by Alyce Collett (31/12/24)
Here we are at the end of another calendar year of women’s football, full of fun and chaos once again.
To celebrate, let’s look back on the last 12 months, and see who some of the winners of the year were, who were some of the losers, and who could fit into either category depending on what time of the year it was.
Winners
USA
It has been a big 12 to 18 months for the USWNT.
After an exit from last year’s World Cup which was exceptionally early by American standards, a lot of questions were raised about where the team was and whether its era of domination had come to an end.
Even earlier this year when they lost to Mexico in the Group Stage of the W Gold Cup, people were wondering if this invincible team had finally become beatable.
But, 10 months later and the US National Team of old is back. Re-energised under new head coach Emma Hayes, with the blooding of younger players like Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson and the growth in slightly more experienced heads like Mal Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, the USWNT are looking like the dominating side of old again.
Emma Hayes
Speaking of Hayes, that woman just cannot stop winning.
After another successful domestic campaign in England with Chelsea, she took on a new challenge as manager of the US National team, re-energised the team and gave the fans hope again. She did have the unenviable task of managing the transition between the greats of previous World Cup wins retiring and looking ahead to the future and the youth, but she did so with ease and so smoothly.
Chelsea
Hayes’ old side, Chelsea proved that change is not always a bad thing.
After another strong season in 2023/24, Chelsea have continued to be the dominant force in English women’s football into the 2024/25 season despite losing some massive names in the offseason. It will perhaps require a massive amount of bad luck to stop this train rolling towards yet another Women’s Super League title.
Celtic
It was a big year for the Scottish giants, who after finishing runners-up of the Scottish Women’s Premier League four times finally broke through to win their first title earlier this year.
It did not stop there for the Ghirls in Green, who later in the year also qualified for their first ever UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage, something which no other Scottish side has ever managed to achieve before. Although the results then did not go to plan and they finished last in their group, Celtic did give some sides quite the scare and have set a strong platform to build off.
However, all this success may come at a cost as the team are finding it a challenge to balance Champions League football with defending their league title. They currently sit fifth on the table, three games behind ladder leaders Glasgow City and have a real battle on their hands to try and qualify for next year’s Champions League.
Cymru National Team
It was a history-making year for Cymru.
Despite beginning the year with having been relegated from League A to League B in UEFA’s Nations League, they still overcame expectations and not only made it to the playoffs, but qualified for their first ever major tournament after beating the Republic of Ireland to qualify for next year’s European Championships.
Orlando Pride
It was a bit of a momentous year for the Orlando Pride too, who won their first ever NWSL title in 2024.
It has not always been smooth sailing for the Florida side, but after only dropping a game twice all regular season, the Pride stormed their way through the playoffs and beat Washington Spirit on the final day to take the title.
Barbra Banda
Speaking of the Pride, their key striker also had a big year.
Although only in her first year in the competition, she took it by storm and rose to become one of the most feared strikers in the competition and played a huge part in getting Orlando to its first title.
Temwa Chawinga
Speaking of new NWSL strikers, the 2024 Golden Boot winner also had a huge year in the competition. Also a new face to the competition in 2024, much like Banda she also rose from relative obscurity to take the competition by storm and made Kansas City a really feared opposition.
Renee Slegers
It’s been a big two months, not even 12, for Arsenal interim manager Renee Slegers.
Previously an assistant at the club under predecessor Jonas Eidevall, she was propelled into the top job after his departure and has brought new life into the side. She has taken the team from one that started the season very poorly and was a bit of a mess, to one that is winning games – about a dozen or so on the trot across all competitions at the moment – and is a title contender again. The players also look much happier out on the park now, something which plays a huge part in the success of a team.
Julie-Ann Russell
Irish striker Julie-Ann Russell’s story is the perfect one of never giving up on a dream, and something can never end until you make it do so.
Russell previously had 60 caps for the national team, but then did not pull on the green shirt for four years, seemingly having fallen out of favour with then-manager Vera Pauw.
But, she was brought back into the squad this year and made a huge impact straight away. Russell provided a noticeable speed boost and excitement to the Irish attack that was desperately needed, and by the end of the year, the team could not start a game without her.
She also had a memorable year domestically, helping club side Galway United finish higher in 2024 than they did the previous year, and personally, Russell went on to win the Premier Division Player of the Year Award and make the Premier Division Team of the Year.
Losers
Republic of Ireland
While Russell might have had a very positive year, the same cannot be said for the Irish national team as a whole.
After a tough Nations League campaign, everything was still looking good for the Girls in Green to continue their momentum and qualify for a second major tournament in a row. However, that did not happen as they lost to Cymru at the very final stage of qualification.
With a return to League B on the horizon in 2025 and two much-loved members of the coaching team Eileen Gleeson and Colin Healy being given their marching orders, things are at a bit of a crossroads at the moment. Although they are raising some eyebrows of concern at present, the FAI needs to get some seriously important decisions right in the next few months or all that momentum that the team had started to build since qualifying for the 2023 World Cup will be completely lost.
Scotland
Scotland are at a major crossroads after failing to qualify for another major competition, despite still having so many of their ‘golden generation’ of players regularly representing them.
They have now fired head coach Pedro Martinez Losa, but time will tell if the new chief can turn things around again.
Bev Priestman
It was a spectacular fall from grace in 2024 for Bev Priestman.
After being caught up in a spying scandal at the Olympics, things went south from there and it ultimately resulted in her being fired as head coach of the Canada national team.
It was a sad way to end her time in charge, only three years after taking the team all the way to gold at the previous Olympics.
Jonas Eidevall
In stark contrast to his successor, 2024 is a year now former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall would probably rather forget.
From the way he handled Vivianne Miedema leaving at the end of the 2023/24 season to the way the 2024/25 campaign started for him and the Gunners, not a lot went to plan for the Swede.
However, if the rumours are true his coaching days may be back soon, with him being strongly linked to the vacant job at San Diego Wave, so time will tell what kind of year 2025 will be for him.
San Diego Wave
Speaking of the Wave, it was far from smooth sailing for them too.
Things went far from to plan on field, and off field things were all over the place. They sacked coach Casey Stoney for reasons yet to fully be understood, and the mess with Jill Ellis and Landon Donovan that followed was embarrassing to watch.
Let’s see if 2025 is smoother sailing for one of the NWSL’s newer sides.
Depends on the point in the year
Sydney FC
The Sky Blues really have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in 2024.
Earlier in the year, they won the 2023/24 A League Women’s title and were the Queens of Australian domestic football.
Now, as the year comes to a close they are at the foot of the 2024/25 table with only one win to their name. Yes, they did lose some key players in the offseason – Cortnee Vine being the most well known of them – but the Sydney FC of December 2024 is only a shell of the Sydney FC of 12 months prior.
Matildas
It has been a bit of an up-and-down year for Australia’s newest national treasure. Coming off the highs of a home World Cup into an Olympic year, hope was high about how far the team would go.
However, after a disastrous Olympic campaign and head coach Tony Gustavsson departing, things were looking a bit grim.
But, a few months down the line things are looking positive again.
A number of younger players rose to prominence in the final international window of the year, and although there is still mystery surrounding who the permanent head coach will be, the future is looking much brighter than it did mid year.
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