London’s WSL clubs have reported a huge surge in interest as the women’s game looks to capitalise on the success of England’s historic European Championship triumph.
Yesterday, Arsenal’s ticket website briefly crashed as demand soared for next month’s north London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates, with more than 5,000 tickets sold in less than 24 hours from Sunday afternoon.
Sales for that match have already surpassed 10,000, while West Ham say that 20 per cent of all women’s season-ticket holders signed up since full-time in England’s 2-1 victory over Germany at Wembley.
Tottenham have seen a huge uplift in sales for their fixture against Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 11.
Defending champions Chelsea are hoping for a capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge for their WSL opener against West Ham on September 11, which could smash the League’s attendance record of 38,262 from the 2019 north London derby at Tottenham.
The game will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Emma Hayes’ appointment as boss and this morning the 45-year-old joined calls for the running of the WSL to be taken away from the FA and handed to a “commercial operation with experience of growing the sport in both broadcasting terms and the product around it”.
“This has to be an absolute priority,” Hayes wrote in The Telegraph. “You have to thank the FA, the League and the clubs, who all deserve huge credit for contributing hugely towards what happened on Sunday.
“But the experience and nous of the Premier League, or a body like it, could be the difference-maker in the direction of the women’s game. We have to get that right.”
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters confirmed the organisation are in “active conversations” with the FA about further supporting the women’s game, having already agreed a three-year £21million investment at grassroots and elite level, which begins this season. He said it would be “wrong”, however, to discuss a potential takeover during “a moment of glorious celebration”.
Meanwhile, the FA are set to put pressure on Tory leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to honour outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s promise of providing £550million to improve grassroots facilities, of which only a third has so far been allocated.
Sunak and Truss have already committed to backing a bid to host the 2027 World Cup in the UK if elected as the country’s new leader.
