by Last year was a historic year for women’s football and there’s no sign of letting up in 2024. Here are seven things to look out for in the coming months, from the first-ever finals to the Champions League final World at last, and farewell to Chelsea. with their legendary six-time Women’s Super League winning manager.
Olympic title up for grabs
The main competition of the year is the women’s football tournament in Paris 2024. Sixteen teams will compete for the gold medal in the competition, which will take place from 24 July to 10 August. The holders, Canada, have already qualified alongside the USA, Colombia, Brazil and the hosts, France, but 11 places are still up for grabs. The Nations League finals featuring the Netherlands, Spain and Germany will decide the other two UEFA spots. Australia and Japan will represent to claim the two Asian places in February while Samoa will host the final Oceania qualification round (one place) in the same month. There are also two spots for African nations to decide in April.
Who will make the history of the League of Nations?
The inaugural Nations League will conclude in February with four teams vying for the title. After impressive group stage finishes last month, Spain and France will host the Netherlands and Germany, respectively, in the hunt for a place in the final. The Dutch overwhelmed England on goal difference to seal their progress while Germany edged Denmark, France eased through Group A2 and Spain criticized Sweden for missing out on Olympic football for the first time once. As mentioned above, the final two European places for Paris 2024 will be decided when the competition concludes on 28 February.
Inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup
More history will be made in February and March as the USA stage the first ever W Gold Cup. Canada will join the hosts as the winner of the Olympic playoff, while Costa Rica and Mexico came through Concacaf qualification. Panama will also take part after topping a qualifying group that included Jamaica and Guatemala, the former without many of their first-team players following a well-publicised dispute with their federation. In addition, spots are up for grabs for the top four finishers at Copa América 2022 – Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay – and the remaining three Concacaf spots will be confirmed with three one-legged matches in Carson on February 17.
Will there be a new European club champion?
Bilbao will be at the center of the 23rd edition of the Women’s Champions League in May but there is still so much football to be played. The group stage will be completed towards the end of January with only Barcelona and Lyon having secured places in the quarter finals so far. Chelsea have put themselves in a good position to chase the one trophy that has eluded Emma Hayes since her tenure at the club in over a decade. Meanwhile, Group C looks set to be the best to watch with just three points separating the four rivals: Ajax, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Roma.
Euro 2025 final to be decided
Following the conclusion of the Nations Championship, European qualification will begin in April as teams look to seal places at Euro 2025. Despite being relegated to Serie B, Switzerland claim an automatic place as hosts and the to his highest group of all groups with them automatically. in League A. Two rounds of finals will then determine the final seven nations. After a strong Nations League campaign, the Republic of Ireland will be hoping to reach their first ever European Championship, but Scotland and Wales face an uphill task. Stalwarts Sweden and Norway, meanwhile, will have to go through the play-offs in February, as will Northern Ireland, as they battle for the best starting position for qualification.
World Cup Host to be named
While the other two host countries for the men’s World Cup have already been decided, FIFA is curiously yet to confirm the location of the 2027 women’s edition. The bidding process was launched only last year, and the host is finally to be announced at the Fifa Congress in May. Following South Africa’s withdrawal, three bids are underway. The US and Mexico submitted a joint application, as did Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Brazil also threw their name into the hat.
Hayes takes over the USWNT
Chelsea hearts were broken in October when it was announced that Hayes would be leaving for pastures new at the end of the 2023-24 season. Shortly after, she was confirmed to be the next manager of the US women’s national team. It will be a baptism of fire for the highly-acclaimed manager as she takes the USWNT to the Olympics just weeks after the Women’s Super League ends. Changing the poor fortunes of the team is not an easy task but it will certainly be a challenge that a great coach will relish.
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