Amanda Staveley has revealed that conversations with fellow Premier League executives have reaffirmed to her that investing in women's football is at the 'heart of their strategies' - just as it is at Newcastle United.
Newcastle's women's side have been brought back into the heart of the club following the takeover last October. The club's new owners hope to take the Lady Magpies into the Champions League one day but, in the meantime, a number of gestures have gone a long way, whether it is paying the players as professionals or giving them the chance to play at St James' Park for the first time last May.
Newcastle Women may be competing in the fourth-tier currently but, remarkably, more than 22,000 supporters attended that aforementioned game against Alnwick Town. It was the largest crowd for a women's league match in England last season and kick-off was even delayed by a quarter of an hour because so many fans were queuing to get inside.
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Clearly, there is an appetite for the women's game on Tyneside and across the country as a whole as crowds pack out stadiums for Euro 2022. Staveley took part in a CSM panel discussion with Arsenal defender Anna Patten and Women In Sport CEO Stephanie Hilborne ahead of England's tournament opener against Austria on Wednesday night and was asked if women's football was still an afterthought.
“It used to be," Staveley said. "But we now have an incredible league in the WSL [Women's Super League], which is an exciting product to consume. When I speak to other Premier League clubs, I know investing in women’s teams is at the heart of their strategies.”
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