Katie Whyatt
@katiewhyatt.bsky.social
One of the women’s football writers at The Athletic | Ghostwriter |
An interview with Mark Beard, brother of the late women’s football legend Matt, on mental health in football, the grief of those left behind and how pain, love and hope can coexist www.nytimes.com/athletic/748...
Coaching, mental health and getting help: A conversation with Matt Beard’s brother (Gift Article)
The brother of late former Liverpool Women coach Beard discusses the bond they shared and the lasting impact it has on him
nytimes.com
Is this how it will always be from now on? Katie McCabe’s move to Chelsea reflects new ground for WSL fan culture - free to read www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...
Katie McCabe’s move to Chelsea has been met with vitriol. It is new ground for WSL fan culture (Gift Article)
Plenty of players have moved between Women's Super League rivals before, but never has a transfer been met with such a strong response
nytimes.com
What are the considerations for same sex couples in women’s football who want a baby? Who will carry & provide the egg? How will they pay for fertility treatments? What about sperm? Footballers from across the world on their experiences - free to read www.nytimes.com/athletic/726...
The fertility journeys of footballers in same-sex relationships: 'I really wanted to carry'
nytimes.com
The club that beat their reserve team in a cup final. How do they prepare to play their own when they share facilities? And how were both even able to get there? www.nytimes.com/athletic/720... via @NYTimes
Hashtag United Women beat their reserve team in a cup final. It says a lot about local investment
As light-hearted as the match concept was, the final also demonstrated the lack of investment in women's football in Essex
nytimes.com
Meet the women’s club that played itself in a cup final www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
Hashtag United Women beat their reserve team in a cup final. It says a lot about local investment
As light-hearted as the match concept was, the final also demonstrated the lack of investment in women's football in Essex
nytimes.com
Why Hashtag United signed and sold AI footballers: ‘AI is not going anywhere’ www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
Why Hashtag United signed and sold AI footballers: ‘AI is not going anywhere’
Spencer Carmichael-Brown, the founder of Hashtag United, explains why the club felt the need to sign AI footballers
nytimes.com
London City Lionesses once played in front of 400 fans. As the WSL’s only club independent from a men’s team, how can they build a fanbase without an existing supporter base? What does fandom mean in the WSL? Feat. dogs, running clubs and arts and crafts www.nytimes.com/athletic/712...
London City Lionesses once played in front of 400 fans. Can they build a fanbase to rival Arsenal’s?
Without the support of a men's team, London City are using a different approach to attract fans
nytimes.com
What if the key to growing attendances in women’s football isn’t staging games in men’s grounds, but building new ones designed especially for female players and fans? This is the growing view in the WSL - and could be the key to unlocking revenue www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...
Football grounds designed for women’s teams aren’t a trend, they’re a necessity
WSL teams are increasingly interested in purpose-built stadiums. While there's upside, the shift will take significant investment
nytimes.com
What’s going on in the minds of players in their late 30s/early 40s? What motivates them? What are they putting their bodies through? How much emotional energy does it take to keep going back season after season? Five players doing it share their views www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
Playing on after 40: 'What life do I want to live for the next 50 years?'
nytimes.com
Would you be able to be your own agent in a move from a WSL club to a Serie A one? Sophie Howard did so for her move from Leicester to Como, negotiating with her manager one minute and training under him the next. How she did it and her advice to others www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...
Como defender navigates the transfer market as her own agent: ‘It’s not for everyone’
Sophie Howard describes the 'daunting' task of balancing being a player with representing herself during 2025 move from Leicester to Italy
nytimes.com
#TheTraitors finale tonight, which raises the question: how well would professional football prepare you for the show? Managers, players, staff, previous Traitors winners on the parallels between both: would football’s soft skills work in the castle? www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...
The Traitors final: How would footballers or managers fare on the hit show?
The Traitors is a difficult show to navigate, but what are the parallels between the football environment and a reality gameshow?
nytimes.com
#TheTraitorsUK finale tonight, which raises the question: how well would professional football prepare you for the show? Managers, players, staff, previous Traitors winners on the parallels between both: would football’s soft skills work in the castle? www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...
The Traitors final: How would footballers or managers fare on the hit show?
The Traitors is a difficult show to navigate, but what are the parallels between the football environment and a reality gameshow?
nytimes.com
Japan is the joint-largest market for the WSL outside of the UK, fuelled by EA FC, YouTube and the social media posts of the Japanese national team players playing in the WSL and one YouTube channel called Japarton (an amalgam of Japan and Everton) www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
The Women's Super League found an unlikely market in Japan: 'Let’s embrace this'
nytimes.com
From @theathleticfc.bsky.social: Soccer has become a key part of some sex workers' online brands. “I’ve never seen that amount of money, ever, in my life,” one woman said. nyti.ms/4q4LSFn
Lots of work went into getting this right: I wanted to speak without judgement or sensationalism to some of the sex workers who use football clubs to promote their OnlyFans pages What are their experiences, how did they get into SW and what role does football play? www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...
