Maya didn’t hear the crowd.

The stadium was roaring, the lights were blazing, and the men’s team’s Champions League trophy was gleaming like it had swallowed the sun. But the noise felt like she was watching it all from behind glass.

She clapped along with the rest of the women’s squad, smiling where the cameras could see, but inside her head, gears were grinding.

Her season had already started. New budget. New resources. New purpose. Rebuild & Unite; the initiative had changed ...