Serena Williams involvement ‘a win for women’s football’

Chelsea forward Catarina Macario feels Serena Williams’ new affiliation with her side perfectly encapsulates the upward trajectory of women’s football.

In May, 23-time grand slam singles winner Williams’ husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, announced he had purchased a reported eight to 10 per cent stake, worth around £20million, in the six-time reigning Women’s Super League champions.

The couple flew over for the FA Cup final four days later at Wembley – where Macario scored in the 3-0 victory over Manchester United – on a weekend Ohanian predicted his new investment could become a billion-dollar operation.

“This is a win for women’s football,” Macario, asked about Williams’ presence, told the PA news agency. “It’s a win for women’s sports.

“It doesn’t really matter who you root for, it’s just to have someone like that back the game, back the women’s game, it’s just tremendous.

“It’s amazing. It’s so cool. We all know who Serena is, she was a role model growing up, and to have someone like her be part of the team and the club is an incredible support.

“I think it really shows how far the game is going. I think people are starting to wake up and know, actually, this is very profitable.”

Chelsea get their title defence underway with Friday’s WSL season opener against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Macario joined the Blues from Lyon in July 2023 but did not make her debut until March 2024, scoring six minutes after coming on against Leicester to end a 20-month recovery from serious injury.

The United States international is no stranger to relocation. She moved to America from Brazil aged 12, a period she says was a “very tough, very difficult transition which required a lot of sacrifices from myself and my family”.

She added: “We went through a lot to make my dream come true and to get me to the point where I am today. Not knowing any English, being separated from your mom, and just starting a whole new life is always very tough, especially at that age, but I guess it is something that has proved to have been worth it.

“I think, as hard as it was, I would do it all over again if I had to, if I knew that it would lead to so many open doors.”

One of those doors led to Lyon, where she played a critical role in their 2021-22 French title and Champions League-winning campaigns, scoring 23 goals in 33 games.

That spell left the USA international in a unique position when her Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, left at the end of the 2023-24 season to become her national team head coach, while her former Lyon boss, Sonia Bompastor, was named as Hayes’ replacement at Stamford Bridge.

Any questions about how difficult it might be for the Frenchwoman to follow the charismatic Hayes were answered when Chelsea sealed an unbeaten domestic treble in Bompastor’s first season in charge.

“I wasn’t surprised in the slightest,” Macario added. “She’s a serial winner. That’s just who she is. She demands the very best from every player, every staff member.

“She took us to even greater lengths and now that we are one year into her era, we’re all excited to see what more we can achieve.”