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Teams at every step of the pyramid will be encouraged to embrace AI as part of a new partnership the Football Association’s director of women’s football hopes will help boost attendances at overlooked local clubs. On Thursday the FA announced a new three-year deal which will see tech company Adobe take over as title sponsor for the Women’s FA Cup, which this year boasts a doubled prize pot from £3million to £6m. But while the women’s game has witnessed unprecedented recent growth, particularly following the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph, Baroness Sue Campbell admits clubs below the top tiers have not equally benefitted from the boost. The FA’s director of women’s football told the PA news agency: “If you’re talking about Newcastle in tier three, they’re getting 20,000 people through the gates already, but you could also be talking about another club at tier three who are lucky if they get two people at a game. “So we’ve got a long way to go still to get people to commit to come. There are a lot of lessons to learn by looking around, we’ve really done some good looks across at the United States where they get massive audiences for relatively low-tier games, but I think there’s a different culture in the way Americans either play sport or watch it. “So we are having to build that culture of attending women’s games. The volume of interest is just growing and growing (but) people aren’t used to going and looking at their local women’s team. “I think that’s what part of this (partnership) is about, using the FA Cup to connect clubs with their local population, their local community, looking at how they generate content which excites people to want to come, which gives them an interest in the individuals that are playing.” Marketing is key to drawing those audiences, but, like ticket sales, staffing and resources across the lower tiers of English women’s football vary wildly. Part of the new partnership will see Adobe give access to and train all 460 clubs in the competition on what it describes as an “AI-first” content creation app the FA hopes will allow teams to better market and promote themselves to boost interest and attendances, without putting undue strain on already-stretched staff. Campbell, who in September announced she will retire from her role at the FA in 2024 after eight years, appreciates a one-size-fits all approach will not work but is optimistic about the technology’s potential. She said: “We’ll have to think about how we support those clubs that perhaps are the one-person club, where they are trying to organise the post, send out the kit and also do the marketing. “I hope we can actually enable these people to do things they perhaps don’t even know right now they are capable of doing. I think we will have to tailor it according to what is there, but we’ve got really good intelligence from the FA’s point of view about where every club in that structure is, and I’m sure we can adapt.” Beyond the practical and potential financial advantage there is, at least for Campbell, also a more philosophical benefit in putting the latest tech in the hands of hundreds of clubs. She added: “I think women and girls often haven’t had a voice, and certainly not in football. We’re gradually giving them one, and I think therefore the potential is just enormous.” Read More Stephen Kenny believes he leaves behind a ‘great job’ for Ireland successor Stephen Kenny leaves role as Ireland manager after contract is not renewed Owen Farrell not planning to end his England career any time soon Lionel Messi condemns treatment of Argentina fans during clash with Brazil Everton have extra motivation following points deduction – director of football What happens next for Wales as they look to book a place at Euro 2024?

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has signed a two-year deal with French club Lorient. Mendy left Man City last month at the expiration of his contract, having not played for the Premier League and Champions League winners since 2021. The 29-year-old was cleared of rape and attempted rape at Chester Crown Court last week. Mendy, who progressed through Le Harve’s academy before establishing himself during three seasons at Marseille, joined City in 2017 for a reported fee of £52m after a solitary campaign with Monaco. He would go on to be involved in three Premier League title wins with Pep Guardiola’s side but his last appearance occurred during the opening game of the 2021-22 in defeat at Tottenham. Later that same month, Mendy was reprimanded in custody after being charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in August 2021. City suspended the French full-back, who was granted bail the following January but only after being charged with three more counts of rape. In May 2022, Mendy pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape, one attempted rape and one sexual assault. The next month he was charged with another count of rape, and in September he was found not guilty on one charge of rape. Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one court of sexual assault in January, but the same jury could not reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape. It saw a retrial and last week Mendy was found not guilty of one charge of rape and one charge of attempted rape, which has allowed the defender to resume his professional career. Lorient finished 10th in Ligue 1 last season under Regis Le Bris and the player will begin work with his new club on Wednesday. “FC Lorient is pleased to announce today the signing for two seasons of French international left-back Benjamin Mendy,” a club statement read. “The native of Longjumeau, who will wear number five with the Merlus, will take his first steps at Espace FCL today. Welcome Benjamin!”

