The Orlando Pride are league champions for the first time, defeating the Washington Spirit 1-0 on Saturday to become just the second-ever team to earn both the Shield and the NWSL Championship in a single season.

The Pride's star striker Barbra Banda picked up Championship MVP honors after scoring the match's lone goal, a sneaky strike that just slipped past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury in the 37th minute. With that goal, Banda set a new league postseason scoring record, finding the back of the net four times in the 2024 NWSL Playoffs.

Strong defense secured Orlando's title

Saturday's final was a cagey affair, with Orlando's backline holding strong in the face of the Spirit's seeming momentum, which they harnessed for long stretches of the match.

In total, Washington registered 26 shots to Orlando's nine, but the Pride's strong defensive performance held the Spirit to just five shots on goal and limited USWNT star Trinity Rodman's attacking power.

"It's no secret that I was fighting through back issues pretty much since I got back from the Olympics," Rodman said after the game. "That's not an excuse, but I wasn't the Trin that I wanted to be today."

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A long-awaited NWSL Championship for Marta

The win ends a long drought for Brazil legend and Pride captain Marta, who saw her club through many ups and downs since her 2017 signing — the last year the team made the NWSL Playoffs prior to 2024.

"I f---ing waited eight years for this moment!," the 38-year-old icon exclaimed during the live trophy ceremony on CBS after the Pride's victory.

Those eight years were often a slog for the Florida club, who spent the bulk of them at or near the bottom of the league's standings. An improved 2023 left Pride fans hopeful, but Orlando just missed the postseason cutoff on the final day of the regular season.

This season, a shift in mentality and a Coach of the Year-winning showing from boss Seb Hines flipped the script in Orlando, where with the Pride put together a 23-match undefeated run and ultimately logged just two losses in NWSL play.

For Marta, the 2024 NWSL Championship proved her long dedication to the Pride was not in vain.

"It's like the answer that I'm trying to have," the Orlando captain told media before the game. "Many, many, many years here — [that's] why I'm still here."

Over two decades after first hitting theaters, Bend It Like Beckham is on track for a sequel, Gurinder Chadha — the director and co-writer of the 2002 women's soccer blockbuster film — confirmed on Saturday.

"I'm excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women's game," she told Deadline late last week.

Though the new script is still in development, Chadha is aiming to collaborate again with co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges and hoping to lure the original cast — led by actors Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley — back to set.

With women's football booming both in England and beyond, London-based Chadha has been ruminating on a Bend It Like Beckham follow-up for the last two years.

"I [initially] didn't want to do anything because I didn't have a story. And then I came up with a great story, really super-cool story. So now I’m inspired," the filmmaker explained. "It's my very clear wish to bring the characters back very, very soon. Women's football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever. It is an honor for me to be a small part of it."

"Bend It Like Beckham" sequel snags assist from USWNT boss

As part of her development process, Chadha is consulting with major players in the women's soccer space — including USWNT manager Emma Hayes, whom Chadha met at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May.

"[Hayes's] insights into the world of football at her level are invaluable," noted Chadha.

As for Hayes, assisting Chadha is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the decorated London-born women's soccer coach.

"I cried in the cinema watching the film because I felt just like [the main characters] Jess and Jules," Hayes told Deadline. "There was no hope for women's football in Britain then so I was going to the States to try my luck."

"Twenty-three years ago I could never have dreamed of how much that film changed the women's game, and now I have the best job in the world: head coach of the US women's national team."

The Bend It Like Beckham sequel is aiming for a 2027 debut to coincide with both the 25th anniversary of the original film's UK opening and the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham became the latest WNBA player on the mic this week, as the outspoken athlete launched a new podcast on sports media personality Colin Cowherd's The Volume network.

Entitled "Show Me Something" in reference to the two hosts' Missouri roots, the podcast features the seven-year WNBA veteran as well as her former high school classmate and current Summer House reality star West Wilson.

"We're definitely going to hit on the WNBA, a huge topic in sports right now, and then Bravo, clearly, but pop culture, food, fashion, travel... we really do talk about anything," Cunningham said about the variety of topics she'll be discussing with her childhood friend on their podcast. "Our love language is, like, s—t-talking."

The media move follows several recent endorsement deals for Cunningham, as she continues to capitalize on the social media bump she experienced following a June 17th dust-up with Connecticut Sun players.

In this week's first episode, the 2025 Fever addition did not hold back, immediately digging into the ongoing discourse surrounding superstar teammate Caitlin Clark.

"There's really good, well-known people in our league. I'm not discrediting them," Cunningham said. "But when people try to argue that [Clark's] not the face of our league, or if our league would be where we're at without her, you’re dumb as s—t. You’re literally dumb as f—k."

USC women's basketball is stocking up, bringing on their third No. 1 high school prospect in four years with top-ranked Saniyah Hall committing to the Trojans on Friday.

Set to join the team for the 2026/27 season, Hall follows in the footsteps of 2023 top recruit JuJu Watkins and Class of 2025 No. 1 prospect Jazzy Davidson.

USC reportedly beat out both North Carolina and UCLA in the race to secure a commitment from Hall.

The Northeast Ohio product will close out her high school career at SPIRE Academy, returning to her home state following a junior-year campaign with Montverde Academy in Florida.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who turned 17 years old on Wednesday, has also seen significant international success, first helping Team USA earn gold in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup.

Hall added a 5x5 gold medal to her collection earlier this month, when the then-16-year-old set records en route to securing Team USA the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup title.

Her US U19-record 19.9 points per game — plus team-leading averages of 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.9 steals across the competition's seven games — saw the starter named tournament MVP following the July 20th championship victory.

Shortly after returning Stateside, Hall visited USC, announcing her NCAA basketball commitment almost immediately after leaving campus.

"I would say it felt like home. I loved all of my teammates," Hall told ESPN's NBA Today on Friday. "The girls there are so fun to be around."

Embattled ex-Canada women's national team coach Bev Priestman has officially left the country, relocating to New Zealand to manage A-League Women's side Wellington Phoenix FC.

"We're really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football," Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said in the club's announcement. "We all know she's had a period of time away from the game, but we understand the circumstances and we're really comfortable with this appointment."

In addition to her firing from Team Canada, Priestman served a one-year suspension from all football-related activities, finishing that mandatory moratorium this month.

FIFA issued the suspension after determining that Priestman was guilty of spying on opponents via illegal drone use during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"For me, I didn't feel safe, that's being brutally honest," she told reporters this week, commenting on the drone scandal's local fallout. "It was very difficult for my family and I have to live with that. I have to wear that."

The Wellington Phoenix — the lone New Zealand club competing in the top-flight Australian league — finished the 2024/25 season ninth out of 12 teams, with the young club soon setting their sights on a deeper run in their fifth season behind Priestman.

"It feels like Christmas Day to me to come back," said Priestman, whose wife, Wellington Phoenix FC academy director Emma Humphries, is a former New Zealand national team player. "I know I have to earn the trust of everybody. And I'll be working hard to do that."