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Filling the WSL Gap: What I’ve Been Watching and Listening To
- Amelie Kirk
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The international break has left me with a very obvious WSL-shaped gap in my week, so I’ve been getting my football fix elsewhere. Over the last week or so that’s meant podcasts on rotation, a return to the Matildas and a few football-adjacent rewatches, all helping to bridge the gap until normal service resumes.
PODCASTS
I listened to the Gals FC Dream Teams Podcast this week, a relaxed and genuinely feel-good listen that comes out of the Gals FC community. Each episode centres around guests building their “dream team” of influential women. It’s an easy and uplifting listen that feels rooted in the community side of women’s football rather than the top level and a nice change of pace from more analysis-heavy podcasts.
On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve also been listening to Upfront by Chloe Morgan and Rachel O'Sullivan, which definitely scratches the analysis itch. As I try to get better at understanding football from a more tactical point of view, it’s been a really useful listen for breaking down matches and bigger talking points in a way that feels smart without being overwhelming.
Rounding out the week’s listening (and a slightly shameless plug), I also recorded a new episode of The Girls Watch Girls Play Podcast, the weekly show I host with fellow Girlactico writer Sophie Hurst. It’s our space to talk through what’s been happening across the women’s game, mixing humour with the social and governing politics that sit around it.
TELEVISION
Living in London means most of my international football lately has involved following the Lionesses through their recent competitions, but with the Asia Cup underway my red and white has been stripped off and replaced firmly with lashings of green and gold. In preparation for the tournament, I went back to Matildas: The World at Our Feet on Disney+, which follows the squad building towards the 2023 World Cup. Rewatching it felt like the quickest way to slip back into tillies mode.
Not strictly football, but I also fell into an Olympics highlights spiral and ended up watching a lot of Alysa Liu’s figure skating. Her story of retiring at such a young age and then returning on her own terms feels like such a powerful reminder of how important joy and self-expression are in women’s sport.
I also finally started Heated Rivalry, after what feels like every fellow gay I know insisting I would love it. They were not wrong. It’s very saucy, very easy to get pulled into and despite only being a couple of episodes in I may already be hooked.
FILMS
A trip to see the family meant another viewing of Copa 71 on Prime Video – my second, my parents’ first. I’ve written about it before, so I won’t retell the whole story here, but it remains one of those documentaries that makes you both inspired and slightly furious about how women’s football history has been handled. Watching my parents react to it in real time made it feel new all over again.
At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I rewatched She’s the Man with my girlfriend. As a loose Shakespeare retelling (Twelfth Night, but make it early-2000s football chaos), it neatly merges both of our interests – the sport for me, the theatre for her. It’s ridiculous, dated in places and not remotely concerned with tactical realism, but as comfort viewing during an international break, it absolutely delivers.
That’s been my football media week; a mix of rewatches, podcasts and international tournament energy. As much as I’m counting down the days until the WSL is back, I’m equally excited to see how the Asia Cup unfolds and with WAFCON just around the corner, there’s plenty to look forward to.
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