‘Women’s football’, we need to accept it, it’s as simple as that!
The 2019 Women’s World Cup produced a record number of viewers as England made it to the semi-finals.
Their feat will serve as inspiration to a new generation of young girls who dream of playing for their country, just like Ellen White and Lucy Bronze.
The Positive Fallout From The World Cup
In the Women’s Super League, the records keep breaking, as the North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur Women and Arsenal Women set a record attendance of 38,262 people at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which smashed the 31,213 attendance record set by Manchester City in the opening weekend of the 2019/20 season.
A record setting day at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Growing Game
Former United States Women’s National Team manager, Jill Ellis was the special half-time guest, which was an example of power that women’s football in the UK is having on football fans.
In the aftermath of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, I spoke to two women’s football fans, Hollie Agombar, (HA) and Carla Devine (CD), about their thoughts on the growth, and the stigma that still surrounds the women’s game.
FC: With the new WSL Attendance record being set at the NLD this weekend, what will you feel this will do for women’s football?
CD: “It’s completely positive. Attendances for women’s football this season have been increasing. (For example, West Ham Women v Spurs Women had a strong attendance figure of 24,790, as The Irons played at the London Stadium for the first time). This is due to teams playing games in the men’s stadiums, and everybody is hoping that more people will want to go back again! But to me, it’s as if some people fear the rise of women’s football when they really shouldn’t be, so to me we are not equal until I no longer need to justify women playing a sport, they love to many people that I encounter.”
HA: “Hopefully it can boost the profile of the women’s game and will encourage people to watch Tottenham Women play at their home stadium, which is The Hive. For the women’s game it’ll encourage more people to watch it. Luckily the game between Spurs and Arsenal was a game of good quality and plenty of chances which will hopefully entice more people to watch the two teams further in the future.”
FC: During your experiences of watching women’s football as a fan, do you still feel there is a long way to go in terms of equality in the sport?
HA: “In terms of equality we have already come a long way. People will only go if they know about it so with the World Cup, and now women’s football weekend, that can only make it better. In terms of the money side of the game, football is a business and if people don’t turn up you won’t get the same amount of gate receipts and ticket sales, merchandise that can pay the wages, but now with the affiliation to the men’s teams and clubs, this can only grow, which is a very exciting time for Women’s Football.”
CD: “The game has grown so much, even in the last 12 months, but the wages and occasional TV appearance money doesn’t reflect this rapid growth which is something that needs solving.”
With these thoughts probably circulating the minds of many fans of the women’s game, it shows that in certain senses, it still has ‘a way to go’ in terms of equality to the men’s game, but the rapid growth can be nothing but good news for the future of the women’s game.
