The Women’s Super League (WSL) season is set to commence this evening, with Suzanne Wrack, the Guardian’s expert on women’s football, available to answer your questions today at 1 PM BST / 8 AM ET. Feel free to inquire about anything, from her experiences as a sports journalist to her aspirations for the upcoming season and the broader future of women’s sports.
Meanwhile, the first press conferences of the day for the Premier League are concluding.
In a collaborative effort, the chief executives from the Football Association, Rugby Football Union, and England and Wales Cricket Board have partnered with major broadcasters and YouTube to send a letter to the chancellor. They are advocating for tax credits for production companies to enhance the television coverage of women’s sports.
This letter, which has the endorsement of 25 leaders from prominent sports organizations and broadcasters, including Sky Sports and ITV, calls on the government to extend the existing audio-visual expenditure credit scheme—which currently offers tax relief for independent films and children’s programming—to include women’s sports production.
The letter was dispatched to John Healey on Friday, coinciding with the kickoff of the WSL season. Notably, Nikki Doucet, the WSL’s chief executive, is among the signatories, alongside executives from British Cycling, golf, and Formula One.
Although the WSL ranks as the second wealthiest league in women’s sports, following the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States, it encounters difficulties in attracting broadcasters in a competitive market.
In transfer news, Richarlison may have played his final match for Tottenham as he was omitted from the club’s 25-man Premier League squad list announced on Thursday.
Spurs’ manager, Roberto De Zerbi, after a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle, commented that Richarlison has “expressed a desire to leave” multiple times and might depart the London club before the summer transfer window closes.
The Brazilian forward made headlines on Monday with a provocative social media post stating, “never again will anyone decide my future for me.”
Discussions regarding a potential move back to Premier League rivals Everton, where he played from 2018 until 2022, stalled prior to Tuesday’s transfer deadline in England. However, transfer windows in other countries remain open, with Trabzonspor reportedly interested in Richarlison ahead of today’s deadline in Turkey.
Currently, Richarlison is still with Tottenham, having voiced his frustrations on Instagram. The 29-year-old has found it challenging to leave a mark at the club since his transfer to north London four years ago.
Having previously been open about his mental health issues, Richarlison netted 12 goals during the 2025/26 season while Tottenham narrowly escaped relegation from the Premier League.
Despite investing over £350 million in the recent summer transfer window, Spurs currently sit at the bottom of the Premier League table following two defeats: a 3-0 loss to Brentford in their season opener and a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle.
In other news, the final preview of the WSL season focuses on West Ham, which has been released today.
As the WSL season begins tonight, the Guardian’s Suzanne Wrack will be available for a Q&A session at 1 PM BST / 8 AM ET. She invites questions ranging from her professional journey in sports journalism to her expectations for the new season and the future of women’s football.
On the eve of the WSL season, the London City Lionesses have secured their largest sponsorship deal to date. The club has partnered with Nike for a front-of-shirt sponsorship agreement, which their American owner, Michele Kang, claims is the largest in women’s football.
While it has been reported that the biggest current front-of-shirt deal for a women’s football team is an estimated $4 million per year contract with the upcoming NWSL franchise in Atlanta, Kang confirmed to BBC Sport that their deal surpasses this figure, stating, “I can absolutely confirm that this is the largest women-only front-of-shirt deal. It is higher than the Atlanta number.”
She further emphasized the significance of the partnership, noting that it exceeds some of the front-of-shirt deals in the men’s Premier League. “It’s huge,” she said, adding that Nike’s decision reflects a commitment to the future of women’s football.
In transfer activity, Liverpool has signed St. Etienne winger Djylian N’Guessan as part of their initiative to incorporate promising young talent into the team.
The 18-year-old, who debuted for St. Etienne at the age of 16, has entered into a pre-contract agreement that will make him a Liverpool player starting in January for a fee of €5 million, with St. Etienne retaining a sell-on clause. N’Guessan will initially spend the first half of the season on loan at Brest before Liverpool reassesses his situation in January. His signing follows Liverpool’s £30 million acquisition of goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans from Genk, along with other talents identified by the club’s global scouting team over the past year, including Armin Pecsi, Mor Talla Ndiaye, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, and Samuel Martinez.
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Now, on to a light-hearted note regarding transfers, as Barry Glendenning mentions in yesterday’s Football Daily that Jamie Vardy has a podcast titled “Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party.” Contrary to what the title suggests, the inaugural episode features Vardy and comedian Josh James listening to Mike Dean reminiscing about his experiences as a referee, a far more subdued affair than one might expect.
