Thursday Roundup: Brazilian national team slips into crisis with three prominent retirements

Brazil’s national team has slipped into a state of crisis following the sudden retirements of Cristiane, Francielle, and Rosana. The sudden retirements appear to stem from a combination of dissatisfaction over treatment from the Brazil Football Confederation and the recent sacking of Emily Lima.

Cristiane, 32 and a veteran of WPS, was the first to announce and was quickly followed by the other two who have also spent time playing club soccer in the U.S.

Boa tarde pessoal! Foram 18 anos representando a seleção brasileira com muito orgulho e amor! Hoje, assim como a Cristiane e a Franciele, torno público o desejo de não defender mais as cores da selecao brasileira. Diante das circunstâncias e adversidades dos últimos acontecimentos, sinto que as atletas não têm voz, e querer expor um ponto de vista, mexe com a vaidade e ego de muitos. Muito se pede para que as atletas se manifestem e reivindiquem. E sim, acho que deveríamos fazer isso, mesmo depois de uma tentativa fracassada como no pedido de permanência da comissão da Emily. Mas em contrapartida, entendo que muitas meninas ali, junto com os seus familiares têm um sonho. E protestando algo, têm medo que esse sonho seja abortando abruptamente, por não saberem a força que teriam juntas. Sempre me posicionei, por vezes, somente internamente, outras em público. Me posicionava, porque sempre pensava no que eu poderia ganhar e não perder. Sim. Sofri retaliação, e o sonho ficou no modo abstrato. Mas deixei de ser conivente com o "errado"! E é por isso, que estou abdicando mais uma vez de um sonho. Não temos força e nem voz. E isso, um dia cansa! Fica aqui o meu desejo para que pessoas que amam e tratam a modalidade com carinho e respeito, ocupem cargos de expressão dentro do futebol feminino brasileiro, e que as atletas ganhem corpo e voz, na briga incessante pela modalidade. Um grande abraço a todos!!!

A post shared by Rosana Augusto (@rosanaugusto) on Sep 28, 2017 at 9:02am PDT

Brazil are just the latest women’s side to challenge its federation for more fair and equitable treatment. The highest profile battle was fought by the United States who played through their disagreements and finally settled on a new deal earlier this year. Most recently, the fate of Denmark’s trip to Hungary for a World Cup qualifier hung in the balance until the eve of the match amid demands for better pay and overall treatment. Scotland staged a protest before the EUROs before an agreement was reached with their federation. New Zealand captain Abby Erceg stepped away from the team for similar reasons and has not yet returned.

Brazil, with former coach Vadao back at the helm, are scheduled to be in China next month for a friendly tournament that also includes Mexico and North Korea. Marta, the face of the Brazilian team since the early 2000s, has yet to comment on the issue.

Mo Marley to be named interim England manager

Under19s boss Mo Marley set to be named as interim manager of England Women tomorrow.

Expected to be in change for next 3 matches. pic.twitter.com/0vGtAjlbSG

— Jo Currie (@JoCurrie) September 28, 2017

BBC Sport’s Jo Currie reports that U-19 coach Mo Marley is expected to be named interim England coach on Friday.

Marley made 41 appearances for England from 1995 to 2001. She was able to score 1 goal. Marley later coached Everton and has been in charge of the U-19 side since 2001.

England are huge favorites to win Group 1 in UEFA qualifying to advance to the World Cup, especially after their 6-0 demolition of Russia in the opening match. Mark Sampson was fired after the match after the FA uncovered new details of allegations made against the coach when was in charge at Bristol prior to taking the England job.

The next qualifiers are home to Bosnia and Herzegovina and then Kazakhstan, both in November. Marley is expected to be on the job at least through the end of 2017.

Yeovil Town release statement of WSL restructure

Newly promoted Yeovil Town released a lengthy statement on Thursday regarding the club’s future a day after the FA announced an ambitious restructuring of women’s club soccer in England.

“We have the structure, facilities and ambition to become a full-time professional club given time, but we currently do not have the financial support to do this. We do not have the budget to allow our players and coaches to become full-time athletes, unless further investment comes our way soon,” the statement said in part.

The restructure plan calls for the top tier to grow from 10 to 14 teams in time for the 2018-2019 season. Clubs have until November 10 to apply for either Tier 1 or Tier 2 status. Tier 1 clubs will be expected to operate as fully professional sides with stricter guidelines ahead by 2021-2022.

Yeovil Town was FSL2 in 2016 to win promotion to FAWSL. They had the benefit of playing the Spring Series which helped English women’s soccer transition back to the fall-to-spring calendar. In nine matches the club earned just one draw and was outscored 26-6. In this season’s opener, Yeovil Town lost 4-0 at home to Manchester City.