Chelsea beat Manchester United 6-5 on Saturday to win the Women's World Sevens series title in London and collect the $500,000 prize. The final was decided by one goal, a sharp finish to a tournament built around flair, quick turnovers and constant movement.
The victory came at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium after three days of sevens football from 28-30 May, with eight Women's Super League clubs taking part in the third series. Chelsea's players had already turned the event into a show, but the result still had to be earned when it mattered most.
That mattered because the format was made for goals and celebration: rolling substitutes, no offsides and 15-minute halves encouraged the kind of looseness that produced backflips, worm dances, a rabona assist and even a pretend CPR celebration. Everton's route included a 5-2 semi-final win before it lost to United, while Chelsea answered the occasion with its own parade of energy and imagination.
Sonia Bompastor said she enjoyed the walkout before the semi-finals and admitted the idea came from the players. She added that she is usually quiet, but the team had only rehearsed it a little in the dressing room and she joked that the players who had not played enough could get the chance to drop her. Bompastor was carried out by her players and flipped to the ground, then later borrowed a camera from a nearby photographer and pretended to film the team before the final.
Marc Skinner chose a different entrance, walking out dancing in a dressing gown and later appearing in a white dressing gown and sunglasses for a guard of honour. The contrast fit a tournament that was marketed as fun and celebratory, yet still ended with a 6-5 scoreline that left no doubt about the competitive edge underneath the spectacle. The series finished a day before the Women's FA Cup final at Wembley, and Chelsea leaves London with the title, the prize money and the clearest football score of the weekend.
