Chelsea FC star striker Sam Kerr made headlines on Sunday, as the Australian international scored her 100th goal for the six-time reigning WSL champions in the waning minutes of the Blues' 3-1 win over Aston Villa — Kerr's first competitive match in 634 days.
Kerr subbed into the match in the 75th minute before slotting in the historic goal amid a corner-kick melee three minutes into stoppage time.
"I feel like it's nice to finally be out there and have people stop talking about an injury," Kerr said postgame, referring to the 2024 ACL tear that kept her sidelined for more than 18 months. "Now they can start talking about goals."
Kerr is now chasing Chelsea FC's all-time leading scorer Fran Kirby on the career stat sheet, with the attacking midfielder notching 116 before leaving the Blues to sign with Brighton & Hove Albion in July 2024.
"For me, she's an idol," Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said about Kerr after Sunday's match. "It's a lot of positives, a lot of confidence for her, for the team."
Along with Kerr's return, Sunday's clash also saw blockbuster new signing Alyssa Thompson make her Chelsea debut, with the USWNT rising star taking the pitch as a halftime substitute.
Chelsea FC is playing it close to the chest, with big-name new signing Alyssa Thompson and previously injured superstar Sam Kerr waiting in the wings as manager Sonia Bompastor teases a 2025/26 WSL season debut for the pair.
Kerr joined the 18-player game-day roster for Chelsea FC's opening-day victory over Manchester City last Friday, but saw her season debut delayed as the Australian remained an unused sub while Thompson greeted fans from the stands.
This Sunday's matchup against Aston Villa provides another chance for the standouts to take the pitch, as the six-time reigning WSL champs hunt another result.
"With Alyssa, we are looking for her to be able to play. We don't have the confirmation yet, but we are hoping for her to be able to play in this game," Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said earlier today. "I think she has already shown some good things this week in training, and we can see what she can bring to the team."
Bompastor went on to call last week's decision to keep Kerr on the bench "my choice," saying "She's doing everything she can to be available for the squad and available to start…. The next step for her is to be involved in a short game in the league, and maybe we'll see that on Sunday."
USWNT fans will not get a glimpse of defender Naomi Girma, however, as the January 2025 Chelsea addition sat out last Friday's clash with a calf injury and remains unavailable.
How to watch Aston Villa vs. Chelsea FC this weekend
With the possibility of Thompson and Kerr taking the WSL pitch, Chelsea will visit Aston Villa at 7 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage of the match streaming on ESPN+.
The WSL hit some opening day snags over the weekend, with a last-minute media deal causing broadcasts Stateside to generate confusion and widespread technical difficulties as the UK league's big-name US talent pool took the pitch.
First, in Friday's 2025/26 season kick-off match, ESPN+ served fans an error screen during the first 15 minutes of six-time defending WSL champion Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Then on Saturday morning, skips and lags continuously interrupted Arsenal's 4-1 victory over the recently promoted London City Lionesses.
Notably, the WSL media rights extension deal with ESPN+ — the 2024/25 US carrier of the top-flight UK league —came together at the very last minute.
As such, the WSL left fans in the dark by omitting US coverage details from all promotions in the lead-up to the 2025/26 season's opening weekend — possibly missing out on a big Stateside moment as USWNT stars like Naomi Girma, Catarina Macario, Emily Fox, and Alyssa Thompson kick off their club campaigns in the UK.
"The delays weren't about lack of interest so much as the sheer number of changes the league has been managing," former head of broadcast at WSL Football Andrea Ekblad told The Athletic this week.
"Of course, nobody wants a broadcast deal announced only hours before kickoff. That's not ideal," she continued. "But continuing the [ESPN] partnership makes great sense."
Chelsea FC star Sam Kerr is officially back, as the 31-year-old Australian striker gears up to make her first appearance for her WSL club in 20 months after suffering an ACL tear in January 2024.
"Sam Kerr is on the squad, so she will be involved in the game [against Manchester City]," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor told reporters on Thursday as the Blues gear up for their 2025/26 WSL season opener on Friday.
"[Kerr] is in a good place, she has been training well, she's physically in a good position," Bompastor continued. "She's also mentally in a good position, because again I think she's one of the players everyone wants to see on the pitch."
Kerr's return to play is just the latest boost for the six-time reigning WSL champions this week, with Chelsea officially finalizing the near-$1.5 million transfer of USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson from NWSL side Angel City.
Thompson signed a five-year deal with the London club just hours before the WSL's transfer window closure on Thursday evening.
Chelsea quickly accelerated interest in the 20-year-old rising US star after Colombian striker Mayra Ramirez suffered a significant right hamstring injury in a preseason match last weekend.
How to watch Sam Kerr in Chelsea FC's 2025/26 WSL opener
The Blues will begin their hunt for a record-extending seventh consecutive WSL trophy on Friday, when Chelsea hosts Manchester City to open the UK league's 2025/26 season.
The clash kicks off at 2:30 PM ET with live coverage streaming on ESPN+.
USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson is officially on her way to London, with the NWSL's Angel City and WSL side Chelsea FC finalizing the 20-year-old's reported £1 million transfer ahead of the UK league's 2025/26 season kick-off on Friday.
The two clubs reached a verbal agreement with Thompson readying to ink a five-year contract on Thursday, just hours before the WSL's 6 PM ET transfer window closure — with six-time reigning league-winners Chelsea set to open their next WSL campaign against Manchester City in a mere 24 hours.
Chelsea has been aggressive in the transfer market this year, as the WSL titan fields mounting pressure from clubs eager to upend the top of the table.
Second-place 2024/25 finishers Arsenal enter the season as UWCL champions, coming off Canadian star Olivia Smith's splashy £1 million transfer while also signing Smith's former Liverpool teammate Taylor Hinds.
