So what has inspired the Colligo Football Challenge? Well, on the 24th May, the Arsenal women’s team pulled off a miraculous win over an ‘unbeatable’ Barcelona team. Barcelona had two recent Ballon d’or winners in Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, including a host of other stars. However, through guts and determination, Arsenal, led by their captain Kim Little, sneaked in a late winner. Stina Blackstenius came on as a 74th minute substitute and slotted home Beth Mead’s creative pass. It was the stuff of legend, like Luke Skywalker firing that precise torpedo into the Death Star. Renee Slegers, the Arsenal coach, was obviously ecstatic. This was after only becoming the full time coach mid-way through the WSL season.

Despite this victory and lack of a trophy on the men’s side, we don’t like to focus on one side of clubs. Both Barcelona and Arsenal have solid football and financial structures for both their male and female representations. We can see this by the owner’s turnout for the final as well as a host of fans. They also have depth in their squads, which may be unfair to other teams, but again reflects the commitment of the club. It was a credit to see such a huge turnout from fans across the club celebrating the victory. Particularly as only a small turnout was expected.

So with all this in mind, let’s see how the 2025/26 season will unfold with the joint strength off men and women’s football