The former England masterminds looking to build a ‘superpower’

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If a successful experiment succeeds, it makes sense to retry it.

A crucial – if largely unknown – aspect was Kay Cossington and Anja van Ginhoven’s expertise when the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022 and again in 2025.

The former Football Association employees have since formed a new partnership with Bay Collective, a multi-club ownership company that supports global women’s football.

Bay Collective already owns Bay FC in its entirety, and it wants to move to Europe as well.

Van Ginhoven was hired in October as director of global women’s football operations while Cossington serves as the company’s chief executive officer.

“We really want to develop the sport,” the statement read.

Cossington and Van Ginhoven want to use Sixth Street as a tool to make the $115 billion (£87 billion) available to them.

Their main goal is simple: to help their clubs win football games.

Van Ginhoven was at the top of Cossington’s list when she was given the task of finding the “best in the world” to replace Cossington, who described herself as “a kid in the candy store.”

The former FA general manager collaborated with England manager Sarina Wiegman on her three Euros triumphs, starting with the Netherlands in 2017 and the Lionesses in 2022 and 2025.

Cossington requested that she join her in San Francisco as soon as she learned that Van Ginhoven’s intention was to end her summer contract.

“We want to be a global organization with unmatched standards,” Cossington said. “We evaluated everything,”

Anja and her abilities are incredibly special. She is aware of both the performance and business facets of a football team.

She has demonstrated her ability to bring the two together. We identified her in the pool of the best, best talent.

It also matched my culture, she said. It was a simple choice to work with someone who had the same goals, values, and demonstrated exceptional job skills.

Van Ginhoven, who had worked with Wiegman at Dutch club Den Haag and in international football, had to make a big decision to leave the FA.

She claims that Bay Collective is “everything she believes in,” and that she couldn’t resist getting together with Cossington.

Van Ginhoven told BBC Sport, “It’s about using the uniqueness of women’s football to build clubs and improve players.”

“If you are connected, you can act as a superpower as a team, club, and organization to properly advance women’s football.”

We are from different countries, we were raised in different ways, but what connects us is our passion for the beautiful game of women’s football.

“I can’t believe it actually happened,” said one witness.

Anja van Ginhoven at St George's Park in 2022Images courtesy of Getty

Van Ginhoven had the opportunity to celebrate the Lionesses’ success at Euro 2025 before taking up her new position.

She said, “It took a few weeks to a little bit to slow down.” We will do really cool things together, and the first impressions were incredible.

Van Ginhoven recalled Wiegman’s statement that she was leaving.

We said, “We have a dream; let’s do everything and everything we can to finish high.” She said, “Sometimes I still can’t believe it actually happened.”

Sarina and I have a long history, respectively. She never changed as a person, which is what I learned most from her. You can adapt to the situation, but I believe it’s crucial that you remain that good person with high values no matter what happens in the world around you.

“I closely observed that, and I will carry that with me throughout my entire life.”

Cossington had left the FA in May, but he had a significant part in the logistics of their time in Switzerland.

Important factors were making sure Wiegman’s squad had all the resources they needed, organizing friendly opposition in the build-up, and planning basecamps and travel.

She claims that because there were people who “understood the women’s game” and believed in a strategy, she wasn’t surprised by England’s success.

We were “obsessed over the processes,” she said, “particularly the way we coached, how we played, how we operated, the facilities, the basecamps, and everything else.”

“The gains were about the 100% gains, not just the 1% marginal gains. Everything was there. A group of people who had played the women’s game for years came up with the strategy.

Ellen White, Jen Beattie and Ben Haines
The Women’s Football Weekly podcast returns for another season featuring Ben Haines, Ellen White, and Jen Beattie. On the Women’s Football Weekly feed, you can find interviews and additional content from the Women’s Super League and beyond as well as new episodes that are available every Tuesday on BBC Sounds.

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Fired Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah on free speech

Our guest on this Centre Stage episode is journalist Karen Attiah.

Attiah was fired from her position as editor of Global Opinions in September for one of her social media posts. Following the murder of American right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, it was written in response.

The Washington Post’s former editor, Attiah, has opposed the decision and criticized it as unfair.

She explains why she lost her job, how she was terminated, and why she believes the current political climate should concern everyone.

How Colts went from outsiders to unstoppable

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NFL Week 9 of the 2025 season

The Indianapolis Colts are still leading the NFL in eight weeks of play.

