The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a racing event that’s been going on since 1916. It’s a 12.42-mile run that climbs 4,720 feet and serves as a proving ground for carmakers to test the speed and agility of their new vehicles.
Electric cars tend to do well in the Pikes Peak race; they don’t have to deal with the problems of high altitudes and thinner air that can stymie racecars powered by fossil fuels, making it an ideal testing ground. The first electric car to win was in 2015, when Honda claimed victory with an electric CR-Z. Volkswagen’s ID R set a course record in 2018, blasting up the course at over 90 mph in just under eight minutes.
But for the past two years, one company has claimed the title of King of the Mountain with its wildly designed electric demonstrators: Ford. The engineers at the automaker’s racing division approach the race with the zeal of a mad scientist. First there was the SuperVan 4.2, a 2,000 horsepower (not a typo) “lightly modified” Transit van with a rear wing so enormous it looked like it could simply fly to the top of the infamous hill. Then there was the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck, a beastly version of the automaker’s electric pickup that, like the SuperVan, took home the top prize — even after briefly coming to a complete stop during its run.
For the past two years, one company has claimed the title of King of the Mountain with its wildly designed electric demonstrators: Ford
This year, Ford is switching things up with the Super Mustang Mach-E, an EV demonstrator with specs similar to the SuperVan and SuperTruck, with some key differences. Still, the Super Mustang Mach-E will have the same challenge: get to the top of the hill faster than anyone else.
And while SuperTruck was an evolution of SuperVan, the Super Mustang Mach-E is more of a “ground-up exercise,” said Zach Burns, F1 and EV demonstration program engineer, in an interview. That includes a new suspension, a full aerodynamic redesign, carbon brakes, and other additions designed to help the demonstrator charge up the notorious hill as fast as possible.
Much of that will come down to downforce, and Ford Performance has really outdone itself with this one. Perhaps you’ve noticed the enormous rear wing that’s reminiscent of a more traditional racecar design with endplates over the curved, body-joining structure. This will help the Mustang Mach-E generate a staggering 6,900 pounds of downforce at 150 mph, surpassing even last year’s SuperTruck high-downforce configuration.
“You’re only going to see that kind of level [of downforce in] F1 and LMP1 [vehicles] back in the day,” Burns said. “So it’s a very high downforce vehicle.”
The Super Mustang Mach-E is more of a “ground-up exercise”
Design work began last September, Burns said. By the end of October, the Ford Performance team had “fully committed” to the design of the vehicle. And final assembly took place about a month and a half ago in Austria by STARD Advanced Research and Development, Ford’s manufacturing partner in the project.
The team started with a point-mass model, cycling through “hundreds and hundreds” of iterations until they settled on the form factor that would be most competitive on the track, Burns said. “So you’re looking at wheelbase track, width, lengths, weights, power, downforce — just kind of all the different spectrums of a vehicle and to settle on the attributes you’d want to have,” he added.
Crucially, the Super Mustang Mach-E is a lighter and more nimble racer than its predecessors, with more regenerative ability and a more balanced weight distribution. This will help with the 12.42-mile course’s twisty ascent, Ford says.
At the heart of the Super Mustang Mach-E are three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors producing over 1,400 horsepower, all fed by 50kWh of ultra-high-performance Li-polymer nickel-manganese-cobalt pouch cells. Like last year’s entry, the demonstrator operates on a voltage of 799V, but this year’s setup sheds critical weight — over 260 pounds — while delivering regenerative braking of 710kW. The car’s carbon braking system, forged magnesium wheels, and Pirelli P-Zero tires are engineered to withstand the punishing 156 turns up to the 14,115-foot summit.
At the heart of the Super Mustang Mach-E are three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors producing over 1,400 horsepower
Ford is eyeing a potential hat trick (or would it be a Triple Crown?) with this year’s race, which takes place June 22nd in Colorado. As with Ford’s previous Pikes Peak entrants, French racing impresario Romain Dumas will pilot the Mach-E to the summit. To mark Dumas’ milestone with the team, the Mustang Mach-E will carry the official race number 310 — a nod to his third entry with Ford Performance and tenth overall run up Pikes Peak.
