“How can I be even louder in my beliefs and in my love?” Ali Riley's career in professional soccer has come to an end, but she's ready to keep using her voice to make the NWSL and women's soccer better. www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

At her presser today, I asked Laura Harvey for her thoughts on the discourse about trans athletes and the #NWSL, and the divisive rhetoric targeting some players for their appearance. Here is her answer (with transcript of her remarks in alt text):

✏️FULL TIME #NWSL Playoff Bingo is back babeh! You can pick up a me sheet, a @meglinehan.com sheet or a @tamerra-griffin.bsky.social OR get creative and write in your own and send it to us so we can read it out and score it on the pod!

It's the Full Time playoff preview extravaganza, with @theolloydhughes.bsky.social leading me and @tamerra-griffin.bsky.social through the NWSL bracket... and bringing out our best elaborate food metaphors. 🍏 apple.co/4qOMH6k

For The Cutback Kosovare Asllani was the face of Real Madrid's project. The experienced Swede is now leading another project at London City Lionesses. What makes her so special? What are her strengths? Why is she important for Jocelyn Prêcheur system? open.substack.com/pub/thecutba...

Fellow bitter southerners, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia all elected Democratic Governors. Georgia in 2020 wasn’t a fluke. South Carolina, Florida, Texas, All y’all of the y’allternative persuasion. Keep being loud. Keep getting into good trouble. Protect black folks and trans people. Vote

No matter how hard people try to convince us having empathy is wrong, it is right. No matter how hard people try to convince us that diversity is a weakness, it is a strength. No matter how hard people try to convince us that love is limited, it is unlimited.

your League A World Cup qualifying groups

NEWS: England and Spain have been drawn against each other for the upcoming UEFA league-phase qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup

i just wanna watch footy and travel with Jon www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eEZ...

Folks I took Jon's travel advice in Dallas this summer, and he was extremely correct about everything he told me to check out. These are gonna be great.

air bev

Started in this league as a player. Now I stand in it as a leader. With that comes the responsibility to champion what makes this league and game special. P, you’re exactly what makes our space special. Wherever your path takes you, whatever kit you wear, know this: we’ve got your back. 💪

Jordyn Bugg loves a big goal

really need to know what the halftime team talk is going to be in Louisville. will be very interesting.

I know Temwa is the MVP but can we invent some trophy to give to Manaka? she is the 2nd best player in the league and that means something!

we're not going to fully have time to process and unpack it before the playoffs start, but if this Portland Thorns team finishes 3rd (with 6 more points than last year) - that is a truly wild turn of events.

friendly reminder in case you didn't know. Racing Louisville have finished 9th in every season since they joined the NWSL in 2021. right now, on the final day, with roughly 69 minutes of the regular season left, they once again sit 9th....and on the outside of the playoffs. one goal changes that.

🌶️ NWSL Decision Day 🌶️ First drama of the day - with Racing Louisville locked at 0-0 at home to Bay FC, North Carolina Courage have jumped into 8th place with an early lead over Gotham FC!

always delighted to see Fran Kirby get a goal

love that finish from Jess Park

Man United dominating Brighton in the first 12’ in Crawley — dare say that I am impressed by what I’m seeing from the visitors. good intensity, desire and passing.

Speaking with Fabrice Gautrat today. Said even though they are out of the playoffs, Sunday’s match is very important for them because a win would give them 22 points in the second half of the season which is double what they had in the first half.

The final weekend of the NWSL season looms large, in today's newsletter I dove into the narratives and asked Chat GPT how to stop Temwa Chawinga. Lastly, leave Barbra Banda alone. Leave trans kids alone. Focus on the actual problems permeating women's sports. www.talkinsoccer.com/leave-barbra...

Your yearly reminder that Sam Stejskal and I wrote a 13,000-word history of Chivas USA way back when. Some truly incredible shit in there. www.nytimes.com/athletic/216...

This article posted by Narumi Miura (who says teammate Kaylie Collins helped her translate into English) today feels like an noteworthy step towards destigmatizing discussions of menstruation in women's sports

📍 lovely night for a friendly non-friendly between England and Australia in the Midlands. early doors, Aggie Beever-Jones looking very threatening in an overdue start, with Lucia Kendall looking vibrant on her Lionesses debut.

We are lucky to have Olivia living in and reporting about Texas for a whole host of reasons, including this one:

Lionel Messi just had the best season in MLS history. Does anyone really care? I wrote about it for The Guardian:

a good pastel de nata will do you wonders

Thanks to Meg for including my thoughts here!

Our game doesn’t need gatekeepers. It needs champions and advocates and that means standing for every player who makes it what it is.

In addition to any moral or competitive arguments, 1. This is a fake problem. There aren't any trans women in NWSL. There aren't any trans women in the immediate pipeline that I'm aware of. 2. Using Banda for the cover photo here is obviously just extremely racist.

🙄 68/69 90' so close

don't want to jinx it, but Jordyn Bugg has completed 64/64 passes with 5 mins to go

Kika Nazareth set pieces are golden

Jaedyn Shaw channeling the Italians

The USA scoring in the first minute against Portugal is the most dangerous scoreline in football

FT shooting stats - England 1-2 Brazil shots: 17-10 on target: 3-3 big chances: 4-4 ENG player totals (on target): 3 - Toone (1) 2 - Morgan (1), Stanway (1), Beever-Jones, Russo, Kelly 1 - Mead, Greenwood, Walsh, Bronze, Carter no shots between 83rd (Stanway bar) and 90+7 mins (Russo blocked)

technically exqsitite strike from Stanway, but England need to get the ball in the box and up the pressure from long-range strikes

Esme Morgan has the most shots of any England player with 2 ...also wild that Russo's header over the bar in the 69th minute was her first shot of the game.

the only thing to make this game more chaotic is if there's an injury to the ref and Danielle Chesky subs in from being the 4th official

celebrating a tackle might be one of my top 5 things in footy

This is such a fun game

NWSL Brazil vibing

Bom Vida Manchester!

one of the all-time great upsets that snapped one hell of a streak for one of the greatest teams ever

Just wrapped a first draft for the first time since Sept 9. Starting my (free!) Substack tomorrow. The first post skews toward the MLS playoffs; future ones will cover the same broad scope of topics you expect from me (MLS, NWSL, USNTs, Europe, WC26 prep, etc.). substack.com/@jeffrueter?...

Manchester City defender Kerstin Casparij spoke to me about her personal journey with her sexuality, her support for LGBTQ+ and why she wants to “continue spreading love”. ✍🏻 👇🏻 #mcfc www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

South First St. Austin, Texas - 2013