Ben Francis is showing The Athletic a photograph on his phone, but he can’t quite pinpoint when it was taken, so pings off a text to his father seeking clarification.

It turns out the picture dates from the early 2000s with a young Francis standing next to his brother Joe, both clad in Aston Villa replica training gear, and the club’s former European Cup-winning striker Gary Shaw with an arm round each.

Satisfied, the 32-year-old scrolls further through his camera roll.

“This one’s from Wembley when we got promoted,” he says, showing a video of him and his Canadian wife, Robin, jumping up and down after Villa secured promotion to the Premier League against Derby Country in 2019. “That was an amazing day. My wife didn’t know what was going on, but she has to be a Villa fan now.

“Our boys are 18 months old now. This season might be a little bit early for them, but as soon as they’re old enough to take it in, I’ll get season tickets and take them to Villa Park all the time.”

It is Monday afternoon and The Athletic has been invited to Gymshark, the exercise apparel company Francis founded in 2012.

Its origin story is well-known but still remarkable. Francis began Gymshark as a teenager…

The Premier League, EFL, FA, and Women’s Super League (WSL) have announced a new code of conduct for gambling-related agreements in football.

The code, which will be implemented at the start of the 2024-25 season, is designed to regulate gambling sponsorships across the professional game, emphasising four key principles: protection, social responsibility, reinvestment, and integrity.

A key aspect of the code is its emphasis on reinvestment. Revenue generated from gambling sponsorships must be redirected into football-related infrastructure and community programmes. This includes improvements to stadiums and training facilities, as well as investments in grassroots football and local community participation.

Under the new code, gambling sponsorships will also be required to target their marketing efforts more carefully to avoid reaching children and individuals at risk of gambling-related harm. Additionally, any gambling-related sponsorship must include educational initiatives and awareness campaigns designed to promote responsible gambling practices.

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‘Some players bet on football – they know it’s breaking the rules but still do it’

The importance of maintaining the integrity of football competitions is also stressed in the code, adding that gambling sponsorships must…

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy says he “would die” to bring Premier League matches to the United States, explaining that he believes it is in the competition’s “enlightened self-interest” to do so.

Murphy, 66, has been involved in football for several decades, including serving on the board of U.S. Soccer and co-owning the NWSL team NJ/NY Gotham FC.

MetLife Stadium, the 82,500-capacity arena situated in New Jersey, will be the venue for the 2026 World Cup final and hosted a friendly between Manchester United and Arsenal last year, as well as three games — two group fixtures and a semi-final — at the Copa America this summer. Real Madrid and Barcelona will play a Clasico pre-season friendly there on August 3.

Asked whether he envisaged these matches becoming competitive fixtures, Murphy replied: “I would die for that. And by the way, the exhibitions — we will have Real and Barcelona on August 3, we’ll have to shrink our capacity a little bit for FIFA — every ticket was sold and the game didn’t count. I would love to — I would die — to see what happens in a game that counts. It would sell every ticket and then some.”

Leading executives at NBC Sports, the American broadcaster that spent $2.7billion (£2.2bn) on a six-year Premier League deal, have been…

Juventus have completed the signing of Alisha Lehmann from Aston Villa.

Lehmann’s arrival at Juventus comes a week after the Italian club announced the purchase of her partner, Douglas Luiz, from Villa. Luiz signed a five-year deal with Juventus, with Lehmann agreeing to a three-year contract.

“An emotional goodbye, I wanna say thank you to my teammates, staff and of course the amazing fans,” Lehmann posted in a farewell to Villa on social media. “I spend the best three years so far of my career at this amazing club, every single minute I enjoyed.

“Thank you for everything Aston Villa. You will always have a special place in my heart, and of course a part of me will be there forever. Thank you.”

Lehmann leaves Villa after making 74 appearances in three seasons with the Women’s Super League club. The 25-year-old forward scored 14 goals in that time and helped Villa to ninth-, fifth- and seventh-place finishes in the WSL.

Lehmann is a Switzerland international and has represented her country on 53 occasions since making her debut in 2017.

Juventus finished second in last season’s Serie A Femminile, 11 points behind league winners Roma.

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Villa’s complex transfer deals: Big sale needed, Douglas Luiz and PSR issues to solve

(Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Aston Villa Women have appointed Robert de Pauw as their new manager.

De Pauw, 42, joins from Bayer Leverkusen where he led the club to two top-six league finishes during his two-year stay in Germany.

“I’m very happy and very honoured that the club chose me as their women’s coach,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be here and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

“I saw the potential of the team with the young and older players, so the experience is there but also the talent.

“The ambition of the club is to be in the top six and everything is in order to make the team tick.”

He was previously head coach of the Netherlands Women’s Under-17 team and won the Dutch title during his time in charge of FC Twente.

The Dutchman will attempt to build on the foundations laid by his predecessor Carla Ward, who led the club to a seventh-place finish in the Women’s Super League (WSL) last season.

In May, Ward announced she would be stepping down at the end of the season after three years in charge of the Midlands club.

“You have to give credit to the organisation, the former manager and her staff, and everything looks good,” said De Pauw.

