bangs, dye your hair or spray-paint your jersey pink — whatever makes you happy. Emily Olsen here with Meg Linehan and Melanie Anzidei — welcome to Full Time! NWSL unveils 2025 jerseys Do you know what you're wearing to the NWSL season openers? With less than two weeks to go, now you do. The league recently showed off its 2025 collection of jerseys to mixed reviews. From the vinyl pool cover look in San Diego to the Houston Dash's chaos and whatever Gotham is doing, The Athletic broke down every look. Advertisement For most teams, last year's primary kits (what they typically wear at home matches) will carry over to this season. What the league shared last Thursday was all 14 teams' new secondary kits, which they will regularly wear on the road. In its sophomore season, Bay FC is getting fresh looks for both, now that the team's identity is complete. The Dash's 'Cosmic Storm' immediately went on my wish list, because when all is going wrong, you can always find solace in bold fashion. There was so much to discuss that we kept the conversation going on Slack: A championship rematch The Washington Spirit will likely debut their new look, which feels inspired by Australia, in the NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday when they meet the Orlando Pride at Inter & Co Stadium (8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). Last year, the competition transitioned to a one-off game between the NWSL champions and the league's Shield winners (most regular-season points). Because the Pride nabbed both those honors last season, this year's Challenge Cup will be a rematch of the NWSL championship game. It's the ceremonial start of the season with a trophy on the line. We can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night. 🎧 Listen to last week's 'Full Time' episode, recapping the SheBelieves Cup and weighing in on the latest NWSL jerseys. The inaugural women's Club World Cup looks likely to be postponed until 2027 at the earliest, per reporting from our Matt Slater. On the one hand, I'm glad FIFA has realized the whole tournament — which was originally planned for early 2026 — has not come together in any meaningful way. Still, the update also has me once again questioning how necessary this tournament is. Yes, I absolutely wanted competition at one point between all the top clubs in the world, especially after seeing the potential of these sorts of matchups from smaller outfits like the Women's ICC and Women's Cup tournaments here in the U.S. But considering the state of the men's Club World Cup, which has become another obligation on the calendar and a challenge for FIFA's media rights operation (ending up with DAZN), maybe now is the perfect time to truly put the brakes on and ask if trying to follow the same path is the right idea at all. Advertisement A potential four- or six-team tournament might be the immediate solution, but again, it's copying the men's structure of the Intercontinental Cup played in between Club World Cups. It makes more sense to start small, and then aim for a signature event, but so far there hasn't been any compelling argument for players, clubs and leagues to invest themselves in qualification — beyond the abstract idea of bragging rights. From my vantage point, this vague shell of a tournament certainly doesn't provide a reason for a men's club to form a women's club, one of the motives FIFA president Gianni Infantino cited at last year's FIFA Council meeting. Girma injured in first start Naomi Girma's Chelsea debut didn't exactly go as expected. The 24-year-old U.S. women's national team center back played 59 minutes in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Brighton yesterday, a month after she became the most expensive player in women's football history. She spent most of the first half battling former Stanford teammate Madison Haley and working to adjust to Chelsea's midseason switch to a formation with three center backs alongside Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze, who Jessy Parker Humphreys reminds us is not really a typical center back. In the second half, Girma pointed to her calf and looked at the bench before needing attention from the athletic trainers. She headed to the sideline under her own power, and manager Sonia Bompastor eased concerns postgame with her lack of serious worry. However, she said Girma would likely get scans today. The defender missed the last two national team camps with a minor calf injury. The crossover we deserve The links between the WNBA and NWSL continue to grow. The latest is a hometown collaboration in the Bay Area. Today, Bay FC announced New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu has joined the club as an investor. The 2024 WNBA Champion and Bay Area native will also serve as commercial adviser to the team, focusing on commercial strategy and supporting players in building their brand portfolios. Advertisement Ionescu, 27, was the first women's basketball player to have a unisex signature collection with Nike, with her Sabrina 2 becoming the most-worn current basketball shoe in the NBA in 2024. Last month, RAJ Sports, which owns the Portland Thorns and the WNBA's expansion team in Portland, unveiled plans for a $150-million training facility that will be the first shared between teams in NWSL and WNBA. In the fall, Caitlin Clark expressed interest in NWSL club ownership when she was unveiled as part of the ownership group fighting to bring an NWSL club to Cincinnati. While Cincinnati lost the expansion race to Denver, Clark's interest, and now Ionescu's investment, is a sure sign the synergies between the leagues will only continue to grow. At the World Cup final in 2023, Spanish forward Jenni Hermoso's life changed. But not in the way it should have. In a moment that became more widely known as 'The Kiss,' former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales grabbed Hermoso's face and kissed her on the lips. Last month, Rubiales went on trial for one count of sexual assault and one of coercion. In the end, he was found guilty of sexual assault. Meg guides us through the full story in a special edition of the 'Full Time' podcast, with the help of The Athletic's Spanish reporters — from the pitch in Sydney, to the hills of south Spain, over to the court room of Madrid — to answer one question: Se acabó? This is 'It's Over: The Trial of Luis Rubiales.' Bright side: The USWNT fell 2-1 to Japan last week in the final game of the SheBelieves Cup. Japan captured its first SheBelieves title and ended the Americans' five-year run as champions. But U.S. head coach Emma Hayes called it 'mission accomplished' in terms of beginning her developmental era. Presidential matters: U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone is running for another term in the role. Her five years in charge, across one and a half terms, have presented numerous challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, an equal pay lawsuit, two collective bargaining agreement negotiations and the Sally Yates report. She discussed her experiences and why she's going for a second full term with Paul Tenorio. Advertisement On the move: Everton is considering making Goodison Park the new home for the club's women's team. Right now, only Leicester City shares its main stadium between the men's and women's teams for all home matches, though Arsenal Women committed to playing 11 matches at the Emirates this season. Backing out: BOS Nation hit another speed bump last week. However, this one gets a lot smaller the closer you get. Boston Globe chief executive Linda Henry is no longer an investor in the NWSL expansion team. Despite her expansive portfolio, Henry's investment had been considered a minority and non-controlling one. 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo's women's sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic.
