Upfront - A Women's Football Podcast

This Sunday is a first for Tottenham Hotspur: it will be their first EVER Women’s FA Cup final. And it’s been quite the journey over the past 20 years. One woman who knows that better than anyone is former Spurs player and captain – now academy coordinator – Jenna Schillaci. She’s also one of Chloe’s former teammates! They discuss how far the club has come since their playing days and why this sea...

Back in March, Chloe and Rachel came together with over 50 young women and dozens of coaches for a very special event with the Premier League at the National Football Museum in Manchester. Their aim? To discuss gender equality, explore opportunities for women within the football industry, and inspire these young girls.   The event was all organised by Premier League Changemakers, a progr...

WHAT a week in the WSL! Clo and Rach try to make sense of it all after three minutes and two Stina Blackstenius shots sent the WSL trophy back towards west London on Sunday. Chloe reckons it’s somewhere in St Albans now… They discuss Chelsea’s sensational collapse at Liverpool, before some ol’ Emma Hayes mind games brought them back from the brink. Plus, should Steph Houghton have got minutes for...

Bristol City’s relegation was confirmed last Sunday after defeat to Manchester City. Today, Lauren Smith joins Rachel on the pod to reflect on relegation and their WSL journey this season. Lauren reveals what it’s really like to fight at the bottom of the table in the WSL, the importance of getting the backing of the board at Bristol, and her continuing ambition to promote young talent – even with...

Chelsea and Emma Hayes’ Champions League run is over! Barcelona broke yet more hearts in front of a sold out Stamford Bridge – and Hayes was left fuming with the referee. Now the dust has settled, Clo and Rach look back on the game and whether there were other reasons behind Chelsea’s collapse. Looking at you, Maya Ramirez. Elsewhere, we react to Lauren Hemp’s contract extension at Man City and El...

Barcelona in mid-April. Stephanie Frappart in the middle. Emma Hayes with her formal blue coat on. It can only mean one thing: an ICONIC Champions League semi-final! Chloe and Rachel look back on a historic victory for Chelsea at the Estadi Olímpic and how they “played dirty” to do it! Also, the Ann Katrin Berger Era comes to an end, Rachel explains why she’s worried about Man City in the last str...

Today, we’re joined by the goalkeeper who has made the most saves in the WSL this season: it’s Brighton No.1, Sophie Baggaley! Rachel sat down with her ahead of Brighton’s clash with Everton at the Amex on Friday night. Sophie reflects on her first season at Brighton: from her midnight arrival on transfer deadline day, to Melissa Phillips’ shock exit just six months later. She also reveals which B...

We’re only just getting our breath back from two stunning FA Cup semi-finals! And Chloe has finally stopped communicating exclusively with all-caps in the Upfront WhatsApp group, phew. Clo and Rach give their reactions to Man United’s shock defeat of Chelsea to throw another spanner in the engine of Emma Hayes’ open top farewell bus. How did they do it? There’s also plenty of love for Mary Earps a...

Bay FC are the new kids on the block in the NWSL – and before a ball had even been kicked, they had made huge moves in the game. From Jen Beattie, to Asisat Oshoala, to Rachel Kundananji for a world record transfer fee, they have built an eye-catching squad. The challenge now is making it all fit together. The woman behind all that is Lucy Rushton. Former General Manager at DC United and Head of T...

We’re here a day early because we need to answer some important questions. Should people be worrying about England after their underwhelming draw against Sweden? Or do fans need to accept that England just struggled against strong opposition? Elsewhere, we chat about Wales and their longstanding legends as they smashed Croatia - but Scotland and Northern Ireland both turned in flat performances. W...

Ever wondered how England develop their next crop of stars? We’ve got all the answers for you on today’s pod! Rachel sat down with the brilliant Emma Coates, head coach of England’s U23s. Emma explains how she works with Sarina Wiegman to identify new call-ups, the importance of the U23s as a bridge to the senior side, and how England’s talent pool keeps growing. This is a fascinating chat that yo...

Everyone has gone full-blown Poirot after the Conti Cup final, so Chloe and Rachel get their monocles out and get to the bottom of all the drama between Emma Hayes and Jonas Eidevall! Of course, we put the game under the Upfront magnifying glass too, and react to an incredible moment for Stina Blackstenius – especially after one of her closest teammates, Frida Maanum, collapsed during the game. El...

