• We start off with some tragic news. Equatorial Guinea Women’s National Team player Teclaire Bille Esono died in a motor accident in Cameroon on Tuesday night. She was 22. Esono was set to appear for Equatorial Guinea in the country’s first Women’s World Cup this summer.

• New developments have surfaced regarding Santos joining WPS and they are as interesting as they are perplexing. The team still seems to be interested in joining WPS next year (2011?) and President of the women’s soccer team Murillo Barletta is quoted as saying, “I believe we will have new developments in a few days, and we can announce the creation of Santos USA”. The articles states the team intends to add Marta and four Santos players to a WPS team but doesn’t say which one. With the Chicago Red Stars officially out of the picture in 2011, who could it be? (Thanks Marshall and Izabel)

• Group play of the Torneio Internacional Cidade de Sao Paulo has concluded. Both the third place match between Mexico and the Netherlands and the final between Brazil and Canada will be played on Sunday. You can view all the highlights on the tournament’s main site. (Thanks, Lissa)

• Some FA WSL tidbits for you. The BBC has an audio interview with Hope Powell. In it she discusses how playing in the summer will benefit the FA WSL and why English players drop out of the women’s game at a young age. Elsewhere, The Guardian has published more information about the WSL. The FA will invest £2 million ($3,104,600) into the new league over the next two years. Perhaps most interestingly, central contracts will be doled out to 20 England players and a salary cap will limit each club to have a maximum of four players who earn more than £20,000 ($31,000) a year. ESPN will broadcast a highlight show and five live matches per year and the league will not be expected to cover production costs.

• The “failing” WPS is referenced in the article, and it serves as a reminder as to how unique WPS is. As harsh as it sounds, paying women livable wages to play soccer just isn’t commonplace in today’s world. Paying every player wages is even less common. WPS’ model may prove to be unworkable but it certainly is ambitious and thus, admirable.

• Powell referenced England’s winter time training camp in La Manga, Spain in the BBC interview. The FA has released the 27 players who have been called up for the camp.

• The 2011 WPS Draft will occur on January 14th and will be streamed live. Unlike previous years, the draft will only feature 24 picks and the amount of picks varies per round. There will be eight in the 1st round, four in the 2nd, seven in the 3rd, and five in the 4th.

• Whitney Engen is the newest member of the Western New York Flash and India Trotter has joined the Atlanta Beat.

• Christine Sinclair has been named Female Player of the Year by the Canadian Soccer Association for the sixth straight time.

• You can still vote for Canada’s Player of the Year. Fan voting ends on Sunday.

• The Canadian-based It’s Called Football podcast interviewed the CSA General Secretary Peter Montopoli about Canada’s bid to host the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It’s a highly recommended listen. Download the podcast here or search for it on iTunes.

• Also check out the latest edition of the Equalizer Soccer Women’s Podcast with Richard Farley and Jeff Kassouf. Miley Cyrus and Joe Louis get mentions. You can find it by searching ‘RF Football’ n iTunes.

• FF USV Jena forward and AWK darling Sylvia Arnold was honored as Jena’s Sportswoman of the Year. The club was represented as winners in four of the five categories in the cermony. Video here.

• Attention women’s soccer curators, today’s the final day to claim some exclusive FC Gold Pride souvenirs on eBay.

• Rumor of the day: Kia McNeill and Tasha Kai are set to join the Philadelphia Independence. If this indeed true, it will the Independence’s first new signings of the offseason.

• This has nothing to do with women’s soccer per se, but The Guardian’s Louise Taylor has a great piece on Blackburn Rovers’ new chairwoman Anuradha J Desai. More powerful, quotable women in the Barclay’s Premier League please, and particularly those who demand pretty football.

Apologies for the extended absence this past week. Expect more new content next week.

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com | View jennaawk's Full Profile

• Filed Under:  
• Soccer, Sports, WPS, Europe/Intl