Good Evening!

Currently, the Paris Olympic Torch is in the quaint city of Vichy, known for its thermal baths and grand architecture.

This evening, there's a more important handing over of a torch - the reigns of the TDA Sport Newsletter introduction.

George Finlayson, new to Team TDA, is ready for the weight of the sporting world on his shoulders. You've been reading his writing for the past few weeks, and I've been taking all the credit (it's been good while it's lasted). But now, it's time to let George fly. I've spoken to him about how important you are to me, and he knows he has a duty to make you fall in love with sport every weekday at 5pm. I'll still be here, like a watchful Batman admiring Gotham below. I may even pop in and exercise my co-founder-veto-introduction powers when I have a fun story to tell you (Article 13.6 of George's contract - life's not fair, is it).

Viva La TDA Sport. Over to you, George.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

13
The number of first-time players selected in a 38-man Wallabies squad announced this morning by new coach Joe Schmidt. The squad will head into a camp in Brisbane on Sunday to prepare for their first Test match of the year against Wales. The match will take place in Sydney on July 6.

Quote of the day

“I tripped over a step in the garden and managed to, somehow, dislocate my ankle; break my tibia and fibula; and rip two ligaments off the bone. What the heck.”
Katie Archibald, who is a British cyclist and two-time Olympic champion, in a post on Instagram. Following her freak garden accident, Archibald will no longer be able to compete at her third Olympics in Paris. 

Random fact of the day

Trischa Zorn-Hudson is the most decorated Paralympian of all-time. The American swimmer won a whopping 55 medals (including 41 gold) at seven paralympics between 1980 and 2004. Zorn-Hudson was born with a genetic eye condition which caused her to be blind. She is now an attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

I’ve got 1 minute

In AFLW news this week, the league has confirmed the 2024 draft will abandon its state-based model and implement a national system. This means all 18 clubs will have access to players across the country, instead of only players from their home state.

AFLW Draft

Previously, prospective AFLW players could opt in to the national draft pool, but if they didn’t, they could only be picked by clubs within their state. In 2023, 70% of players opted in, demonstrating that a significant portion of AFLW players are now willing to relocate to play football. 

The change comes after the minimum salary for AFLW players was increased to $67,337 through a collective bargaining agreement, which kicks in next year. Players will now also be eligible for a relocation allowance if they move interstate.

What they said

AFL Executive General Manager Laura Kane, said: "As the league continues to evolve, we're seeing more draftees willing to chase their football dreams by moving interstate… This will allow our rising stars to be more equally spread across the league, fast tracking the improvement of developing sides and strengthening the competitive balance of the competition.”

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I’ve got 2 minutes

After week one of the world’s second most watched football tournament, let’s see what’s making headlines.

Serbia to quit the tournament?

Serbia’s football federation has threatened to quit the tournament after chants about the killing of Serbians were reportedly heard from fans at the Croatia v Albania match in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has launched an investigation into the allegations.

Earlier this week, both the Albanian and Serbian football federations were fined €10,000 ($AU16k) each because fans were displaying nationalist flags at Euro games against Italy and England respectively. It is not uncommon for geopolitical tensions to surface at football games between Balkan countries. 

Serbia Football Association General Secretary Jovan Šurbatović said in a statement: "What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even at the cost of not continuing the competition. We will request UEFA to punish the federations of both teams. We don't want to participate in that, but if UEFA doesn't punish them, we will think about how to proceed."

Teams through to knockout stage after two games

In Group A, Germany were the first team through to the knockout stages of the tournament after they won their first two games against Scotland and Hungary this week. Germany’s final group game will be against Switzerland.

In Group B, Spain are through to the next stage of the tournament after defeating reigning Euro champions Italy 1-0 last night. They beat Croatia 3-0 in their first match and are shaping up to be strong contenders for the title. They will play Albania in their final group stage. 

In Group C, England missed their first opportunity at going through to the next stage after they drew 1-1 with Denmark overnight. They won their first match against Serbia 1-0. The pre-tournament favourites will play their final group stage game against Slovenia next week.

Teams from groups D, E, and F who won their first match will have a chance to qualify for the Round of 16 early when they play their second group stage matches over the weekend.

Format reminder

Teams must finish in the top two places in their group (there are four teams in each) to advance to the Round of 16. From the six groups, the four best-performing third-placed teams in each group will also qualify for the Round of 16.

How to watch

All games of the UEFA Euro Championship 2024 can be streamed live and exclusive on Optus Sport.

A message from our sponsor

Deakin Research: Addressing Online Harm in Australian Women’s Sport

Did you know? 9 in 10 elite sports women have experienced some form of gendered online harm.

A Deakin University study has exposed how common cyberbullying directed at Australia’s top female athletes is, with 85% of those surveyed sharing that the abuse has negatively impacted their wellbeing.

‘These results should sound alarm bells at all Australian sport organisations,’ said Research Lead, Dr Caitlin McGrane of Deakin’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

‘We found 87% of elite sportswomen experienced gendered online harm within the past year, with many the subject of personal insults, hate speech and purposeful attempts to embarrass them. Half experienced harassment and almost 40% were sexually harassed.’

A total of 138 elite, professional and semi-professional sports women from 32 sports were surveyed, exploring the patterns of athlete social media use, the prevalence and type of online harm they experienced, the impact of that harm and their experiences reporting and dealing with abuse.

Read more here.

Looking back…

Looking forward…

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