The Football Association (The FA) has unveiled an ambitious new women’s and girls’ football strategy. titled Inspiring Positive Change. The new four-year strategy pledges to create a sustainable future for women’s and girls’ football in England and outlines The FA’s eight transformational objectives to be achieved by 2024.

If the first few weeks of the Premier League have taught us anything, its that attack is the best form of defence and with an abundance of goals being scored before the international break, it has generated a number of talking points. The obvious one is whether or not these additional goals have been scored by the lack of supporters within stadia and although there is perhaps a modicum of truth in this, there is another strand of thought that may soon need to be debated.

After such a lengthy tenure as Arsenal manager, there was always a question regarding Arsene Wenger’s next move and with his relationship with the Gunners being so symbiotic, the thought of him managing another club seemed almost unthinkable. Which is why his current role as FIFA’s head of global football development was the perfect move for the legendary French coach and with no concerns over previous club loyalty holding him back, his experience would be key in helping the game move further forward.

Although the brand new Serie A season has only just got underway, discussions regarding investment in the competition as a whole are nearing a conclusion and after months of discussion, a favoured consortium looks set to buy its way into Italian football’s top division. With private equity funds eyeing up Serie A as fertile ground for a cash injection, several parties have previously declared an interest and with CVC making their first approach back in February, it is they that are now in the driving seat.

Here’s what’s been making the headlines this week: The NBA returns to CCTV5 after a year untelevised, Huya merges with DouYu to give Tencent streaming industry domination, Manchester United unveils first of five entertainment centers, Chinese Basketball Association brings on five new sponsors, ITTF announces Dishang Group as title sponsor, and we released the 3rd Age of Sport manifesto alongside Seven League. In this week’s From The Top, we spoke with Sean Zhang, CEO & Co-founder at Talon Sports, where we discuss competing at the recent Lol Worlds, business opportunities in China, benefits of PSG partnership, and expectations for the China sports industry in the next 12 months.

Charlton Athletic has announced the appointment of Ged Roddy MBE as the club’s Technical Director. Roddy has spent his career working in sport including the Premier League where he was Director of Football Development and wrote the Elite Player Performance Programme (EPPP).

The quest for supporters to be welcome within English stadia continues and with a united front now forming, there is a hope but not yet an expectation, that soon the UK government will eventually bow to such pressure. Pressure that has come via a number of different mediums, none more so than a petition that has recently collected as many as 125,000 signatures, as the clamour to ‘Let Fans In’ grows with each weekend that passes.

With the new French football season underway, the ramifications of the campaign before are still being felt and with supporters not yet entering stadia at maximum capacity, a substantial burden has been placed on the finances of the clubs who operate within its league structure. A burden that without some form of outside assistance, shows no signs of abating anytime soon and with this pertinent threat looming large, a collective plea has been delivered to the nation’s government.

Although Spain and Portugal are obvious international rivals due to their close geographical proximity, it is a shared border which often provides great benefit to the two nations and they will hope this proves to be the case in the distant future. Because even though the 2030 edition of the FIFA World Cup is still an exceptionally long away, the planning phase has already begun and that means soon, a host for football’s biggest party will have to be decided.

Player 4 Player, an exciting, new player-led collective, has launched today with the mission to support current and former professional footballers in their careers on and off the pitch. Founded by elite former players, Stiliyan Petrov, Emile Heskey, Gaizka Mendieta, Michael Johnson and Gareth Farrelly, Player 4 Player will offer guidance and support across a range of services to ensure those in the professional game can achieve their absolute potential throughout and beyond their playing careers.