People believed they had a strong roster going into the season, despite the difficulties they faced during Shane Steichen’s first two years as head coach.

However, I don’t believe anyone ever imagined that they were doing this.

They are the only NFL team with a 7-1 record and they won four of those games by at least 21 points, making them the leaders of the AFC South.

It’s crazy to think that the Colts could go all the way. This is what makes this team so thrilling.

They were ready to piece together the puzzle. They did a good draft. Some good guys have been acquired by them. They simply required a quarterback.

Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones were both competing for the starting position on a one-year deal, but it was unclear how he would perform. He had never been in such a great setting.

At best, his rapport with the New York Giants was poor. People thought that Jones was a man who was not mobile, who was not making wise decisions, and who was overthrowing people. How frequently did he observe ghosts while standing there?

He was released by the Giants in November, and he spent the season with the Minnesota Vikings’ Sam Darnold.

However, the Colts do not employ a rookie quarterback. Jones is a wise man who is now kicking the ball.

He ranks fourth among the starting quarterbacks for the current season in terms of pass completion percentage (71%), passing yards (262), yards per attempt (8.8), and passer rating (109.9).

Because he gets to manage the game, Jones has never before attained those numbers. He does not have to be the superstar, but he does because the Giants require him to be the one who makes the plays.

He has discussed how he and Steichen are connected. Jones claimed that Steichen oozes optimism and belief, but Jones never felt like an overly optimistic person. The rest of the players are then fed that.

In high school and college, Steichen played quarterback. He has never had the opportunity to live it out, despite having always been an offensive mind.

How Taylor, who is hoping to win the MVP, helps the Colts “eat you alive.”

Jones has never played for a team where the Colts have run games that are as explosive. It can’t be stopped.

Yes, Jones does a good job, but Jonathan Taylor, the running back, is ultimately allowing this team to succeed.

He has always had potential, but he has previously suffered injuries. This portrayal of him right now is the best.

In rushing yards, scrimmage yards, and touchdowns, he leads the NFL. He has 14 touchdowns in eight games and three or more have come in three or more.

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Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, and Jonathan Taylor are just three of the players who have a five-yard average per carry and at least 90 rushing yards per game. Taylor ranks among the running backs who have won the MVP award for the longest.

You can’t deny that Taylor is an MVP candidate because we talked so much about Saquon Barkley winning last year. He’s playing “lights out.”

The Colts have exactly what they need. They have allowed only nine sacks and four turnovers this season, which means they are making big plays for Taylor to run through and protecting Jones.

The Colts are the only team with two players among the top 15 receivers for first downs in the league, Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Warren.

Warren is a rookie and has the most receiving yards (492). Because he is 6′ 6″, physically able, and just runs through people, he ranks seventh in the league (yards after catch) at 293 yards. No Colts receiver has ever had more than 100 yards in a game, which demonstrates how evenly distributed it is.

How can you prevent them, then? You can’t tell which wide receiver or tight end to cover because they are attacking you because they have a run game that makes you unconscious.

Jones appears to be fairly unflappable, and he is putting pressure on these guys by throwing it 15-20 yards. Last weekend, Pittman caught that touchdown catch with his arm for us.

Why could the NFL’s pacesetters succeed?

The Los Angeles Rams were the only Colts defeat, and this could be an 8-0 team without Adonai Mitchell’s drop as he ran into the end zone.

They will, in my opinion, continue. Although it is not like they have anyone who is unwell, they will play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, face the Atlanta Falcons in Germany, and then their bye week.

The ball is being spread around Taylor, which has hardly ever been touched. Additionally, they are so far ahead of their rivals in terms of games that they can play them.

The Colts might lose two more games so that they can rest players toward the end of the season and advance to the playoffs as the healthiest team possible.

I’m not sure how anyone can stop them right now based on their trajectory, their schedule, and everyone remaining healthy.

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Israeli air strike kills four in Lebanon, straining fragile ceasefire

In a move that added pressure to a nearly yearlong truce with Hezbollah, an Israeli airstrike has claimed the lives of at least four people in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s ministry of public health.

Three people were also hurt in the Israeli attack in the Nabatieh district of the Lebanese health ministry, according to a statement released on Saturday.

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A “guided missile” was used in the strike, according to the state-run Lebanon News Agency, to hit a car at about 2:15 pm (16:15 GMT).

