This Time For Africa!

Welcome back, hey, la la la la la la la la laaaaaaa. I’m Sylvs, I’m old and I’m happy with the reference, thank you Whoopi Goldberg. But, for real, welcome to the next edition of our newsletter. Women’s football, soccer, and everything in between was on an international break starting on the 21st, so our focus will be on what happened for country last week. Don’t worry, plenty happened in the land of Shea Butter, so let’s jump right into the week that was.

We have merch!

Guess what Squad Members?! The last day to pre-order your Shea Butter FC gear is this Friday, November 1st, to ensure you have your fits ready for the NWSL Championship Weekend. Order by the 1st and we will guarantee delivery prior to the NWSL Championship Final. I’m told that our gear makes for great holiday gifts for those of you who get that out of the way early. Click the link for all your SBFC merch.

Match Recaps and Notable Goal Scorers

*_{All names listed in italics are players that scored, the number beside their name indicates the minute they scored their goal(s). (P) = goal scored was a penalty kick}

We had a cup championship and a lot of international soccer this past week. Get into all the Shea Butter bombs, booms, dunks and swag surfs from the week!

NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Final

Kansas City 2, Gotham FC 0 - Temwa Chawinga 24, 37

International Football

*_{These are goals from competitions featuring teams from CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and UEFA predominately. Results from CAF and AFC were not readily accessible and we do not want to report inaccurate information.}

Canada 1, Spain 1 - Marie-Yasmine Alidou 49

Colombia 1, Brazil 1 - Tarciane 75

France 3, Jamaica 0 - Wendie Renard 39, Sandy (Not Charli) Baltimore 48

United States 3, Iceland 1 - Alyssa Thompson 39, Jaedyn Shaw 85, Sophia Smith 88

United States 3, Iceland - Lynn Williams 72

Netherlands 15, Indonesia 0 - Nina Nijstad 63, 73

Sweden 4, Luxembourg 0 - Evelyn Ijeh 90+3

Portugal 4, Azerbaijan 1 - Diana Silva 89

Netherlands 2, Denmark 1 - Esmee Brugts 26

Portugal 4, Azerbaijan 0 - Diana Silva 15, 26

England 2, South Africa 1 - Thembi Kgatlana 55

Switzerland 2, France 1 - Odette Gago 34

Notable goals

Hey y’all, guess what, we had FOUR delegates score their first international goals this window! Marie-Yasmine Alidou for Canada, Odette Gago for France, Nina Nijstad for the Netherlands, and Alyssa Thompson for the United States all netted their first goals. Nijstad also scored a second goal this window. Temwa Chawinga got her brace in a final and won tournament MVP. Temwa will likely add league MVP to her trophy case this season. She is unstoppable no matter the competition.

Black In Action: Marie-Yasmine “Mimi” Alidou

Listen, to say it’s been a hell of a year for Soccer Canada and the Canada XNT would be an understatement. The federation has a money problem, meaning they don’t have much of it because of a horrendous deal they made a few years back. Their former men’s coach left for Toronto FC and they had to hire a new manager right before Copa America. The biggest scandal of all was when the XNT staff was found to have been using drones to record their opponents’ practices for years. This was discovered, by a New Zealand WNT player, at the Olympics prior to Match Day 1. Canada was docked 6 points in the tournament, but they still managed to get out of their group, only losing on penalties to eventual bronze medalists Germany. All of that to say, it’s been a journey for a roster that has remained relatively unchanged both before, and after, Coach Bev Priestman’s year long suspension. While Priestman is suspected of maintaining this system of spying, another mistake many Canadian fans will tell you she made was not calling up Marie-Yasmine “Mimi” Alidou more.

Alidou has been a prolific goal scorer in Portugal for Benfica, and at age 29, many feared her window had passed. However, she was called up for Canada’s match against Spain after Cloe Lacasse, another former Benfica player, was a scratch due to injury. As you can tell from the goal above, Alidou made sure to take her opportunity. The counter attacking goal is started from Canada’s pressure, and Evelyn Viens makes a run that Alidou follows up the middle. Viens is able to lay it off early enough that Alidou has enough time to find her window and set her hips. Alidou then calmly slots it to the right of the goal keeper, and Canada is up 1-0 on the reigning World Cup champions. Although this was Mimi’s first international goal and there is clearly joy from the players, Mimi and the fans, it does leave us all wondering: what could have happened sooner for Canada if she had gotten her shot? Luckily for this team Alidou can still play for several more years, and they will need her for every one of those years to continue competing with the best teams in the world. Welcome to international football Mimi, we hope you stay a while.