But this is not some vanity project for Ford. Key learnings from the Super Mustang Mach-E and its counterparts are “actively influencing” the next generation of Ford EVs for production, the company says. This includes innovations in battery chemistry, thermal management, and high-performance electric drive units “tested under extreme stress at Pikes Peak.”
“These vehicles are the upper echelon of the peak of what you can see and what we do here,” Burns said. “I think that definitely helps validate and improve what we do on the production side.”
Hugo Lloris believes his former club Tottenham Hotspur have lifted a weight off their shoulders after winning the Europa League and praised Ange Postecoglou for ending their 17-year wait for silverware.
The 38-year-old goalkeeper departed Spurs in February 2024 after making 447 appearances across 11 years and is set to start for Los Angeles FC in Monday’s FIFA Club World Cup clash against Chelsea.
Lloris, who previously captained Tottenham, revealed his delight at their 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao last month which ultimately was not enough to convince the Spurs hierarchy to keep Postecoglou after their worst-ever Premier League season was confirmed with a 17th-place finish.
“I am really pleased,” Lloris said of Tottenham’s triumph. “I am really happy for the club, for the people at the club, for the players.
“We ran many, many years after this trophy and finally they got it and I think they deserve it.
“Hopefully it will make their shoulders a little bit lighter for the future and I think it is also the moment to build on this success for Spurs. Even if I am not a Spurs player, I still follow the news, the team and the results.”
Postecoglou was last week replaced by Thomas Frank as head coach and when asked whether the decision surprised him, Lloris said: “No, nothing surprises me in football. But at the same time, it is hard to say something because I am on the other side. I don’t know what happened inside the club so it really hard for me to judge.
“If they made this decision it is because they believe there is another option which is better for the future of the club.
“What Ange Postecoglou did was just remarkable. He brought this Europa League trophy, he brought a lot of joy to the Spurs community, a lot of pride as well and we all have to be thankful for that.
“I am not here to discuss about the choice [of Tottenham’s new head coach]. He is a well-respected coach, He did an amazing job with Brentford. Now, like every coach, when you arrive in a new club, there is a new environment which you have to embrace. But if the club decided to appoint him, it is probably because they decide it is the best for the future.”
Reflecting further on Tottenham’s achievement, Lloris continued: “They had a really hard season. They had a lot of injuries as well that affected the team and performances and I think in the second part of the season, it looks like they decided to go all-in for the Europa League.
“They made it and you just have to congratulate them because it is another way to go to the Champions League. At the end of the day, I don’t know, if you finish 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th and if you get a chance to win a trophy on the other hand, it is just an amazing achievement.
“I was part of a really competitive team for many years and the target was to reach the top four but at which price? We could not find a way to win a cup, a league cup or even a Europa League cup but we managed to go and get the top four for many years. I don’t know, it is all about the optics of the club.”
Affleck, meanwhile, has been singing Garner’s praises in the parenting arena from the beginning.
“Jen is a superhero mom,” the Oscar winner gushed to E! News in 2016. “She is an amazing mother.” And when it came to the kids, “We try our best, we put them first and that’s what we do.”
He paid tribute to Garner and his own mom, Chris Anne Boldt, on Mother’s Day in 2019, calling them “two incredible mothers who have shown me the meaning of love.”
And in 2020, Affleck told People, “When you have children with somebody, you’re connected to them forever…Our marriage didn’t work, and that’s difficult. Both of us really believe that it’s important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they’re together or not.”
Baroness Casey was asked to carry out the review in January
Lack of reliable data
The report highlights flaws in data collection, which it says means it is not possible to assess the scale of the issue.
It cites the Complex and Organised Child Abuse Dataset which identified around 700 recorded offences of group-based child sexual exploitation in 2023, saying this is the only figure on group-based child sexual exploitation.
The report says this is highly unlikely to reflect the true scale of the issue, given this crime is under-reported and suffers from confusing and inconsistently applied definitions.
Ethnicity of perpetrators
One key data gap highlighted by the report is on ethnicity, which is described as “appalling” and a “major failing”.
It says the ethnicity of perpetrators is “shied away from” and still not recorded in two-thirds of cases, meaning it is not possible to draw conclusions at a national level.
However, the report says there is enough evidence from police data in three areas – Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire – to show disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic background amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation.
