Arsenal Women have confirmed that they will play five Women’s Super League games at the Emirates stadium in the 2023/24 season – a rise from the previous three league games played there this season.
WSL games have been producing bigger and bigger attendances, with average attendances reported to have increased by 200% since England’s triumph at the Euros 2022. Arsenal especially are no strangers to big crowds, selling out Meadow Park – and most recently the Emirates – week in, week out. The Arsenal women’s team set a new record attendance in the WSL against Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates stadium in September 2022, with over 53,000 tickets sold. This attendance was closely matched with a crowd of more than 46,000 supporters in January 2023 facing Chelsea. The history making stat though was made earlier this month in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg, with a record-breaking crowd of 60,063 people.
Arsenal CEO, Vinai Venkatesham said “This latest announcement ensures that as many supporters as possible can enjoy the matchday experience with us, as we continue to support the sustainable growth of women’s football”.
The Gunners are currently sitting in third place in the race for the WSL title where the top three teams will also qualify for the Champions League, so on the assumption that Arsenal qualifies, those games will also be played at the Emirates, alongside the five WSL matches.
Fans are often referred to as the 12th player. This announcement provides not just an opportunity to them, for more of them to go and see their team play in person; but a massive opportunity to Arsenal to take advantage and use the energy and support that the fans bring. In recent press conferences, players such as Lotte Wubben-Moy have commented on how much of a push that high energy support gives the team especially in those hard games.
Earlier this year, we saw Chelsea’s WSL match against Liverpool abandoned after just six minutes of gametime due to a frozen pitch. It led to many big names within the women’s football community speaking out (such as Vivianne Miedema and Fara Williams) on social media. Many Premier League grounds have undersoil heating to prevent situations like this. Most WSL grounds do not. The debate is that, as the WSL is the top division just like the Premier League, that clubs must either have access to the same technology or the women’s team should be playing full time in the Premier League stadiums.
So, by the Arsenal women’s team announcing more games at the Emirates, we can only hope that it’s a sign of more sustainable growth to come. It’s great to see other teams following suit, with Arsenal’s rivals from North London, Tottenham, recently announcing their Premier League-WSL double header at Tottenham Hotspur stadium on the 20th of May. Hopefully we will see other teams make similar announcements in the upcoming season.
Written by Ruby Joanne
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