On a day when it was revealed that the SWPL attracted a record-breaking attendance figure of over 100,000 supporters last term, it may feel pertinent to pause for thought.
With domestic attendance figures broken on three occasions last season in the SWPL, the indicators would point to Scotland finally enjoying some of the growth that has been notable elsewhere across the last decade.
It is an encouraging figure but makes the failure to make this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup all the more galling. The last time Scotland set off for the 2019 tournament they did so on the back of a crowd of more than 18,500 supporters; their numbers quickly dissipated as Scotland failed to build on their trip to France.
As teams prepare for the kick-off to the most commercially lucrative women’s tournament to date, Scotland are preparing for friendlies against Northern Ireland and Finland. If there is a sense of preparing for a village picnic while the mother of all parties gears up elsewhere, goalkeeper Lee Gibson has inevitably urged Pedro Martinez Losa’s side to channel their frustrations.
“It was October when we played Ireland but it still feels like yesterday,” she admitted. “We have come a long way though even since then and I think there has been a freshness about the squad in recent camps. It feels like this is an exciting time for the team. That first game, away to England, is a game that everyone will want to be involved in.
“We would all have loved to be at the World Cup. There isn’t any one if us who would deny that and it comes down to the fact that we just never turned up that night against the Republic of Ireland.
“It will be difficult to watch but I will tune in because I think it will be the biggest and glitziest women’s tournament that we have seen to date. I just hope that some of the energy it generates around women’s football comes to Scotland.
“We have seen a real upsurge in attendances this season and it is so important that we keep the ball rolling with that.”
There would be little question that however low key these games are that they have been treated as anything but by Gibson.
The goalkeeper enjoyed a belated Maldives honeymoon as she celebrated last year’s marriage to David, Scotland’s head kitman, but it was not all about kicking back and taking it easy.
“There was a football pitch and a gym in our hotel so I wasn’t slacking!,” she smiled. “It was 30-31 degrees every day and the humidity was a killer but I was still out there making sure I got the running in.
“We have had probably the longest time that we have ever had. We took the first two weeks off and then pretty much the last three or four weeks has been running and getting back into it. There is nothing worse than coming back into pre-season and feeling that you aren’t ready for it.
“It is one of the myths that goalkeepers don’t do the same work! We still do all the running which I don’t think any goalkeeper ever enjoys. It is just making sure that you are ready. At club level we all had a plan so that we were all going back in a good place.”
Scotland had strong displays – and wins – against Australia and Costa Rica in their last outings, teams who are both represented at this month’s World Cup. With an eye now on the Nations League campaign which kicks off against England in September, Gibson is confident that this weekend’s double header will be focused on the work that needs done ahead of the autumn campaign.
“It is a chance to build into the Nations League which is going to be hugely important for us,” she said. “We have big teams, we are in pot A and it is a chance to go and challenge ourselves against some really top teams and I think as a team we tend to do better against the bigger teams. We have that September game against the Auld Enemy and I don’t think you need any more motivation than that. It is the 150th anniversary year and I think it is incredibly exciting to look forward to that.
“The Nations League is the next step for us and these games are about ensuring we are in the right place to hit the ground running with those games.”
