Earlier this year, DAZN announced that it had acquired the broadcasting rights to the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). As part of the four-year deal, which starts Tuesday, fans around the world will be able to watch UWCL games live on one centralized channel for the first time.

Now, Ada Hegerberg, UWCL’s all-time leading scorer, has joined forces with DAZN as their first-ever, season-long global women’s football ambassador. Returning to the pitch after a nearly two-year recovery from a torn ACL, Hegerberg will actively represent a landmark investment in the women’s game.

The Olympique Lyonnais forward and inaugural female Ballon d’Or winner, who’s also a campaign ambassador for We All Rise with More Eyes, is passionate about pushing for more women’s sports coverage.

“With success, huge responsibility comes with you,” Hegerberg told Just Women’s Sports. “You want to use that for something good and I think the women’s game needs high profiles to carry the game. And the more of us there are, the more power we have.”

Following a season in which the UWCL final wasn’t “even near to be found” on French television, Hegerberg sees DAZN’s broadcast deal as historic. All 61 UWCL matches this season and next will be available on DAZN and for free through their YouTube channel, starting with the group stage kickoff on Tuesday.

“I feel like we’ve all just been waiting for someone to just jump in there and grab the opportunity and DAZN just came into the game, took control,” said Hegerberg. “We couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t be happier because it’s all about making the sport available for people.

“We’re not talking about forcing the sport on anyone. We’re talking about giving people access to it. Whether it’s one person or one million, it’s all about inspiring people, the next generation, even the parents too.”

Growing up in Norway, Hegerberg played soccer with boys, even cutting her hair to look more like them. In the documentary “My Name is Ada Hegerberg,” Hegerberg’s mother says she didn’t let her hair grow back out until she saw the movie “Bend It Like Beckham” and realized girls could play soccer, too.

Hegerberg famously opted out of playing for the Norwegian national team in 2017, including for the 2019 World Cup, to protest the country’s unequal treatment of its women’s program. She hasn’t played for the team since.

The 26-year-old highlighted how important DAZN’s partnership with UEFA and YouTube is for young girls who need exposure to women in sports.

“I would love when I was younger to have female leader role models to look up to,” she said. “You recognize yourself in them.”

DAZN’s on-air team is the biggest ever to cover women’s soccer for a single broadcaster. The group includes dozens of professional commentators from England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Portugal and Ukraine. Each match will be available in up to three languages: English and the languages of both the home team and away team.

Included in the deal is a new installment of We All Rise with More Eyes, with a six-part series highlighting women’s football across six European countries.

DAZN and The Female Quotient also published a report on Monday, titled “The Coverage Gap,” that underlines their vision and mission with the broadcast deal. The report says that 64 percent of consumers don’t watch women’s sports because they don’t know enough about the athletes and teams and broadcasts aren’t accessible enough. It adds that lack of coverage and inadequate promotion of events create significant barriers to viewership.

The UWCL and DAZN are taking a step to change that cycle this season.

Hegerberg’s Olympique Lyonnais kick off their UWCL season on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. ET against Häcken. The striker returned to the field in September for the first time since January 2020.

“I’m feeling great physically and mentally,” Hegerberg said. “It’s been a hell of a journey, but I really had time to reflect on myself and football in general, and kind of the whole journey humbled me a lot. It kind of reminds you how important it is to just lean back and enjoy the game because we’re here to enjoy it.”

During her season on the sideline, Lyon’s five-year run of Champions League titles came to an end when they fell in the quarterfinals to Paris Saint-Germain. PSG also interrupted Lyon’s streak of 14 consecutive Division 1 Féminin championships, winning their first in 2020-21.

Since losing to the Portland Thorns of the NWSL in the Women’s International Champions Cup on Aug. 21, Lyon is on a seven-game win streak, boasting a goal differential of plus-24.

The Champions League group stage, which runs until Dec. 16, includes four groups with 16 teams competing. The top two teams coming out of the group stage advance to the quarterfinals on Dec. 20.

🤩 Group stage draw ✅

The most exciting group is______#UWCL | #UWCLdraw pic.twitter.com/5v9eoQ2jRx

— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) September 13, 2021

Hegerberg notes there is more pressure this season with the increased depth and quality of coverage: She and the other players need to perform if they want people to watch their debut game, and the one after that, and eventually the whole season.

But Hegerberg is up for the challenge.

“Now it’s up to us, the players, the clubs, to perform and entertain so people actually want to watch this for the years to come,” she said.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.