by A fresh January brings new energy, but in football, the story of the season is well under way. Here’s a look at a few things to mark in your calendar for the coming months.
1. The Business End of The Domestic Season
January will mark the return of a number of domestic leagues in the women’s game, in different intervals. The time to experiment is waning and anyone vying for trophies will need to start stringing consistent points on the board.
The Assikura Women’s League in Malta will be among the earliest leagues to return in Europe. There are just two weekends left for sides to grab points, before teams will be split into two sections for the final stint of the league.
Defending champions and current leaders Birkirkara will get things going again this Thursday (4th), against fifth-placed Valletta, at the Centenary Stadium (20:15). A blockbuster match awaits on Friday as third-placed Mgarr United host second-placed Swieqi United at the Victor Tedesco Stadium (20:30). Spectators may watch a double-header of women’s football matches on Friday, by making the short trip to the local match following the friendly between Manchester United Women and PSV Women (more on that below).
The year’s opening weekend will come to a close at Mgarr Ground. Fourth-placed Hibernians face sixth-placed San Gwann (14:00) and bottom-two Lija Athletic and Mtarfa will end the weekend against each other(16:30). Domestically, the BNF Women’s National League (U16) returns this Sunday, followed by the Assikura Women’s Youth League (U19) which will resume on Tuesday 9th.
Beyond Maltese shores, the Liga F in Spain will also make an early return on the 6th January, with a number of matches broadcast on DAZN. The Italian Serie A Calcio Femminile will return the following week, while English clubs will be making their return in the FA Cup in the same weekend. The Frauen-Bundesliga will be the last to return, alongside the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen and England’s Women’s Super League and Championship, in the penultimate week of January.
2. A Star-Studded Friendly
As women’s football returns from the winter break, Malta will host Manchester United Women as part of the destination partnership with Visit Malta, between the 3rd and 8th of January. It will be the second time Marc Skinner’s team will be holding a training camp in Malta in preparation to resume their domestic season in England. PSV Women will also be on undertaking a training camp on Maltese shores between today and 6th of January, under the tutelage of Roeland ten Berge.
The two sides will be playing a friendly on the 5th January, at the Tony Bezzina Stadium, 6 pm. Tickets for the match will cost 2 Euro, with all proceeds going to Dar Bjorn ALS charity. Those interested can purchase tickets online through the Manchester United website or through the Malta Football Association (MFA) website.
Both teams feature a number of prominent players in the women’s game, including a few who competed in the Women’s World Cup last summer, such as Manchester United’s Ella Toone, Mary Earps, Geyse and Jayde Riviere. PSV also feature New Zealand’s Indiah-Paige Riley who joined the Dutch outfit following the tournament.
3. UEFA Women’s Nations League Finals & Play-offs
The UEFA Women’s Nations League 2023/24 will culminate as the winners of groups in League A of the UEFA Women’s Nations League will play the semi-finals on the 23rd February. Spain will host the Netherlands, while France welcome Germany as the four bid for a place in the final. The trophy will be lifted following the final that will be played on the 28th of February.
Other nations who will be under pressure will be those playing the two-legged promotion/relegation battles after failing to secure their spot automatically in the 2023/24 phase between October and December. There are a total of seven play-offs, with a number of interesting encounters as listed below.
Those who are confirmed based on the UEFA Women’s Nations League phase of 2023/2024 (such as Austria, England, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Malta, Israel etc.) will still be in action, with a number of friendlies already in the works. However, such teams will also have one eye on the promotion/relegation matches as these will finalise the teams competing in the respective Leagues A to C.
Once the finals and the relegation/promotion play-offs are concluded, draws for the EURO Qualifications will be held on the 5th March. Teams will compete in the league phase of the EURO Qualifications between April and July. More details on how the competition works may be found here.
4. UEFA Women’s U17 EURO Round 2 and Finals
The international window will mark the return of not only senior international football, but also the return of the U17 EURO Championship matches. Teams in League A will eye places in the finals of the EURO Championships that will be held in Sweden next May.
Having missed out on promotion in the country’s return to the competition, Malta’s youngsters will be once more competing for promotion to League A. They will be playing matches between the 21st and 27th of February at home. The group also includes the Northern Ireland as the team relegated from the prestigious League A, and Luxembourg, who also competed against Malta in League B last October in Round 1. More details here.
5. UEFA Women’s Champions League
Last but not least, the European competition will return as from the 18th January, with teams heading into the final phase of the group stage. Holders Barcelona and giants Olympique Lyonnais are comfortably ahead in Group A and B.
However, there’s plenty of fight in Group C and D. Group C is led by Ajax who qualified to the group stage by eliminating FC Zurich Women. The latter progressed into the that tie after winning against Malta’s defending champions Birkirkara. Ajax are trailed by PSG, Bayern Munich and Roma, respectively, who all separated by just one point each. Meanwhile, Chelsea lead Group D, but are not out of the woods yet. They are closely followed by Hacken and Paris FC, who continue to impress on the big stage.
All matches may be watched on DAZN. Those progressing will head into the knock-outs with an eye on the trophy that separates them as the best in Europe.
Lead Images: PSV Women / Malta FA / Manchester United Women / Lara Schembri
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