“The players are a very big part of it. They’ve grown as a team over the past few seasons and shown that they are a stable factor…

Dear readers,

The Premier League and Champions League are over for another season but the summer of 2024 is packed full of live action and transfer fun and games — and we’ll cover it all in detail on The Athletic.

From Europe’s major clubs travelling across the world (and to the United States in particular) to all the moves (and nearly moves) of the summer transfer window, plus two major international tournaments, Emma Hayes starting her reign as USWNT head coach and the Olympics, our team of reporters will bring you in-depth coverage of the things you care about.

We’ll be on the ground in Germany for Euro 2024; across the U.S. for Copa America, MLS, NWSL and Premier League pre-season; in Paris, France for the summer Olympic Games’ football action, and everywhere in between — ensuring you don’t miss a thing when it comes to the beautiful game.

The club content you know and love won’t stop either. Our trusted team of reporters will hit the phones to bring you the latest moves in the transfer window as we embark on an ambitious project to cover the summer ins and outs like never before.

And it doesn’t stop there.

You might already follow our NFL, NBA or NHL coverage, but did you know we also cover a range of other sports, including golf, Formula 1 and tennis? Mark out…

“Outstanding!”, shouted Ollie Watkins towards the end of Aston Villa’s 1-0 away defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Villa carried the gait of a boxer in the 12th round of a low-in-skill, respectable-in-effort fight; hanging on, but merely surviving.

Backup goalkeeper Robin Olsen was drafted in again yesterday after Saturday’s training session demonstrated that no risk should be taken with first-choice Emiliano Martinez, who, having suffered a hamstring injury, remained at home with his wife and children.

The gulf in quality between 2022 World Cup winner Martinez and Olsen is distinct, but team-mates do trust the 34-year-old Swede. It was towards him that Watkins aimed the above praise, even if the 73-cap international appeared to sag at the final whistle, ruing not parrying Joao Pedro’s 87th-minute penalty away from danger, instead serving up a chance for the Brazilian to head what proved the winner off the rebound.

Olsen covered his head with his green shirt, as he had done several times throughout the afternoon.

Firstly, before kick-off, to wipe away the sweat from his pre-game preparations, then after that decisive penalty. Then again at full-time, after a second defeat in four days and the realisation that his efforts, even if Brighton’s technical staff made…

Aston Villa Women manager Carla Ward will leave the club at the end of this season.

Ward has been in charge at Villa for the past three years and says president of football operations Monchi and director of football Damian Vidagany tried to convince her to remain at the club.

“To step down from my post here at Aston Villa has been the hardest decision of my managerial career, but I know it is the right one for my family and I,” the 40-year-old said.

“Managing a great club like Aston Villa has been a full-throttle job and I have always given the role 100 per cent dedication. However, I now believe it is the right time for me to prioritise the other important things — such as my daughter and the rest of my family life.

“I am immensely grateful to Monchi and Damian Vidagany who tried so hard to encourage me to stay in the role, but I know it is the right time to step down after our last game of the season.”

GO DEEPER

Carla Ward: ‘You have to make a lot of sacrifices in management. There are some days where I feel horrendous’

Ward’s Villa finished ninth in the Women’s Super League in the 2021-22 season before recording a club-high fifth-place finish a year later. This season, Villa are seventh with two matches remaining.

“Carla came to us a few weeks ago and spoke of…

It is that time of year again. Lighter nights, daffodils and the sobering discovery of just how much your football team has handed over to agents.

The Football Association (FA) published its annual figures yesterday and, as is the norm, they were bigger, more gasp-inducing than ever before.

The Premier League’s 20 clubs combined to pay £409million ($509m) in agents’ fees in a 12-month monitoring period that began on February 1, 2023. Include the EFL’s outlays and English clubs handed over close to half a billion to that select group of men and women representing a footballer’s interests.

It was the usual suspects leading the way but the Premier League’s spend continues to rise. This year’s total is markedly up on the £318million of last season and almost twice the amount paid in 2017-18.

The Athletic picks out the key points from the FA’s latest report.

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Chelsea drive spending records… again

An age of excess at Stamford Bridge has seen Chelsea spend like no club has ever spent before. Close to £1billion has funded a lavish overall that is yet to deliver discernible progress under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake-led ownership group and the fees paid out to agents are another marker of their intemperance.

Brace yourself for Chelsea’s full outlay over 12 months:…

There will inevitably, and rightly, be an enormous level of affection for Rachel Daly after the shock news of her retirement from international football, which came merely 12 hours after appearing for England as a substitute against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday.

But beyond the recognition for this unique footballer — full-back, wing-back, wide midfielder, winger and Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner when actually used in her best position as a striker — there are a couple of pertinent questions. Why has Daly made this decision? And what does it say about Sarina Wiegman’s England? Daly’s retirement message gave little away. But it seems clear this is a footballer who felt overlooked.

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened pic.twitter.com/Rawl2Ohrkl

— Rachel Daly (@RachelDaly3) April 10, 2024

In the aftermath of Euro 2022 it seemed clear Alessia Russo would become England’s first-choice centre-forward. Ellen White’s retirement meant there was a vacancy up front. Russo had been introduced as a substitute in all six games at the Euros, scoring four times — including the famous backheel against Sweden in a 4-0 semi-final victory. At 23, Russo was set to explode into a consistent world-class…