Chelsea won the Women’s World Sevens series in London after defeating Manchester United 6-5 in the final. The latest edition of the tournament awarded the winners a $500,000 (£372,000) prize.
The seven-a-side tournament, known for its flair and goal-scoring emphasis, was hosted at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium. Eight clubs from the Women’s Super League participated in the series, which ran from 28-30 May.
Creative Celebrations and Unique Format
The Women’s World Sevens series featured backflips, rabonas, and a fake birth acted out during a player walkout entrance. The format included rolling substitutes, no offsides, and 15-minute halves, encouraging creativity on the pitch.
Staff members and officials participated in the entertainment. Tottenham boss Martin Ho wore a fluffy blue cowboy hat. London City Lionesses manager Eder Maestre celebrated with Nikita Parris using a special handshake.
Chelsea’s Winning Performance and Antics
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor was carried out by her team for the semi-finals and flipped to the ground. Bompastor said the idea came from the players. She also borrowed a camera and pretended to film the players before their final.
Chelsea’s players also pretended to be tenpin bowling. Defender Ellie Carpenter and midfielder Wieke Kaptein did the worm, while Aston Villa teenager Rachel Maltby backflipped.
Manchester United’s Dressing Gown Entrance
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner walked out dancing in a dressing gown. He also wore sunglasses to a guard of honour.
Elaborate Walkouts and On-Pitch Flair
Everton designed a fake coffin, which turned out to be a black suitcase with defender Hannah Blundell inside, during their walkout. Toffees striker Katja Snoeijs pretended to give birth, with her team-mates acting as midwives who delivered a football with pictures of injured players on it.
On the pitch, Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones shone with a rabona assist for Erin Cuthbert. United’s Melvine Malard celebrated by pretending to need CPR.
Previous events in Estoril and Fort Lauderdale provided a prize money pool of $5m (£3.76m) spread among its eight participants.