It adds that the significant number of perpetrators of Asian ethnicity identified in local reviews and high-profile prosecutions across the country also warrants further examination.
In response, the government has said it will make it a formal requirement to collect both ethnicity and nationality data for all cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
National inquiry
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accepted the report’s recommendation that there should be a full national inquiry into child sexual exploitation in England and Wales.
The PM had previously dismissed calls for a national inquiry, arguing the issues had already been examined in a seven-year investigation by Prof Alexis Jay, which concluded in 2022.
Instead the government commissioned Baroness Casey’s review and unveiled plans for five local inquiries – to be held in Oldham and four other areas yet to be named.
But her report recommends both a national police operation to review cases of child exploitation not acted on, as well as a national inquiry.
It says this would be overseen by an Independent Commission, with full powers to compel witnesses to provide evidence, and should be time-limited and targeted.
The inquiry would review cases of failures by local services to identify areas where investigations should be instigated and coordinate a series of targeted local investigations.
‘See children as children’
The report also recommends tightening the law in England and Wales so adults who have sex with a child under 16 are always charged with rape, calling on society to “see children as children”.
Despite the age of consent being 16, it says there are too many examples of child sexual exploitation cases being dropped or downgraded from rape to lesser charges where a teenager has been “in love with” or “consented to” sex with the perpetrator.
In response, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to change the law as the report recommends, as well as work with the Crown Prosecution Service and police to ensure there are safeguards for consensual teenage relationships.
She also accepted a recommendation to review criminal convictions of victims of child sexual exploitation, “so that those convicted for child prostitution offences while their rapists got of scot-free will have their convictions disregarded and their criminal records expunged”.
Taxi licensing ‘loophole’
Taxis have previously been identified as a way children can be at risk of sexual exploitation, both as a potential way for perpetrators to meet their victims, as well as traffic them to different locations.
Taxi licenses are issued by local authorities but the report points out that some areas are much more stringent in their processes to protect children.
For example, in Rotherham the council has introduced taxi cameras and a 100% pass mark requirement for safeguarding tests for drivers.
However, the report says these efforts have been hindered by more lax approaches in other areas and legal loopholes which mean drivers can apply for a license anywhere in the country but then operate in another area.
It calls for this loophole to be closed immediately and for more rigorous licensing standards to be introduced.
A U.S embassy branch in Tel Aviv was slightly damaged due to shock wavers from Iranian missiles that hit the city, according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee said no personnel were hurt and that the property damage was minor.
“Our @usembassyjlm US Embassy in Israel & Consulate will officially remain closed today as shelter in place still in effect. Some minor damage from concussions of Iranian missile hits near Embassy Branch in @TelAviv but no injuries to US personnel,” Huckabee said in a post on the social platform X early Monday.
Huckabee later followed up his earlier post with another stating that “there were NO INJURIES to US Personnel at US Embassy Branch–the minor damage to property were from the shock waves (i.e. ‘concussions’) from the nearby blast.”
“Not human concussions. Repeat–NO INJURIES thank God!” he added.
Israel launched a devastating attack on Iran last week that has led to counterattacks by both sides in the conflict.
The Israel attack was motivated by a desire to end any nuclear capability by Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel is near to “eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat” from Iran as the conflict between the Middle Eastern rivals went into its fourth day.
The conflict between the two Middle Eastern rivals erupted following long-term tensions in the region over Iran’s nuclear capabilities and Israel’s war in Gaza. It also comes as world leaders are meeting in Canada for a Group of Seven (G7) summit.
For that price, you get unlimited talk and texting, international calling, plus 20GB of “high-speed” cell and hotspot data, which a customer support representative told me is 5G.
But while the plan’s price might have been selected to appeal to Trump fans (he is the 47th president and was also 45th president), it was certainly not selected to compete aggressively on price.
For a prepaid phone service, Trump Mobile is a bad deal.
There are cheaper plans than this if you look, basically, anywhere
Prepaid plans are usually designed to offer a mix of affordability and flexibility — most of them let you pay or cancel month to month. They usually include fewer perks than post-paid phone plans, but you can generally get a better price.
