kickOFF (news round-up)

She Kicks opens its first issue with kickOFF, a two-page news round-up of the stories shaping the game at the end of 2009. The lead item is Lucy Bronze becoming the first British player to win an NCAA College Cup, North Carolina beating Stanford 1-0, with context on Danielle Murphy, Kelly Smith and UCLA coach Jill Ellis. Other items cover the FA inviting club applications for the eight-team Women’s Super League due to start in March 2011, and ESPN’s four-year broadcast deal; a Top 10 of the season’s heaviest UK league scorelines; retired Sweden striker Victoria Sandell-Svensson joining Let’s Dance; 140,000 early ticket orders for Germany 2011; Loughborough student Hong Eun-ah named Asia’s best female referee; Copenhagen research finding football beats jogging for fitness; WPS transfers taking Katie Chapman, Lianne Sanderson, Fara Williams, Kosovare Asllani and Jessica Landstrom stateside; Natasha Harding’s S4C presenting; and Hope Powell’s Sunday Times award.