Following Joseph Aoun’s accusation that Israel was escalating strikes in response to his request to put a more lasting end to the cross-border attacks, the attack occurred the day after.

In response to Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7 and subsequent attacks on Israel, Hezbollah began to attack Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza in 2023. In November 2024, the two parties reached a ceasefire after fighting for more than a year.

Israel has continued nearly daily air raids in five southern Lebanon locations despite the truce, repeatedly violating the agreement, and has continued to keep troops there. Hezbollah is claimed by Israel, but civilians, first responders, and journalists have also been killed.

Since the ceasefire ended, Israeli forces have killed at least 111 civilians in Lebanon, according to the UN.

Aoun, who demanded talks with Israel in mid-October after President Trump abruptly ended the ceasefire, stated that his proposed talks aim to “end the Israeli occupation.”

Israel has argued that Lebanon’s government has broken the ceasefire by preventing and disarming Hezbollah, as per Israel’s claim.

The armed group rejects the need to disarm.

Aoun earlier this week issued a command to Lebanon’s armed forces to stop any additional Israeli incursion into the south in another sign of rising tensions.

The border town of Blida received the order shortly after Israeli soldiers entered.

Municipal worker Ibrahim Salameh, who had been sleeping there, was killed when they stormed the town hall, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

According to Israel’s military, soldiers opened fire in response to an “immediate threat,” claiming that the operation was intended to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure.

Dodgers seal back-to-back World Series titles

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The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 after extra innings in the final seventh game to win back-to-back World Series titles, making it the first team in 25 years to do so.

When Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double play with the game-winning run on third base, the 11th inning’s home run by catcher Will Smith broke the deadlock at Toronto’s Rogers Centre sparked wild celebrations.

Bo Bichette’s three-run homer in the third inning gave the National League champions a 3-0 lead before the team kept chipping away and scored with four runs on the final inning with solo homers from Max Muncy and Miguel Rojas.

In this epic series, California edges Canada.

The Los Angeles Dodgers players celebrate as Will Smith (right) reaches home plate after his 11th-inning home runImages courtesy of Getty

Since Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, the series had been played against Canada’s only Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the wake of political and trade disputes between North America’s neighbors.

Shohei Ohtani, the most well-known player in baseball, started for the Dodgers but got in trouble in the third inning.

George Springer took the lead with a base hit, advanced to third base on a wild pitch, and was bunted over to second base. Bichette raised the roof as he launched the ball over center field after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was purposefully walked.

Ohtani finished his night as the pitcher, but he was allowed to play as the designated hitter under a 2022 regulation change known as the “Ohtani rule.”

On a sacrifice fly for the team to send Smith home in the fourth inning, the Dodgers immediately responded by loading the bases for Teoscar Hernandez, but Guerrero’s superb diving catch at first base prevented further damage.

Both sets of players run on the field after Justin Wrobleski (top of picture) hit Andres Gimenez with a pitchImages courtesy of Getty

Max Scherzer, a veteran starter for Toronto, left the game in the fifth inning with a 3-1 lead, and Mookie Betts scored on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run.

When Ernie Clement’s stolen base allowed Gimenez to bring him in with a right-field double, the Blue Jays came back.

Both teams frequently changed pitching positions, even switching to starting pitchers from earlier in the series, as is typical in a World Series game seven.

Trey Yesavage, who had started Toronto’s first and fifth games, gave up Muncy’s solo shot in the eighth minute before Rojas’ final-gasp solo effort off Jeff Hoffman levelled the score.

In the ninth inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases but failed to score a run, and both teams did the same as expectation mounted in the following ninth, but both teams fluffed their lines.

A seventh World Series game had gone to extra innings for the sixth time, and Smith’s homer put the Dodgers in the lead.

Los Angeles Dodgers batter Miguel Rojas (centre) is congratulated after his ninth-inning home runImages courtesy of Getty

World Series results and reports

Dodgers, 11-4, in Game 1: Blue Jays

Game 2: Dodgers 1 – 5

Dodgers 6-5 Blue Jays in Game 3.

Game 4: Dodgers 2-6 Blue Jays

Game 5: Blue Jays 1-6 Dodgers

Game 6: Dodgers 1-3 Blue Jays

7th inning: Blue Jays 4-5 Dodgers

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max ScherzerImages courtesy of Getty
Former tennis player Eugenie Bouchard watches game seven at the Rogers CentreImages courtesy of Getty

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