The major carriers all do better if you go straight to their own prepaid brands. For $40 per month, you can get unlimited 5G service from Verizon’s prepaid carrier, Visible, from AT&T’s prepaid carrier, Cricket, and from T-Mobile’s prepaid carrier, Metro. Visible also includes smartwatch coverage at that price.
Go beyond the big carriers, and you’ll get even better pricing. Google Fi will give you 30GB of 5G data for $35/month. Walmart Family Mobile offers 20GB of 5G for $33.88 per month. Boost Mobile offers 30GB of 5G for $25/month. And Tello offers unlimited data for $25 per month.
Even if you’re limiting yourself to patriotically branded cell companies, you can do better. US Mobile offers unlimited 5G for $35 per month. And while US Cellular’s $40/month plan only has 15GB of high-speed data, it also has an additional 15GB of hot spot data.
The plan includes phone protection from an auto service company
Of course, every phone plan comes with caveats and loopholes. There’s a reason the pricing here is so variable. Some networks may be more aggressive about throttling your data. Others come with restrictions on hot spots. Some have better coverage maps.
Trump Mobile’s inflated price is bolstered by some unique perks. It includes roadside assistance through Drive America Motor Club with a $100 credit toward towing. It also includes device protection through Omega Mobile Care. This could be a good value, but with service plans like these, what matters is how well they actually work in practice. And it’s hard to ascertain how reliable Omega Mobile Care is when it only seems to exist on the Trump Mobile website. (Omega seems to primarily provide auto service; it is also listed as a “partner” of Drive America.)
The market for cellphone service is confusing. The biggest carriers all offer multiple tiers of plans, multiple ways to pay, and different services through subsidiary brands. Meanwhile, smaller providers — known as MVNOs — that operate off the major networks have become so common and easy to create that the SmartLess podcast just launched their own mobile plan. (They charge $30/month.)
That’s what allows a carrier like Trump Mobile to exist. They don’t have to deploy a network or worry about offering great service — they just have to brand it well.
Everything that happens in sports has additional context when viewed from a betting perspective. From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.
Weekend wrap: Clark delivers for bettors, Ohtani pitching props, Devers, Bane trades’ impact
David Purdum: Notable trades in Major League Baseball and the NBA, the return of Caitlin Clark and a triple-digit long shot U.S. Open winner highlighted a busy sports weekend. Here’s an odds-and-ends look at some betting storylines from the weekend and Monday.
MLB: Shohei Ohtani is slated to make his return to the mound for the Dodgers, acting as an opener in what’s expected to be a one- or two-inning pitching appearance.
ESPN BET was offering +105 on Ohtani to strike out at least two batters during his first trip back to the mound in nearly two years since undergoing elbow surgery. The over on Ohtani’s strikeouts was the only pitching prop among the top-20 most-popular MLB player props with bettors on Monday morning at ESPN BET. Ohtani is a heavy favorite to win the National League MVP (-400).
The San Francisco Giants‘ World Series odds moved from 40-1 to 30-1 at ESPN BET, following a trade with the Boston Red Sox for slugger Rafael Devers. In the first 12 hours since the trade, more bets had been placed and more money wagered on the Giants to win the World Series at ESPN BET than any other team. The Red Sox’s odds to win the World Series (40-1) did not move.
WNBA: The over on Caitlin Clark to score more than 20 points in her return to the court was the most-popular WNBA points prop bet offered at DraftKings on Saturday. The second-most? Clark to score over 30 points. She delivered on both, pouring in 32 points to lead the Indiana Fever to an upset of the previously unbeaten New York Liberty. In her first game back since missing five games with a quad injury, Clark also was the most popular bet in DraftKings’ assists, rebounds and 3-pointers made prop markets. She finished with nine assists, eight rebounds and seven threes.
The sportsbook’s most-popular WNBA spread and money-line bet on Saturday? The Liberty, who lost 102-88.
Golf: J.J. Spaun, a 150-1 pre-tournament long shot, won the U.S. Open. Entering the tournament, Spaun had attracted 0.1% of all the money bet on BetMGM’s odds to win the U.S. Open.
NBA: The Orlando Magic‘s NBA title odds for next season moved from 40-1 to 22-1 at ESPN BET after acquiring Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade Saturday. The Magic have the fifth-best title odds in the Eastern Conference.
