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…

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is this week back in the city he once called home, and to mark his return, The Athletic’s Abi Paterson has produced a new podcast series — Ange Postecoglou: Made in Melbourne

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In August 2023, The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare foresaw a time in Ange Postecoglou’s first season at Tottenham when pundits would just give up on the Australian’s tactics and tell him to change.

“There will come a point at which they (Tottenham) lose badly to a team they’re expected to beat because they play in a certain way,” Charlie said on The View From The Lane back in August. “And there will be a lot of pundits saying, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m all for good football, but there comes a time you’ve got to shut up shop.’”

Sound familiar?

It was around that time that I also moved out to Australia and have since felt the passion that this country has for one of, if not the greatest footballing success stories. 

Combine the Ange Factor () with the power of the Matildas — who last summer hosted the Women’s World Cup — and Australian soccer should be in a very strong position. While ticket sales for the national teams remain strong, the club game needs work. But that’s not for now.

Ange has this week returned home to his beloved Melbourne…

It is quiet at the Emirates Stadium.

There are a few joggers, huffing and sweating their way around the stadium, families playing with their children and a smattering of people rollerblading by the Thierry Henry statue.

You would not know there was a season-defining match for the club happening tonight.

A short walk along Hornsey Road, through the ‘Arsenal tunnel’ and past murals of their players and manager Mikel Arteta inked on the wall, leads to the Tollington Arms.

At the Tollington, an Arsenal pub, fans have gathered for this most surreal of events. Tonight, they are cheering on Tottenham Hotspur in the hope their most hated rivals can do them a favour in their title fight with Manchester City.

A Tottenham victory, or even draw, puts Arsenal in the driving seat going into the final game of the season on Sunday, in which Arsenal host Everton and City take on West Ham United at home.

Anuj Jain, 30, from India, who fell in love with Arsenal because of Arsene Wenger and normally watches games around 4am at home, is in the UK for the first time this month as he wants to be in London for the celebrations if his team can win the league. He spent the morning on a stadium tour with his wife Palak Agrawal, 30.

“It feels odd but I want Tottenham to get a result,” he said….

Women’s Super League stalwarts Bethany England and Drew Spence, who have six FA Cups between them, were in tears when the final whistle blew.

Tottenham Hotspur had just suffered the biggest margin of defeat in a women’s FA Cup final at Wembley, in front of 76,082 fans.

“I want to win… I want to win everything,” said Spurs captain England, who was upset because of her lack of impact on the game in the 4-0 loss to Manchester United.

“I did my best, but my best wasn’t good enough,” she said. “But that’s the case for a lot of people. I take full responsibility for my team and I think they can all hold their heads up high.”

It was a huge achievement for Spurs to go from a WSL relegation battle last season to making their first final, but a sub-par performance when they got there was disappointing.

Tottenham were lucky not to concede more in the first half. Time and time again Spurs struggled to deal with United’s crosses from dangerous areas. United targeted this weakness, slinging in balls to Rachel Williams, who was an aerial threat but failed to convert her chances in the first 45 minutes, while centre-back Millie Turner and midfielder…

“I’ve got no idea who crossed it,” said Tottenham Hotspur’s Martha Thomas. “I remember Luana (Buhler) jumping and thinking, ‘She’s going to head this and flick it on’. I just saw the defender looking at it and thought, ‘I’ve got to get in front of that defender’.”

Thomas rose highest, her header looping over the Leicester goalkeeper. She sprinted away, knee-sliding in front of 18,000 fans and Daniel Levy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Her 118th-minute winner had sent Spurs through to their first Wembley FA Cup final in the club’s history. “She is what Tottenham represents,” said Spurs manager Robert Vilahamn. “To dare is to do.”

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Thomas, who will play her former club Manchester United in the final after they beat Chelsea 2-1, said. “I was just chuffed, honestly so happy. I feel so proud of everybody in the group. It means the world for us to get to Wembley and make history for this club, the girls, the staff, the whole team, the fans, everyone. We’re just over the moon.”