Football and OnlyFans: Sex workers at the intersection discuss their lives and experiences
Soccer has become a key part of some sex workers online brands, but some say it can come with drawbacks.
nytimes.com
If you’ve watched the Women’s Rugby World Cup, you’ll have seen England’s Abi Burton make the most extraordinary sporting comeback. Three years ago, she was in a coma and had to learn to walk and talk again, having also been mistakenly sectioned. Interview www.nytimes.com/athletic/659...
From a coma to playing at a World Cup: 'I don't want to be known as this miracle'
nytimes.com
Wonderful evening in Wrexham for Kerry Evans’ book launch. Saw it in Wrexham Waterstones (even saw my other baby) and proud to hear how much the book has meant to those who have read it. Foreword & afterword by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney Order: amzn.eu/d/i441ruC
Ahead of the Euros final today, @charlotteharpur and I collected messages for all 23 Lionesses, Sarina Wiegman and Arjan Veurink from special people: friends, family, former coaches, football royalty and some famous faces www.nytimes.com/athletic/651...
To the Lionesses with love... from Ten Hag, Hodgkinson, Renard and those who know them best
nytimes.com
Ahead of tomorrow’s final, the parents of Georgia Stanway, Lauren James, Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead and Maya Le Tissier on what goes into making of a Lioness: extra jobs, bank loans, four-hour round trips to training, emotional support and sleeping in meetings www.nytimes.com/athletic/650...
The making of a Lioness - as told by their parents: Extra jobs, bank loans and sleeping in meetings
nytimes.com
What goes into making a Lioness, and why do it when there was no pathway for your daughter? Extra jobs, second cars, bank loans, four-hour round trips to training that leave you so tired you sleep in work meetings The making of a Lioness – as told by their parents: www.nytimes.com/athletic/650...
The making of a Lioness - as told by their parents: Extra jobs, bank loans and sleeping in meetings
nytimes.com
Why does football often look to Black players to solve racism through their emotional pain and labour? And when they have no control over the structures enabling racism? What powers do players have v social media companies? www.nytimes.com/athletic/650...
Jess Carter's statement is a reminder that Black footballers should not have to solve racism
nytimes.com
All of the Lionesses were involved in boys’ football en route to the top Mixed football has always been politicised in England, reflecting ideas around femininity and ability It’s now seen as best practice & is more accessible: on its history and changing landscape www.nytimes.com/athletic/650...
Special report: Girls, boys, and the thorny issue of mixed junior teams
Attitudes are changing around the rights and wrongs of girls playing with and against boys in age-group football
nytimes.com
For #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek , I wrote a very personal piece about depression, anxiety, loneliness and how the community I’ve found following #bcafc this year, regardless of the results, has helped football become a place of healing www.nytimes.com/athletic/635...
'Football became a site of healing' – How Bradford City helped me feel joy again
nytimes.com
18 years today since Jacqui Oatley was the first female commentator on Match of the Day. Oatley on her memories of that “isolating” time, and how it led to the founding of Women in Football and a lifelong mission to help more women enter the industry www.nytimes.com/athletic/629...
Jacqui Oatley made Match of the Day history but the experience was ‘isolating’
The broadcaster recalls the stomach-drop moment when she realised that she had, in fact, become the story
nytimes.com
If you were in Broadway at lunchtime today you’d have seen the #bantamoftheopera #bcafc #bantams choir’s first performance ❤️💛 singing Habanera to unsuspecting members of the public. You can see the videos on BBC Yorkshire socials
In the past few weeks, Arsenal and Manchester City Women have launched huge commercial campaigns around periods and menstrual care The brains behind both campaigns on how and why they did it - including how Arsenal players created the adverts with them www.nytimes.com/athletic/621...
In the past few weeks, Arsenal and Manchester City Women have launched huge commercial campaigns around periods and menstrual care The brains behind both campaigns on how and why they did it - including how Arsenal players created the adverts with them www.nytimes.com/athletic/621...
Once a taboo, periods are the new tool for growing women's football
nytimes.com
How do you scout players in the lower reaches of women’s football, where data and clips are scarce? With LinkedIn, volunteers and goodwill Meet the team building a scouting network for the lower reaches of women’s football - with help from 1/5 of Dragon’s Den www.nytimes.com/athletic/608...
LinkedIn, volunteers, and reliant on goodwill. Scouting in women's football's lower leagues remains embryonic
nytimes.com
How do you scout players in the lower reaches of women’s football, where data and clips are scarce? With LinkedIn, volunteers and goodwill Meet the team building a scouting network for the lower reaches of women’s football - with help from 1/5 of Dragon’s Den www.nytimes.com/athletic/608...
LinkedIn, volunteers and goodwill – beyond elite, scouting in women’s football remains embryonic
The WSL has welcomed its first $1million transfer, but the women’s game remains embryonic elsewhere.
nytimes.com