June 10: Roman Anthony shakes up AL ROY race after call-up
Doug Greenberg: The Boston Red Sox made a big splash Monday when they called up baseball’s No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony to the major leagues. The sudden newsbreak, which occurred approximately three hours before Boston’s home game against the Tampa Bay Rays, caused a surge in the betting markets, both in the short and long term.
ESPN BET reports that Anthony’s “To hit a home run” market ended up being the third-most bet MLB prop on Monday, while DraftKings says that the 21-year-old was its most bet player overall and the Red Sox were the second-most backed team (Anthony went 0-4 in his debut). That fervor translated to the American League Rookie of the Year market, where both sportsbooks report Anthony as the leading money generator since his call-up, taking upwards of 87% of handle at each. Immediately following the news, ESPN BET slashed Anthony’s price in half from 40-1 to 20-1.
However, the big rush on futures created only a drop in the bucket for the overall market: ESPN BET reports just 2.8% of handle backing him at large, with BetMGM (4%) and DraftKings (7%) reporting only marginally more, placing him outside the top five most bet players by money for the market.
The market leader is easily the Athletics‘ Jacob Wilson, whose scorching hot start to the season has him as a -500 favorite for AL ROTY, according to ESPN BET. Given his very short odds, he’s unsurprisingly the handle leader at BetMGM (31.9%) and ESPN BET (36.6%).
However, the tickets leader for the market at both sportsbooks is Kansas City Royals rookie Jac Caglianone (13-1), who made his MLB debut less than a week before Anthony and has garnered 16.5% of the tickets at ESPN BET. Anthony’s teammate Kristian Campbell (50-1) has also seen a fair amount of action, attracting the second-most bets and money with the sportsbook.
None of the players mentioned began the season as the odds leader for AL Rookie of the Year; that honor belongs to New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez, who opened the campaign at +400 and has since slipped to 20-1, tied for third with Anthony at ESPN BET. Wilson, by contrast, started the season tied with Campbell for third on the odds board at +750, then took the lead by May 1 at +155 before finding his current minus-odds.
May 30: Analysis finds dip in amount bet on hoops this season
Purdum: The amount bet on basketball — both college and professional — dropped an estimated 10% this season compared with last season, according to an analysis by gambling research firm Eilers & Krejcik.
College basketball accounted for the bulk of the decrease, the firm found, but the NBA was not immune. During the first four months of 2025, betting handle on the NBA dropped 5.5% year-over-year, while sportsbook revenue from NBA bets increased 14%, according to the analysis.
Eilers & Krejcik analyzed state revenue reports and reviewed public statements from sportsbook operators in its analysis released this week. It reasoned that the drop in basketball handle stemmed from a decrease in the amount of promotional offers from sportsbooks as well as bettors shifting to “higher margin, lower stake products like [same game parlays].”
Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, acknowledged “softer” basketball handle during the start of 2025.
“We attribute that to some factors that we’ve seen in basketball in the quarter, including some less competitive matchups over the course of the regular season that results in larger spreads when it comes to the betting and consequently has a better impact in terms of what we see,” Flutter CFO Rob Coldrake said during a May earnings call.
“It’s also worth mentioning that the playoffs have got off to a good start,” Coldrake added. “There seems to be really good engagement around the players.”
Sportsbook BetMGM this week released data on the most popular NBA teams and players with bettors this season. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic attracted more bets than any other player, while the Los Angeles Lakers were the most popular team to bet with BetMGM customers.
May 27: Collier WNBA MVP favorite following Caitlin Clark injury
Doug Greenberg: Given her immense popularity and electrifying WNBA rookie season in 2024, it came as little surprise that Caitlin Clark was a leading candidate for league MVP heading into her second campaign, with her odds to win the award bolstered by a plethora of public action.
However, those MVP hopes took a disappointing turn Monday when the Indiana Fever announced that Clark would miss at least two weeks because of a left quad strain, marking the first regular-season games she’ll miss in either her college or professional career. The resulting betting line movement and bettor action was swift.
Just before the announcement, Clark was the -115 favorite to take home the 2025 MVP award, but those odds lengthened to +165 in the immediate aftermath of her injury. By Monday afternoon she was +210, and by Tuesday morning she was +220, according to ESPN BET.
