Newsletter: 6 May 2025
“I’m not naive – I know the gap is huge between the Championship and the WSL.”
Jocelyn Precheur, manager of London City Lionesses on their promotion to the WSL.
Welcome … here’s your weekly round-up of UK women’s sports news featuring:
Football - the movers and shakers around the English leagues
F1 Academy - welcome to Miami F1A! Scarlett Archer has all the news.
Netball - we’re at the half-way point so time for a round up!
ICYMI - snippets of sports news
Podium Places - stuff to read, to watch, to listen to, to do…
Football - wanna be our football writer or know someone who does? Let us know!
Chelsea Are Still the Queens!
· Chelsea just can’t stop winning! They clinched their sixth WSL title in a row after a 1-0 win over Manchester United. Lucy Bronze scored the winner, and the team celebrated in style. Blue is definitely the colour! Congratulations Chelsea!
Manchester United Make tough work of 200th fixture
· Talk about drama! Manchester United’s women’s team battled to a 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the Manchester derby. Even after going down to 10 players, they held on and locked in their spot for next season’s Champions League. That means more epic European nights ahead!
Everton Rule Merseyside
· Everton took bragging rights in Liverpool with a 2-0 win over their rivals at Anfield. It was a big moment for the Toffees, and the blue half of Merseyside is buzzing! Liverpool have only won one game at home this season.
Aston Villa’s Winning Streak
· Aston Villa are on fire! They edged out West Ham United 3-2 in a nail-biter, showing they’re a team to watch.
London City Lionesses Roar into the WSL!
· Huge news: London City Lionesses are moving up to the WSL for the very first time! Their 2-2 draw with Birmingham City sealed the deal. Watch out for these new stars next season! Read more about London City Lionesses propulsion into the WSL here.
F1 Academy - Scarlett Archer
What a wild weekend of motorsport in Miami!
F1 Academy hit the track for round 3, but with the heavy downpour of rain, the second race had to be cancelled.
Dorian Pin had a great race. Learning from last year, she emerged from the chaos of the start totally fine and jumped up to second, battling it out with Emma Felbermayr who started on pole because of the reverse grid. Dorian eventually got past and took the lead, then nailed the second restart to keep Brit Alisha Palmowski behind her.
Palmowski and Chloe Chambers achieved a double podium for Campos in Race 1, finishing P2 and P3 after starting from P7 and P8. They showed strong pace, and both helped keep Campos at the top of the teams’ standings.
So, what exactly is a ‘reverse grid?’ In the first race of every round, F1 Academy uses reverse grid for the top eight in qualifying. If you are the fastest you start on eighth and everyone else is reversed. It’s all about mixing things up, creating more opportunities for overtakes, and giving everyone a fairer shot.
For now, Weug is leading in the standings but only by one point with Dorian Pin following closely behind.
It’s all to play for in the next race when they head to Canada for round 4 in June.
Netball
Half-way through the Super League so let’s examine the sharp shooters and goal getters….
Who’s Winning?
London Pulse are totally smashing it at the top of the table, winning 7 out of 8 games!
Loughborough Lightning (last year’s champs) are right behind, and the race for the playoffs is ON.
Manchester Thunder and London Mavericks are also in the mix, battling it out for those top spots.
Drama & Highlights
Nottingham Forest pulled off a shock win to end London Pulse’s perfect run - major plot twist!
The new Super Shot rule is making games even more intense. Shooters are going for those long bombs and the crowd LOVES it.
There’s a big focus on young talent this year - Gracie Smith, Sophie Kelly and Bethany Brittain are amongst those making their mark.
ICYMI
Swimming - American Katie Ledecky broke her own world record in the 800m freestyle at the weekend. According to USA Swimming, Ledecky now has the top ten best times in the event.
Inclusivity - The English and Scottish FAs have announced the banning of transgender women in football from 1 June 2025. Other sports have followed such as netball and cricket.
Cricket - the women’s county T20 championship started 5 May 2025. The first part of the tournament is a round robin followed by a knock-out stage. We’ll keep you updated as the tourney progresses.
And in other news, as predicted, Nat Sciver-Brunt is the new England cricket team captain working alongside new head coach Charlotte Edwards.
Podium Places.
Watching: Old sckool, ‘Bend it like Beckham’ - worth a watch
Listening: The Game Changers podcast with Afghan footballer Khalida Popal - remarkable listen
Doing: Wearing sunscreen! Remember to reapply too. You’ll thank us for it. And while you’re at it, top up your fluid intake.
Thanks for reading! If you have a story to share, get in touch!
See you next week!
The WAGIS Team x