Arsenal's shared trophy parade for men's and women's teams feted at UEFA event

GENEVA (AP) — When Arsenal parades the club’s trophies won this season through north London on Sunday, the women’s team will share the spotlight.

While the men’s team is champion of England — and maybe Europe after the Champions League final on Saturday — the women’s team is also a world champion.

The inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup was won in January and the Gunners’ management wants that success to be feted.

“We are one club,” Arsenal chief commercial officer Juliet Slot told an audience of women’s soccer leaders at a UEFA-hosted conference.

A clear message at the annual “UEFA Business Case for Women’s Football” event held in Oslo was to view the sport as one, and not separate by gender.

“I actually think that’s a big statement and that it should be like that,” former Arsenal player Johan Djourou told the Associated Press of the bus parade plans.

“If a club promotes both at the same time, that we do the parade together, it’s huge,” added Djourou, the technical director of Switzerland’s women's national teams.

The conference brought together industry leaders ahead of the UEFA Women’s Champions League final last Saturday between two powers, Barcelona and OL Lyonnes.

UEFA created a women’s European club competition in 2001 and the first title games featured independent clubs. FFC Frankfurt was the first champion, beating Umeå of Sweden which won titles in 2003 and ’04.

Germany’s Turbine Potsdam won in 2005 and ’10 and the last indie to reach a final, 2015 champion Frankfurt, later merged with the city’s men’s club Eintracht.

“I always thought the women’s game would change gear the moment that the big men’s clubs buy in,” UEFA deputy secretary general Giorgio Marchetti said.

Marchetti praised long-time Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas as a visionary who saw the value of investing in a women’s team. Lyon won a record eight Women’s Champions Leagues from 2011-22, and lost two of the past three finals to Barcelona.

Independent clubs were financially steamrolled as storied names like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus entered the arena since 2017.

A rare challenge to the new reality is coming from United States investor Michele Kang, now the owner at Lyon — rebranded as OL Lyonnes — and trying to make progress with London City Lionesses, which she bought in 2023.

Arsenal is approaching its 40th season, and increasingly plays games at the club’s 60,000-seat stadium.

“Treat women’s football as an investment. Invest with patience,” club director Slot advised the UEFA-invited audience, suggesting also “never give away free tickets” to games.

The world record transfer fee in women’s soccer has more than doubled in two years.

Arsenal set a record last year paying 1 million pounds (then $1.34 million) for Canada forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool, then Orlando Pride went to $1.5 million signing Lizbeth Ovalle from Mexico’s Tigres UANL.

Tigres executive Carlos Valenzuela told the Oslo audience money from a player sale to Chelsea funded its youth teams down to under-13 level. That was U.S. international Mia Fishel’s move in 2023 for a reported $250,000.

Barcelona’s Xavier O’Callaghan said technical support such as doctors and analysts for the women’s team is “getting closer” to the men's level. He cautioned, “It’s almost impossible to keep everyone happy 100%.”

Women’s soccer still offers good value as the game grows fast, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin insisted: “It is relatively cheap if you compare to the men’s football still. You should invest.”

UEFA’s marquee event driving growth is the European Championship that Germany will host in 2029.

Ceferin quipped that Nadine Kessler, the Germany great who is UEFA director of women’s soccer, promised that that tournament will at least break even financially.

The 2025 edition was a big success, even a surprising one, in Switzerland that UEFA subsidized with about 25 million euros ($29 million). Djourou sees at least a five-year path to develop the domestic club game.

“I cannot say to you that today the stadiums are packed because of the Euros,” Djourou told the AP. “There are more girls playing. It’s been positive but not to the point where I can say that we’ve seen a significant difference.”

“When it comes to, for example, women in leadership positions we know that it’s a bit stuck,” said Lise Klaveness, president of the progressive Norwegian soccer federation that promotes equal representation in boardrooms.

Klaveness and Laura McAllister of Wales — both former internationals — are the only women on the 21-member UEFA executive committee.

UEFA’s Marchetti noted the clear direction of travel, while cautioning: “The worst mistake would be to become impatient and say, ‘This is not enough.’”

Three-time Women’s Euros title-winning coach Sarina Wiegman said on stage with Klaveness and Marchetti the soccer industry had to catch up.

“Society is ready for women in football in every position, male or female football,” England coach Wiegman said, “but the football world itself is not ready yet. That is why you need women in the boardroom.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Barcelona's Kika Nazareth, left, and Mapi Leon touch the trophy after winning the Women's Champions League final soccer match between FC Barcelona and OL Lyonnes, in Oslo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Barcelona's Salma Paralluelo scores her side's fourth goal during the Women's Champions League final soccer match between FC Barcelona and OL Lyonnes, in Oslo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

FILE - UEFA's chief of women's football, Nadine Kessler and UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti host the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File)

FILE - Arsenal's team captains Kin Little, left, and Leah Williamson, right, lift the trophy after winning the Women's Champions Cup final soccer match between Arsenal FC and SC Corinthians in London, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday, adding to the all-time highs they set a day earlier.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Friday. The index is coming off six gains in a row and is headed for a ninth straight winning week, which would be the longest such streak since 2023.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 382 points, or 0.8%, as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Every major index is on track for records and to close out May with solid gains.

Markets in Europe and Asia mostly rose.

Technology stocks lead the gains. Dell Technologies surged 28.8% after after delivering profits that blew past expectations. The company also raised its outlook, citing powerful demand for AI computing.

Microsoft rose 3.7% and Broadcom rose 3%. Big technology stocks have been behind much of the market's record-breaking streak. Their pricey stock values give them more influence in directing the market higher or lower. In May alone, technology stocks within the S&P 500 rose more than 15%, while most of the sectors in the benchmark index actually lost ground.

“The rally has been largely tech-led and supported by resilient earnings, but the key question is whether it can be sustained,” wrote Angelo Kourkafas, senior global strategist at Edward Jones, in a research note.

Wall Street has been gaining ground against worries that the U.S. war with Iran is worsening inflation and jeopardizing economic growth.

The U.S. and Iran are reportedly working toward a deal to extend a ceasefire. That eased pressure on oil prices. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.8% to $92 a barrel. It is still well above the $70 per barrel level in late February before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.5% to $87.59 per barrel.

Treasury yields held relatively steady as oil prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.44% from 4.45% from late Thursday.

High oil prices remain a key concern for Wall Street. The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped through the waterway.

That has pushed gasoline prices and prices for a wide range of goods higher, feeding inflation and squeezing consumers and businesses. Prices were already rising before the war began from the ongoing impact of tariffs.

Several reports this week reflected inflation’s rise and impact on consumers. A measure of inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve accelerated in April to its highest level in three years. Consumer confidence is slipping amid the squeeze from rising inflation.

Wall Street's worries about rising inflation have been somewhat muted by the latest round of corporate profit reports. Companies in the S&P 500 have reported profit growth of 28% overall for the most recent quarter, according to FactSet. The overwhelming majority of companies in the S&P 500 have already reported their latest results. That could mean investors' focus may shift back toward inflation, consumers' behavior and the Fed's path ahead for interest rates.

The Fed has been holding its benchmark interest rate steady as it closely watches rising inflation. It is expected to continue holding rates steady at its next meeting in June and through the year, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Cutting interest rates could help lower borrowing costs and give the economy a jolt, but it could also worsen inflation at time when prices are already high and rising.

Trader James Lamb works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)