Taking her place at the top of the odds board was Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who has gotten off to a white-hot start this season, averaging a league-leading 29.5 points per game as the follow-up to a 2024 campaign that saw her honored as Defensive Player of the Year. Collier was +185 to win MVP in 2025 before Clark’s injury but immediately jumped to -105 following the announcement of Clark’s impending absence and was -170 by Tuesday morning.
Collier’s odds dominance is also a response to overwhelming action backing her. Multiple major sportsbooks report her attracting the most money in the MVP market since the Clark injury news broke, with ESPN BET and DraftKings saying Collier has received upward of 83% of the handle over that time.
While some bettors are using the opportunity to buy back plus-odds on Clark, many more are exploring other names. Three-time and reigning MVP A’ja Wilson (+900 at ESPN BET) has been a popular selection, with the Las Vegas Aces superstar tying Collier for the most bets taken at FanDuel since Clark’s injury.
ESPN BET also reports that Kelsey Plum (+6000), averaging 24.8 PPG in her first season with the Los Angeles Sparks, has taken 16.8% of the wagers since Monday afternoon, trailing only Collier and Wilson.
As for WNBA title odds, the action has been significant. ESPN BET and BetMGM both report a majority of bet slips backing the New York Liberty (favorites at +185) to win it all since Clark’s injury announcement, while FanDuel, which moved Indiana from +370 to +430, still reports the Fever as its most-backed team over that time period.
May 26: Arkansas consensus College World Series favorite
Purdum: Arkansas is the betting favorite ahead of several SEC teams that sit atop the odds to win the College World Series at sportsbooks.
The Razorbacks were the favorites 9-2 at ESPN BET on Monday after the CWS bracket was announced, followed by LSU (6-1) and Tennessee (8-1). Seven of the top eight teams on the board at ESPN BET hail from the SEC. North Carolina (9-1) of the ACC is the only non-SEC team with odds shorter than 10-1.
Vanderbilt, winners of the SEC tournament and No. 1 overall seed in the CWS, is 10-1 along with Georgia. The SEC accounted for eight of the top 16 seeds in the CWS.
Arkansas began the year around 14-1 to win the CWS but emerged as the consensus favorite midway through the regular season at some sportsbooks. The Razorbacks went 20-10 in the rugged SEC and were 31-5 at home this season. They’ll open against North Dakota State in the Fayetteville regional.
Having a bad headache at the gym, “I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill,” the actress wrote. “Meanwhile, the pain—shooting, stabbing, constricting pain—was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged.”
She was taken to the hospital for a brain scan.
“The diagnosis was quick and ominous: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain,” the Emmy nominee added. “I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture.”
Emilia had immediate surgery to seal the aneurysm, calling the pain “unbearable.” While she was recovering, she continued, she experienced aphasia and was “muttering nonsense.”
A week later, “the aphasia passed,” Emilia added, and she left the hospital a month after being admitted.
At a 2013 brain scan, she learned a growth “doubled in size” and that she needed surgery again.
“When they woke me, I was screaming in pain,” she wrote. “The procedure had failed. I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way—through my skull.”
Thankfully, Emilia shared, she’s now “at a hundred per cent.”
Barnsley Women, playing in the fourth tier, folded in June because of financial pressures, claiming “funding does not trickle down sufficiently”.
Sources at WSL Football say it is working closely with National League clubs to raise minimum standards but the company is aware of short-term financial pressures.
There are also concerns WSL clubs will continue to build a bigger gap.
Chelsea’s sale of their women’s team to themselves – a clever move to navigate Profit and Sustainability Rules – raised questions on whether more financial regulations should be put in place in the women’s game.
The WSL currently has a “soft” salary cap, allowing clubs to spend up to 40% of their revenue on player salaries.
A stricter financial regulation has not been ruled out for the future but WSL Football is wary of stifling growth.
WSL Football chief executive Nikkie Doucet says the “priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women’s game pyramid” and they hope these changes are the “next evolution” in professionalism.
She added: “We believe this will raise minimum standards, create distinction and incentivise investment across the board.
“The introduction of a promotion-relegation play-off creates distinction for the women’s game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match.”
WSL expansion is likely to be welcomed by clubs such as Birmingham City and Newcastle United, who have had an influx in investment recently.