It is another milestone and “evidence”, in Vilahamn’s words, of this team’s journey, which had to rebuild its foundations following the sacking of Rehanne…

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:…

“I wasn’t like this before,” says Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn. “I wasn’t a good professional athlete. I wasn’t a good leader or person when I was younger. I was kind of snobby. I thought I knew everything. I’ve taken a journey and developed how I want to be as a coach.”

The 41-year-old has been on a journey from player to coach, teacher to entrepreneur. Such learnings have shaped how Vilahamn manages his Women’s Super League side. Before a historic FA Cup semi-final clash against Leicester on Sunday, he sat down with The Athletic to share his story.

At 16 years old, Vilahamn, who had never travelled outside his small childhood village of Skalhamn, Sweden, moved 130 kilometres (80 miles) south to Gothenburg. He had his own apartment and a full-time salary as a professional footballer. It was a far cry from his family’s humble beginnings where his father worked at the harbour, driving a forklift truck, while his mother, who died nine years ago from cancer, stayed at home trying to make sure there was food on the table for his six siblings.

“The only thing I did was play football with my siblings, cousins and neighbours in the garden,” Vilahamn says looking out over the immaculate pitches at Tottenham’s training ground in north London….

Former Wimbledon manager and Tottenham Hotspur defender Joe Kinnear has died at the age of 77.

Kinnear played for Tottenham and Brighton and Hove Albion during an 11-year career as a player, making a combined 212 club appearances.

He also won 26 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Kinnear went on to manage Luton Town, Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United — where he also held the position of director of football.

His passing was confirmed in a statement by Newcastle that read: “Newcastle United is saddened to learn of the passing of Joe Kinnear at the age of 77.

“Joe worked at the club as both Manager and Director of Football.

“The thoughts of everyone at #NUFC are with Joe’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

A statement from Spurs said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former player, Joe Kinnear. The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”

AFC Wimbledon added: “A true legend of the Club, Joe gave us some amazing memories that we treasure.”

Former Premier League striker John Harton, who played under Kinnear at Wimbledon, said: “Sad news hearing that my ex-boss Joe Kinnear has passed away.. My thoughts are with Joe’s wife Bonnie and the Kinnear…

Take a look at the top six places in the Women’s Super League (WSL) table and you could be forgiven for thinking it was the Premier League standings from any point over the past decade.

Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur — the Premier League’s established ‘Big Six’ — occupy positions one to six in the WSL with seven games remaining. Never before have they all finished in the top six in the same season.

Is that good or bad, exciting or boring? One thing is for sure, it is a far cry from the first WSL season in 2011. Independent sides Doncaster Rovers Belles and Lincoln Ladies were among the eight teams involved. Of the founding members, only Arsenal (2011 league winners), Chelsea (sixth) and Liverpool (eighth) remain in the WSL. Manchester City Women relaunched in 2014, Manchester United in 2018 and Tottenham were renamed Tottenham Hotspur Women in 2019. Top-six finishers in recent years have included Birmingham City and Reading (2018-19), Reading and Everton (2019-20), Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion (2020-21), West Ham United (2021-22), and Aston Villa and Everton (2022-23).

Today, every WSL side is affiliated with a men’s team and the top of the table has a very familiar look to it.

The mirror image of the…

Permanent concussion substitutions will be introduced into the laws of football, the game’s lawmakers have confirmed.

The measure, which has been trialled in a number of competitions such as the Premier League, Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship and FA Cup, will come into effect from July 1, 2024.

Teams will be able to use additional substitutions, outside of their allotted amount, if any player is showing signs of a concussion, regardless of the number of changes they have made already.

However, a trial for temporary concussion substitutions — a measure which has been called for by the Premier League as well as players’ unions — was not approved at the annual general meeting of The International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Scotland on Saturday.

It is understood the Premier League remain of the view that permitting professional leagues to trial temporary concussion substitutes will significantly benefit player welfare and the sport.

Scottish Football Association CEO, Ian Maxwell, said: “Regarding permanent concussion substitutions, the trial we’ve run is effectively concluded and that is now enshrined in the laws of the game.

“It will be for competitions to determine whether they want to use permanent concussion substitutes, as per the…