Female footballers around the world were fighting many battles for recognition and facing significant resistance from those inside and outside the game, epitomised by the lack of support from the sport’s own world governing body.

At the start of the 1970s, the Football Association in England had ended a five-decade ban on women’s football.

The first unofficial Women’s World Cup was held in 1970 in Italy and a year later another unofficial global tournament was held in Mexico, attracting crowds of more than 100,000, but neither of those competitions was supported by Fifa.

Wille, who was herself an amateur footballer, had joined the NFF in 1976 – the same year it had given its approval to women’s football in the country – and she was not prepared to accept the status quo.

“I said ‘we must have a World Championship for women and we have to be a participant in the Olympic Games’,” she explained.

Her colleagues at the NFF decided she should go to Fifa’s congress which was being held that year in Mexico City – incidentally the same city that hosted the unofficial 1971 global tournament – and make a speech about women’s football.

“They thought it would mean more if a woman did it and not a man,” Wille said. She did not hesitate.

But come the morning of the speech, the nerves had set in.

“When I came to the place where it would happen, there were only men, apart from female translators,” she said.

To make a speech, you had to raise a card and wait to be selected. No woman had ever spoken at a Fifa congress before.

Wille, standing at 4ft 10in tall, was called to the stage, but it got off to an inauspicious start when she was too short to be able to reach the microphone.

“So someone had to come and help me with it, and then I started to talk.”

Payton Talbott takes a big step up in his next fight as he seeks to keep his perfect record intact.

The blue-chip bantamweight prospect faces 23-fight veteran Raoni Barcelos at UFC’s first pay-per-view show of 2025 on Jan. 18, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting.

UFC 311 is rumored to take place in Los Angeles, but an official location is yet to be announced.

Talbott, 9-0 in just three years as a professional fighter, has made a major impact so far in the 135-pound division with a trio of UFC wins, capped off by back-to-back bonus-winning stoppages of Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri in 2024. Those fights took Talbott a combined 40 seconds to finish.

Barcelos (18-5) tapped Cristian Quinonez in his most recent appearance this past February to rebound from defeats to Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips. The former RFA champion holds a UFC record of 7-4, with three finishes to his credit.

UFC 311 so far features four Brazilian talents, with Jailton Almeida battling Serghei Spivac at heavyweight, top-ranked light heavyweight Johnny Walker facing Bogdan Guskov, and Karol Rosa taking on rising bantamweight Ailin Perez.

Mike Heck contributed to this report.

Blackpool boss Steve Bruce said he has been “touched” by the tributes he has received following the death of his baby grandson.

Four-month-old Madison, the child of Bruce’s son-in-law and former Leeds United, Fulham and Millwall striker Matt Smith, died earlier in October.

Bruce has spent time away from football following his grandson’s passing but will return to the dugout for Saturday’s FA Cup first-round fixture at Gillingham.

“I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of all the family to thank everyone for the tributes and messages from inside and outside the footballing world. It has touched us all,” he said in a statement, external.

“I’d also like to thank [sporting director] David [Downes], [chief executive officer] Julian [Winter], and the owner Simon [Sadler] for their understanding and support.

“I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday at Gillingham, and back at Bloomfield Road.”

AN INTERNATIONAL tennis tournament had to be cancelled after players fell victim to ‘virtual’ kidnapping.

The Mexican Tennis Federation were due to stage a Juniors 30 event in Guanajuato in the centre of the country.

3

However, they were forced to pull the plug on the tournament after the shocking fraud.

According to reports, ten young stars and one coach were scammed out of money in the shocking scheme.

The Secretary of Security and Peace for the state of Guanajuato said that an adult, six girls, and four boys, all members of a tennis team, were found in a hotel in Irapuato.

In this incident, it is understood the victims were ordered to go to the specific location and turn off their mobile phones.

The players and coach caught up in the ordeal were all from the neighbouring state of Queretaro and have all returned to their homes.

The motive behind targeting the tennis stars for the attempted extortion remains unclear.

Virtual kidnapping is where criminals trick victims into believing a family member has been abducted.

They then threaten violence or even death until a ransom fee is paid.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

That is despite no actual abduction taking place as they con their targets.

Some virtual kidnappers operate from inside prisons.

The Junior 30 events are the lowest-ranked tournaments within the ITF’s youth calendar.

The virtual kidnapping comes just weeks after a tennis venue in Mexico was damaged during September’s Hurricane John.

Winds up to 120mph ripped through the Arena GNP Seguros in Acapulco, which hosts the ATP 500 event.

The tennis complex only opened in 2022 but was ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Otis 12 months ago.

3

3

Advertisement

Tennis stars following in parents’ footsteps

TALK about pressure…

These rising stars are all making their way in tennis.

But they have got something in common – they’ve got a famous parent who also made their name in the sport.