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With so much still unsaid around this Spain team, three statements over the last 48 hours stood out all the more, that illustrate much of the story of their Women’s World Cup run. One was Tere Abelleira immediately after the semi-final victory over Sweden in Auckland. “Now we can talk about a ferocious team spirit,” she said. It was as the midfielder was saying this in the Eden Park mixed zone that Jenni Hermoso was striding behind and shouting: “Come on! We’re in the final of the f***ing World Cup!” That is now the most important fact of all. It was amid this mood of jubilation, however, that the abrasive Spanish federation boss Luis Rubiales came out with something that was much more open to dispute. “What we have endured is a lot,” said Rubiales. “That questions have been asked of Jorge Vilda, who is a hard-working man, a world-class coach, who has turned down other federations that have offered more money and stayed with Spain. We have stuck with those who have always wanted to be here, that have valued the great work that he has done to grow, and we have forgotten the people with resentments. He has continued working with his people and not paid attention to those who wanted to destroy him.” It was the first time at this World Cup that anyone in the camp has publicly raised the squad mutiny that has shaped Spain’s entire run, since most of it has been set aside in an uneasy truce. The description of “people with resentments” sounds like the most cavalier way to blow all this up, especially as the biggest game of all remains. While that “ferocious team spirit” should be more than enough to keep Spain together through the build-up, there is still the possibility for a huge fall-out if this team is defeated by England on Sunday. Rubiales’ words only add another edge to a situation that is already hugely complicated, both in terms of how it came to this and how everyone is dealing with it. It is not just about Vilda, although he is the most public face, visibly ignored by some players in victory but embraced by others. The 15 players who last year sent the email resigning from the national team – with the tacit support of Alexia Putellas, Jenni and Irene Paredes – had several complaints. Most focused on how oppressively disciplinarian Vilda’s managerial regime was but they were also unhappy about how outdated the entire international set-up seemed. Some of the arrangements, like travelling long distances on bus or not having staff in certain key roles, fell well below their club standards. They did not feel any of this gave them the best possible chance of fulfilling a generation of talent. Unsaid but undeniably perceived by so many around the situation is that some of the players do not think Vilda is a good enough manager. There is at least a fair argument to this, even as Rubiales protested he is “a world-class coach”. Many would certainly dispute that. That Vilda has such a strong relationship with Rubiales is just another complication. With the federation risking the chance of a generation, and some players realising the same, overtures were made. Hermoso and Paredes returned, opening a way back. The federation’s director of women’s soccer, Ana Alvarez, met with every single player individually over May and June. All complaints were heard. Only some players were accepted back, and that involved having to send an email declaring their willingness to be called up again. They were Ona Batlle, Mariona Caldentey and – above all – Aitana Bonmati, perhaps the best player in the world right now. Vilda decided to stick with the players involved in preparation for this World Cup, just as Rubiales decided to stick with him. It has resulted in a squad that is partly made up of rebels and replacements. Some have set aside grievances for the greater good. Others are grateful to Vilda for persisting with them. All have overlooked this for the time being, which was why Rubiales so abrasively addressing it before the final is such a risk. It has only complicated already conflicted feelings around this Spain team. A growing view at this World Cup and back home in Spain has been that most support the players but do not want the national team to win because that is a vindication for the federation and Vilda. It doesn’t help Rubiales that he is not a popular figure, commonly seen as one of the most divisive in Spanish sport. There is also some inevitable backlash against the players, since there is the constant threat of the issue getting subsumed into the usual culture wars, but this is where the general public parking of the mutiny has at least offered something like a positive. One figure with insight into the situation spoke of how there can be internal conflict for some players, too. They want to do the best for themselves, but know that every success makes the federation and the manager look good. For the moment, at least, it has been a more unusual example of the classic dynamic of adversity creating success. There has also been compromises and common ground. Vilda’s staff have softened some approaches. The federation has listened and acted on other concerns, such as the willingness to move camp when the players were bored out of their minds in Palmerstown North. Some of Vilda’s calls have worked, such as bringing teenage sensation Salma Paralluelo on as a substitute to break games. Others would say that’s just an obvious move. There is also a more obvious fact here. In a historic football shift that long preceded Rubiales, and greatly influenced the English Football Association, Spain were one of the first wealthy western European football cultures to implement the kind of coaching revolutions that has characterised the modern game. The country industrialised talent production, while going further than most similar federations in underpinning it with a defined football identity. While that has almost come back on itself in the men’s game, creating this self-repeating and now almost self-defeating cycle of the ball endlessly getting circulated, the more developmental stage of women’s football means it can be much more effective. Spain are one of the few teams at this World Cup with such an ingrained style, made in Barcelona, that goes much deeper than any coaching decision. The wider national coaching structure has meanwhile honed the natural talent of stars like Putellas and Bonmati, producing elite athletes that also have that resilience that has been so apparent at this World Cup. The likelihood is that this supersedes any of Vilda's decisions. The squad’s mentality has helped, which is why they didn’t buckle after the collapse against Japan during the group stage. In a strange way, that 4-0 defeat might even have served them, helping to solve further tactical issues. Bonmati even said at the time “this is going to unite us more than ever”. It could mean Spain become the only world champions in either men’s or women’s football to have also lost by more than three goals in the same competition, other than West Germany 1954. Japan 2011 are the only previous Women’s World Cup winners to have even lost a game, adding one other little twist. There is then one final layer. It was the frustration at a defeat to England in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals that brought all this to a head. It is now an even bigger game against England that might fully illustrate how they have adapted. A lot may remain unsaid after Sunday but, to use an old Spanish football saying, some of the truth will be on the pitch. 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