Fútnotes, Volume 58

It’s been a difficult week in women’s soccer, with the legal proceedings surrounding the San Diego Wave taking center stage.

For almost everyone, that is, except for The Athletic.

I’m not here to dunk on The Athletic but it is worth pointing out that its coverage of Jill Ellis and lack of coverage of Brittany Alvarado was stark enough to be named in Alvarado’s anti-SLAPP lawsuit against Ellis. It’s always a bit of a tell during stories like these breaking who speaks up, and who doesn’t. And while I get that no one outlet can cover literally everything, it’s also valid to question why one of the pre-eminent women’s soccer outlets in the world that has broken so many important stories, specifically about abuse in the NWSL, has said so little while an independent journalist (Lesley Ryder of Gal Pal Sports) has been on this since Alvarado’s initial tweet back in July.

That said, one question I have at this point is will Jill Ellis finally be held to account for a long pattern of abusive behavior? But perhaps as important, it’s fair to ask who will break the next story of abuse? Will it come from (relatively speaking) well-funded legacy outlets, or will the actual legwork be done by unpaid and/or underpaid people filling the void of women’s sports coverage like it has time and again?

México

Licha Cervantes’ hat-trick against Atlas this past week put her past the 150 goal mark and tied her with Katty Martínez for all-time league leading goal scorer. (Chivas Femenil)

Puebla named Carlos Adrián Morales as their new head coach. Morales had coached just 34 games prior to being hired, exactly zero of which were in charge of a women’s team.

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Rest of the World

In Copa Libertadores Femenina results, Corinthians beat Olímpia 2-0 and will face Boca Juniors in the Semifinals on October 15 after Boca downed Santos 4-2 on penalties. In the other bracket, Colombia’s Santa Fe beat Alianza Lima 2-0 and will face off against Ecuador’s Dragonas IDV, who stunned Deportivo Cali 3-0. This match will take place on October 16. The Final and third-place matches will take place on Saturday, October 19.

Football Manager 25 is being delayed until March 2025. This will be the first version of Football Manager to feature women’s teams. (Football Manager)

Temwa Chawinga scored her 19th goal of the season in the Kansas City Current’s 1-0 win over Bay FC, giving Chawinga the NWSL regular season scoring record. The previous record was set in 2019 by Sam Kerr. (Kansas City Current)

Five former employees of the San Diego Wave are suing the club, asserting 15 claims “including disability discrimination, racial discrimination, sexual harassment, failure to investigate and prevent discrimination and harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and retaliating for engaging in protected activity.” It’s a damning report. (Defector)

Brittany Alvarado, one of the former employees suing the Wave, is also suing Wave President Jill Ellis in an anti-SLAPP lawsuit. Alvarado’s suit is a counter to a defamation lawsuit filed by Elllis in July. (Superior Court of The State of California for the County of San Diego)

Burnaby, British Columbia native Christine Sinclair joined the ownership group of Vancouver Rise FC, the Northern Super League team slated to start next season.

Portland Thorns General Manager Karina Leblanc is taking a new role at RAJ Sports, owner of the Thorns. (Portland Thorns FC)

The NWSL Players Association announced the creation of the Om Arvind Gift on World Mental Health Day. The fund, “donated to The Support the Players National Emergency Trust (NET) (will) provide mental health support for NWSL Players.” I had the good fortune to work with Om on a couple of projects and couldn’t think of a better tribute to honor his memory and legacy. (NWSLPA)

Don’t ever let them tell you no one pays attention to women’s soccer.

If you have something that should be included in this segment, please reach out to me via bluesky or twitter (if you must) or email me at [email protected].