The Rise of Women's Football

Women’s football is not charity — it’s a business, a startup, and a long-term investment. In this episode of The Rise of Women’s Football Podcast, host Alex Ibaceta sits down with Andreea Koenig, Vice-President of the Ligue Féminine de Football Professionnel (LFFP), to unpack what it really takes to build a sustainable women’s professional league. From growing up in Romania to building a career in...

In this episode, we talk with Francesca Sullivan, Global Head of Women’s Football Player Management & Strategy at Adidas. She shares her journey from professional player to one of the most influential leaders in the women’s game. We discuss:• The rapid growth of women’s football• Adidas’ global strategy & player partnerships• Insights from the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025• The launch of the F50...

Joe Montemurro on Coaching Arsenal, Juventus & The MatildasA tactical and leadership dive with one of the most influential managers in women’s football. Join us for 20 minutes with Joe Montemurro, current head coach of the Australian Women’s National Team and former manager of Arsenal Women, Juventus Women, and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin — a coach recognized globally for tactical innovation, c...

Diana Matheson is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist who was a member of Canada’s Women’s National Soccer Team from 2003-2021. During her career Diana represented Canada over 200 times, played in four FIFA World Cups and three Olympic Games, and earned a bronze medal in both London 2012 and Rio 2016. Diana is perhaps best known during her soccer career for scoring the game-winning goal in the bron...

Jo Tongue is the CEO of Tongue Tied Management, with nearly 20 years of experience across sport, media, and commercial arenas — including roles at BBC, Somethin’ Else, and editing the flagship football show 606. She sits on the board of Women in Football and is a trustee for the Jason Roberts and Michael Carrick Foundations, supporting social change through sport. Remmie Williams is a FIFA-license...

Carly Telford is a retired English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born on July 7, 1987, in County Durham, England, she had a distinguished 20-year career in women's football. She began her professional journey at Sunderland in 2002, before moving to Leeds Carnegie in 2007. She joined Chelsea in 2010, where she made 23 appearances. A notable moment during her time at Chelsea was captaining...

Flo Lloyd-Hughes is an experienced broadcaster, writer, journalist and consultant who works across women's football. She's the Founder of The Cutback, a new women's football media platform dedicated to analysis.

Kelly Simmons pushed for more than three decades the development of the women’s and girls’ and grassroots game in England. During her career at the FA which began in December 1991, she held a variety of development roles in both the men’s and women’s game, has led on the creation and delivery of some of the most successful national game strategies and built some of the strongest teams. Now she's w...

Professional Footballer of West Ham Utd and Austria Nationalteam, Verena Hanshaw, is talking to us about the start of her professional football career and how she is building her own brand VOURO.

Beatriz grew up playing soccer. From age twelve she played for local club Oviedo Moderno in Asturias. From 2009 until 2019, Beatriz served as Club President at Oviedo Moderno, before going on to become the first woman to hold the position of General Director of Sports for Asturias.  Despite their chaotic start, Beatriz and her team have built out one of the strongest leagues in the world. Liga F b...

Bianca Rech, who's been known to all as "Jay" since her playing days, returned to Bayern in September 2016. She'd previously worked as team manager at 1. FC Köln, where the midfielder ended her playing career. After three years in team management at the Munich club, the sports economics graduate was promoted to the position of sporting director in 2019. She was appointed head of section on 1 April...

Mark Parsons is known as the former head coach of Portland Thorns FC and Netherlands national team. We're talking to him about his move to the US at the age of 24 to chase his dream of being a professional coach and what it's like to guide the legendary Portland Thorns.

Our todays guest is Laura Freigang - Professional Football Player for Eintracht Frankfurt and Germany Nationalteam, Entrepreneur and Fan Favorite. Laura is talking to us about her personality, the challenges she had to face with her first photo book publication and where she sees women's football in the future. Website: www.theriseofwomensfootball.com Instagram: @theriseofwomensfootball LinkedIn:...

Our first guest is Dr. Holger Blask, Chairman of the Management Board at DFB. We are talking about his personal career path, his views on women's fooball development in general, DFB's strategy with the Frauen-Bundesliga and its application as host of the EURO 2029.