Back in February, West Ham Women’s Vice President and Managing Director of Wow Hydrate Queenie Porter said that she thinks women’s football will one day become bigger commercially than the men’s game. Today, Chloe and Rachel sit down with her to explore a bit more about why she thinks that. Queenie also gives fascinating insight into the importance of separating men’s and women’s football when it...

We look back over a tasty Women’s Football Weekend that saw Man City’s title charge rumble on, painting Manchester blue in the process. Has Jess Park given #SazzyWiegs something to think about? Elsewhere, we dive into some Arsenal conspiracy theories after their kick-off was embarrassingly delayed once again, the Merseyside derby left us with more questions than answers and we look ahead to the Co...

Ahead of one of the biggest games of the season, Rachel sat down with Man City boss Gareth Taylor for a chat about how they’ve found themselves at the centre of a cracking WSL title race! Gareth also talks about separating the demands of the job from his family life, which other managers he leans on for support and how his side have developed a resilient edge. Plus, we get a unique insight into ho...

Chelsea worked their socks off on Friday night – but the less said about socks the better… Chloe and Rach look back on a huge win for Chelsea in the title race and Sjoeke Nüsken’s stunning transformation into a number nine! Plus, is Manuela Zinsberger’s time at Arsenal coming to an end?  We also discuss Emma Hayes’ comments on relationships between players and the press conferences across the...

Join us for today’s cup chaos special, as we recap all the results from across the weekend. Man City were knocked out of both cup competitions in the space of a few days - did they re-sign Gareth Taylor too prematurely? Elsewhere, we saw smaller teams continue to close the gap, another lethal performance from Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius, and some odd comments from Man Utd boss Marc Skinner. We al...

Arsenal overcame Spurs in the North London derby, while Manchester City and Chelsea kept up their side of the bargain. So where’s the trophy going?! Cue the Benny Hill theme. Chloe and Rachel are back at Upfront HQ to talk about all that and much more. Plus, we collectively scream “JUST BOOT IT WEST HAM!” and there’s an extraordinary situation in the Gold Cup where Costa Rica went through by drawi...

With just over a week to go until International Women’s Day, we wanted to welcome a truly inspirational woman in football onto the podcast. Khalida Popal is the former captain of the Afghan women’s national team. In fact, if it wasn’t for her, the team would never have been formed back in 2007. And if it wasn’t for her, the current squad would never have escaped Kabul when the Taliban regained pow...

The girls are apart this week with Rach in Marbella and Chloe… not in Marbella, sadly. So there is lots to catch up on from the international break!  They discuss Grace Clinton’s dazzling England debut on Friday and - with more members of the U23 squad being brought into Sarina Wingman’s plans - identify the rising stars you should be looking out for on the road to Euro 2025. Plus, Spain have...

We’d been itching for last weekend for a while – and it didn’t disappoint! Unless you were Chloe Morgan in a box at the Emirates, that is. Chloe and Rachel discuss how Man City did a job away at Chelsea for the first time in 8 years and how exactly Man United put in such a calamitously bad first half performance at the Emirates. Also, is Sonia Bompastor a good fit for the hotseat at Stamford Bridg...

Rachel’s back with a bonus episode, where she’s joined by WSL assistant referee, Georgia Ball! As an assistant referee in the WSL and a Championship referee, Georgia is part of the next generation of women at the forefront of the changing landscape across the women’s game. She chats to us about how officiating has changed as the game grows, dealing with the pressures and scrutiny that comes with t...

Two months ago, Khiara Keating left Meadow Park in tears. On Sunday, she left it as Manchester City’s hero!  Chloe and Rachel look back on a huge victory for Man City and how Keating has slowly become one of the WSL’s best.  Plus, does Katie McCabe take it too far? And with the release of the latest England squad… why isn’t Sarina Wiegman picking Nikita Parris?! All that and much more on...

Today, we are joined by English football royalty. Chloe sits down with former England and Arsenal player Marieanne Spacey-Cale, who has guided Southampton from the fifth tier right to the very brink of the WSL.  Ahead of their FA Cup showdown with Man United, they discuss the club’s journey so far – one that has lots of similarities with their opponent’s, in fact – and the ever-increasing pre...

Leah Williamson was back and it was all looking so promising for Arsenal. But then… enter West Ham! Chloe and Rachel look back on a huge defeat that leaves Arsenal’s title hopes seriously damaged – but was it really that big a surprise? Rachel explains why West Ham had this in their locker. We also discuss Brighton’s shock decision to sack Melissa Phillips and the chaos that ensued. Plus, Crystal...