Anatomy of a Goal: Jaedyn Shaw

If I put Jaedyn Shaw in the smallest container at the Container Store, and put her in there with the ball at her feet, she’d dribble out of it. That’s how damn good she is in tight spaces. This goal is proof of that and is one of my favorite goals of 2024. But, before we talk about Shaw’s run and finish, this goal starts with Casey Krueger. There was a time in this country when the powers that be said Casey Krueger (nee Short) wasn’t on the national team because she could not go forward like our other fullbacks, despite being the best 1-v-1 defender in the country. The lie detector determined that was a lie. Look at the material and the spin move she uses to maintain possession! Kruger then proceeds to make a run and pick out Shaw, who takes it from there. Once Shaw receives the ball going towards goal, she sizes up Anasi (who had a rough outing), dribbles three times towards Anasi while cutting her hips and the ball left. Then, Shaw abruptly cuts her hips right, but uses the outside of her right foot instead of her left foot to move the ball away from the defender, whose momentum is going the wrong way. All that is left is for Shaw to beat the keeper. Shaw’s touch towards goal is a bit strong. The effort Shaw makes to not only put her toe on the ball first, but to also meg the keeper so Shaw can beat her while going to ground, demonstrates a combination of soccer IQ and ability that very few players possess. It’s a stunning goal that we’d expect from a veteran of a decade, not a 19 year-old who is playing in only her second full NWSL season. As good as this goal is, Shaw will get better. I plan to watch this goal back at least 10 more times as I continue to be excited about Shaw, and the USWNT’s, future.

Hidden Figures: The African Nations Are Coming

I’m starting with this tweet because it encapsulates what this year seems to have been, the rise of women’s football and footballers in Africa. The Ballon d’Or took place this week in Paris. Despite the many rightful complaints about the ceremony falling during an international window that kept may nominees from attending, it saw Lyon’s Tabitha Chawinga finish 16th in voting and the Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda finish 12th. Chawinga tied the previous highest ranking for an African footballer, formally held by Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria, and Barbra Banda proceeded to set a new mark by finishing 12th in the voting. The truth is, the two biggest stars in the our domestic league (the NWSL) this season are from Malawi and Zambia. The league also boasts stars like the aforementioned Oshoala, and Banda’s Zambian teammates Rachel Kundananji and Grace Chanda. Globally, Tabitha Chawinga has terrorized the French league as well as Champions League with her relentless goal scoring over the past 18 months. We see African players shining in leagues in Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and elsewhere throughout Europe and Asia, and we are seeing what investment in a national team structure can do. Morocco created and worked a plan to systemize both men’s and women’s football and this has yielded success for both programs at multiple levels. Programs in South Africa and Zambia have improved significantly in recent years, despite, a lack of investment in Zambia and their inability to protect their talented players. The current refrain seems to be that, despite how much talent we see from African nations, they could be even better if their players were protected and invested in by their federations. The hope is that with fans continuing to place pressure on these governing bodies along with the celebrations of these phenomenal players, this “Year of Africa in Women’s Football” becomes a full on movement that makes CAF a powerhouse confederation in the game for decades to come. All of this to say, sign a player from a CAF team, your season and your footballing culture will be better for it.

Cultural Cuts: Sak pase! Congrats Melchie Durmoney

A huge congratulations to Melchie “Coventina” Dumornay for winning CONCACAF Female Player of the Year. She is the first Haitian and only the second non-American after Khadijah “Bunny” Shaw of Jamaica, to win the award. She’s been ballin at Lyon and has helped Haiti’s rise in CONCACAF football. The best part, she’s still only 21 years old. I don’t think this will be her last award and football is better for it.

Final Thoughts: Protect your peace

Football is a microcosm of society, and it is also a welcome distraction. Next week in the United States there is a huge election. It’s tense, combative and scary out here. There are genocides, wars, and every natural disaster imaginable happening, seemingly at the same time. Everyone seems less kind on and offline, and hope is hard to grab onto these days. This often carries over into sports, but it does not keep us from consuming them and enjoying them. It’s worth it to go back and watch the goals and games that make you happy. It’s worth it to laugh from your diaphragm at how the football gods giveth and taketh away. But most of all, it is okay to do your civic duty then protect your peace. And, even in these times, we’ll be here as a source of entertainment, insight, and, hopefully, comfort. Go forth, make sure that the Black women in your life are celebrated, and make sure your Shea Butter bombs are always elevated.