Manchester has been named among the top 10 cities in England with a surge in demand for women’s football, with Northern cities in particular experiencing a spike in demand over their southern counterparts.
The data arrives from a study conducted by Footy Accumulators, in which year-on-year search increases for ‘women's football’ in 12 of the largest cities in England by population were analysed following the riveting success of the Euro 2022 tournament last summer.
And since the Lionesses’ triumph at Wembley last July, it has been revealed that Manchester experienced an 86% increase, identical with Liverpool, which sees the duo rank sixth out of 12 for cities analysed in the study.
Meanwhile, Bradford demonstrated the highest spike in demand for women’s football, registering a whopping 143% increase. Newcastle followed swiftly behind with a 129% increase, while capital city London – which boasts over 300 women’s football clubs – fell marginally short of the top two with an 128% increase.
Behind London, interest was spread across cities York, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Plymouth, Sunderland, Hull and Southampton, with only four cities located in the south of England cracking the top 10, suggesting a higher growing demand for women’s football up north.
The suggestion is in keeping with a sensational year six months after the summer's European Championships. Of the 10 stadiums used to host matches, five resided in the north but three within Manchester: Manchester City Women’s home ground, Academy Stadium; Manchester United Women’s home ground, Leigh Sports Village; and Old Trafford.
And Euro 2022 was inundated with Manchester-based talent. It was United’s Alessia Russo who seized the imaginations of England fans everywhere with her cheeky backheel goal against Sweden in the tournament’s semi-final.
But it was Manchester City's Chloe Kelly who came to define the tournament as she came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 110th minute of the Women's Euro 2022 final match against Germany, claiming a first-ever major tournament and going on to provide women's football with one of the most iconic moments of the tournament with her celebration.
Kelly and Russo are two of many Manchester-based Lionesses from the victorious Euro 2022 squad who will be eagerly awaiting manager Sarina Wiegman’s squad announcement for the summer’s Women’s World Cup just seven months away. England are looking to extend their impressive unbeaten run under Wiegman into 2023 and are favourites going into the year’s showcase event in Australia and New Zealand.
And the spike in interest in women’s football over the course of the year presents a thrilling opportunity to capitalise on the excitement.
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