Man City will also be looking to better their fourth-place 2024/25 run, hoping for a healthy Bunny Shaw to combine with Dutch phenom Vivianne Miedema while adding ex-Arsenal defender Laura Wienroither and decorated German midfielder Sydney Lohmann to their ranks.
This weekend's WSL action will also feature the newly promoted London City Lionesses, kicking off their top-flight entry against Arsenal on Saturday.
Backed by US-based multi-team owner Michele Kang, London City has also been busy this offseason, bringing on a laundry list of talent including midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk (OL Lyonnes) and forward Nikita Parris (Brighton) plus their own Angel City finds in midfielder Katie Zelem and defender Alanna Kennedy.
How to watch the Barclays WSL season kick-off this weekend
The 2025/26 WSL action kicks off with Chelsea hosting Manchester City at 2:30 PM ET on Friday, before league debutants London City visit Arsenal at 8:30 AM ET on Saturday.
Currently, WSL matches will likely stream live on YouTube, though an official US media partner has not yet been announced.
Chelsea FC is once again looking across the pond to bolster their roster, with the six-time reigning WSL champions reportedly aiming to make a deal with NWSL side Angel City to acquire ACFC and USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson, per The Guardian this week.
Though the two clubs have yet to reach terms, Chelsea would need to have the deal signed before the WSL transfer window closes next Thursday.
Any agreement for Chelsea to snag Thompson from Angel City will likely feature yet another historic transfer fee, with cost projections topping former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle's record $1.5 million transfer to the Orlando Pride earlier this month.
The 20-year-old phenom is currently under contract with ACFC through the 2028 season after inking a three-year extension this past January.
With six goals and two assists in her 16 regular-season appearances in 2025 so far, the 2023 NWSL Draft No. 1 pick is trailing only rookie Riley Tiernan's seven goals on this year's Angel City scoresheet.
Should the transfer go through, Thompson would be the third ACFC player in a week to be moving to the UK, with the NWSL club transferring defender Alanna Kennedy and midfielder Katie Zelem to the newly WSL-promoted London City Lionesses on Wednesday.
As for Chelsea, the Blues have been a major player in recruiting US players over the last few seasons, with Thompson potentially joining her USWNT teammates Catarina Macario and Naomi Girma in suiting up for the WSL side's upcoming 2025/26 season.
Aiming to make a significant splash in their debut season in the top-flight WSL, the newly promoted London City Lionesses are gearing up by trying to bolster their roster with big names — including the club's newest target, Arsenal forward Beth Mead.
According to reports, London City owner Michele Kang has reportedly made a formal offer to acquire the longtime Arsenal star, who has suited up for the Gunners for the last eight years.
In her 225 appearances for the club, Mead has scored 78 goals en route to snagging Arsenal the 2018/19 WSL championship as well as a trio of League Cups.
Most recently, the 30-year-old attacker helped the Gunners shockingly upend powerhouse Barcelona to claim the 2024/25 Champions League crown — the WSL's first UWCL title in 18 years.
The WSL's all-time assists leader added another international trophy to her case just last month, as the England national booked a second straight Euro title to go along with her Golden Boot-winning tournament in 2022.
Regardless of the outcome, London City's offer makes a serious statement as the Lionesses ascend the ranks of women's football behind Kang's growing multi-team empire.
London City has already picked up players like Swedish legend Kosovare Asllani, Dutch midfielder Daniëlle Van de Donk, and former Manchester United forward Nikita Parris, signaling the Lionesses' intentions to keep rising ahead of their inaugural 2025/26 WSL campaign.
The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.
The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.
Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.
As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.
After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.
Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.
"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.
On Tuesday, 2024/25 UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal announced that the Gunners are making the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium their permanent home for all WSL matches on the heels of last season's successful nine-game run in the north London venue.
Arsenal dominated the WSL in attendance during their 2024/25 campaign with a total of 415,000 tickets sold, a 20% increase over the Gunners' 2023/24 season.
Even more, the club averaged crowds of over 34,000 fans for the team's nine matches hosted at the men's side's historic Highbury home.
Both Arsenal's and the league's season-high attendance came in February, when 56,784 fans packed Emirates for the Gunners' North London Derby match against Tottenham.
While all of Arsenal's 11 WSL home games will kick off at Emirates, the reigning European champs will open their UWCL defense at the significantly smaller, 4,500-capacity Meadow Park, with future Champions League matches moving to Highbury should the Gunners advance to the tournament's knockout rounds.
"For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," said Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers in a club statement. "We'll come back next season, with fire in our hearts, more determined, more ambitious, and more together than ever."
Just two days after wrapping the 2024/25 Women's Super League (WSL) season on Saturday, the UK women's soccer pyramid scored a full rebrand, with new names and visual identities announced for England's first- and second-tier leagues on Monday.
While the WSL will retain its name, the second-flight Women's Championship will become the WSL2 beginning with the 2025/26 season, bringing both top leagues under the same naming umbrella.
The Women's Professional League Limited — the independent company that took over running the WSL and Women's Championship in August 2024 — is also undergoing a name change, becoming simply WSL Football.
Following a development process with creative agency Anomaly, new visual branding "born from the movement of female footballers" has also rolled out across the leagues, with the WSL adopting an orange colorway while the newly named WSL2 will use a magenta palette.
"As a long-time football fan, having the chance to create the future of women's football is the absolute brief of dreams and a career highlight," said Clara Mulligan, Anomaly's managing parter and head of design.
Along with a new WSL Football website, this summer will see the updated designs from the rebrand incorporated across league merchandise, venues, jerseys, soccer balls, and more before the 2025/26 season kicks off.
"There is a lot more in store over the coming months as we continue to grow the women's game for the future," noted WSL Football chief marketing officer Ruth Hooper.