So who are the players hoping to follow in the footsteps of their tennis mums and dads?

Advertisement

Belal Muhammad says injury has ruled him out of his welterweight title defence against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on 7 December.

American Muhammad wrote on X, external he will be sidelined for at least six weeks, meaning he will miss the event in Las Vegas, after suffering a bone infection in his foot.

The 36-year-old was set to make the first defence of his belt after beating Britain’s Leon Edwards in Manchester in July.

“Caught a bone infection in my foot. Had to put a Picc line (peripherally inserted central catheter) in my arm for IV antibiotics the next six weeks with no physical activity,” said Muhammad.

“Allah’s plan is the best plan. I’m sorry to everyone that were coming to see me, I’ll be back soon.”

The UFC are yet to confirm Muhammad’s withdrawal but it leaves the card in need of a new main event.

It is unclear if Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov will remain on the card.

The 30-year-old has won the opening 18 fights of his career and was set to challenge for a UFC title for the first time.

Possible options for the UFC include setting up an interim welterweight title fight between Rakhmonov and another opponent, replacing the bout entirely with a title fight from another weight class, or promoting the co-main to the top of the card.

Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja is set to defend his flyweight title against Japan’s Kai Asakura in the co-main.

FC NOAH is an Armenian team that has recently made waves in European football.

Here’s everything you need to know about the aspirational club, who are taking on Chelsea in the Europa Conference League.

4

4

Advertisement

4

Who Are FC Noah?

Founded in 2017 as FC Artsakh, the team was originally based in Stepanakert, Artsakh, Armenia.

The club relocated to Armavir and was rebranded as FC Noah in 2019, drawing inspiration from biblical figure Noah.

Its name references the story of Noah’s Ark, which is said to have come to rest on the Mountains of Ararat, traditionally identified with Mount Ararat in Armenia.

Rise to prominence

The team’s rise to prominence has been meteoric — they finished second in the Armenian First League in their inaugural 2017-18 season, earning promotion to the Armenian Premier League.

Despite a disappointing 8th-place finish in their first top-flight season, the club’s fortunes changed dramatically following a change of ownership and the rebranding in 2019.

Noah’s first major trophy came in the 2019-20 season, when they won the Armenian Cup, defeating Ararat-Armenia on penalties.

This marked the beginning of their European journey, as it meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League for the first time.

They were knocked out in the first qualifying round in the 2021-22 season, losing 5-1 on aggregate to Finish club Kuopion Palloseura.

The side finished second in the Armenian Premier League in 2023-24, meaning they qualified for Europe’s third-tier tournament once again.

Making history

The 2024-25 season has been a landmark year for FC Noah.

They made history by becoming the first club in history to enter the Conference League qualifiers in the first round and successfully navigate all four rounds.

Their impressive run included victories over Shkëndija, Sliema Wanderers and Greek powerhouse AEK Athens, before a nail-biting 4-3 aggregate win against Ružomberok in the play-off round.

They continued their hot streak run into match-day one of the competition on October 3, 2024, beating Czech First League outfit FK Mladá Boleslav 2-0 at Armavir City Stadium, their home ground.

Key players

Currently managed by Rui Mota, Noah boasts a diverse squad filled with both local talent and players from around the world.

Key players include Gonçalo Gregório from Portugal and Brazilian Matheus Aiás in attack.

4

In midfield there’s Gustavo Sangaré from Burkina Faso and local lad Gor Manvelyan.

The side boasts experienced defenders in Hovhannes Hambardzumyan from Armenia, as well as the Icelandic left-back Guðmundur Þórarinsson.

Stadium

The team’s home ground has changed several times since their inception.

After initially playing at various stadiums in Yerevan, including the Mika Stadium and Alashkert Stadium, FC Noah moved their home games to the Armavir City Stadium in February 2022.

Upcoming Chelsea fixture

FC Noah’s European adventure continues with a highly anticipated match against English giants Chelsea in the UEFA Conference League on November 7, 2024.

This fixture represents a David vs Goliath encounter, pitting the Armenian underdogs against one of Europe’s most successful clubs of the past two decades.

The match against Chelsea will undoubtedly be the biggest in the club’s short history.

Chelsea’s Europa Conference League matches

Here are the Blues’ Europa Conference League fixtures in 2024:

Thursday, October 3
Chelsea vs Gent
Kick-off: 8pm

Thursday, October 24
Panathinaikos vs Chelsea
Kick-off: 5.45pm

Thursday, November 7
Chelsea vs FC Noah
Kick-off: 8pm

Advertisement

Thursday, November 28
Heidenheim vs Chelsea
Kick-off: 5.45pm

Thursday, December 12
FC Astana vs Chelsea
Kick-off: 3.30pm

Thursday, December 19
Chelsea vs Shamrock Rovers
Kick-off: 8pm.