Kicking it Up a Gear: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Soccer in England – A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Stadiums, Fans, and Flavors Fueling the Frenzy
England’s Women’s Super League is seeing an ever-increasing number of spectators. This season, Arsenal, which uses the same Emirates Stadium as the men’s team, has seen a dramatic increase in attendance. On the other hand, why is it that the atmosphere in the stadium is so good even if the number of spectators is small? In the home of football, we explored the stadium conditions that support the enthusiasm of the fans.
(Text and photography by Kei Matsubara[REAL SPORTS Editorial Department])
Arsenal Women’s average attendance this season exceeds 35,000
England’s WSL (Women’s Super League) is a vibrant overseas women’s soccer market, and the number of spectators is steadily increasing. The league’s average attendance last season reached 7,478, an increase of 43 percent from the previous year, trailing only the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which had 10,432.
Arsenal are by far the best in terms of attendance, with an average of 29,999 fans last season. The average number of spectators at Meadow Park (capacity 4,500), which was used as the home stadium, was 3,600, but the average number of spectators for the six games held at Emirates Stadium, the men’s home stadium, was an astonishing 52,029. Record the numbers. It broke the WSL’s record for the largest number of spectators three times. Starting this season, Emirates Stadium will be the main stadium for women, and the number has steadily increased so far with an average of 37,719 participants. This is a middle-ranked number (11th) even within the Men’s Premier League. Other teams also play at the men’s home base at least once a year to encourage attendance.
According to American business magazine Forbes, Arsenal Women’s coach Jonas Eydeball said: “What makes Arsenal special is the community belonging and the connection with the fans.” A huge community of fans who share a love of football and respect for the club’s history, now in its 138th year. Building on this foundation, big clubs are making generous investments in women. That is the biggest factor driving this dramatic change.
However, looking at the average number of spectators for other teams, second place Liverpool has 7,850 fans and third place Manchester United has 6,617 fans. Looking at the bottom, Tottenham had 1,992 spectators, while Everton had the lowest number of spectators at 1,215, which is the same as the number of spectators in the WE League.
However, I don’t get the impression that any of the teams are playing in empty stadiums. This may have something to do with the fact that seven of the 12 WSL teams are based in compact stadiums with a capacity of 10,000 or less. Even if you sit in the back, the distance between the stands and the pitch is close, allowing you to experience top-level play up close. I think this is an important point to experience the appeal of women’s soccer, which is different from men’s soccer.
West Ham, to which Riko Ueki belongs, has a stadium called “Victoria Road” with a capacity of 6,000 people. Risa Shimizu, who played for the same team until last year, expressed her impressions as follows.
“It’s a smaller stadium, so even if there aren’t many people in the stadium, it feels like there are a lot of people inside. You can hear voices from all over the place, so I think that’s the difference with Japan.”
Even for the powerful Manchester City, the Joy Stadium used by the women’s team has a capacity of 7,000 people, so it is not that big of a stadium. However, the excitement coming through the limited YouTube screen is no different from that of the Premier League.
What secrets does the stadium hold? I covered the Brighton match, which is focusing on the development of the women’s environment, as well as the City match. I would like to report on stadium comparisons and customer demographics.
A stadium where the enthusiasm of the supporters spreads
The author interviewed WSL Round 5 on the 3rd lap of October. For Brighton, to which Takako Seike belongs, the venue was Falmer Stadium (commonly known as Amex Stadium), the home ground of the men’s team. Tickets were sold out, with 8,369 people attending, setting a WSL record for the stadium, perhaps because it was a high-ranking match against Manchester United, who can attract crowds.
More than 40% of supporters are women. The voltage in the stands began to rise in time with the fireworks display.
“Brighton doesn’t have a large group of supporters, but each individual is passionate and the stadium naturally comes together as one.”
As Seike said, people were excited and saddened by the performance on the pitch, with some fans even standing up and shouting during chances.
Meanwhile, 3,528 people attended the match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at Joy Stadium. The main stand and back stand were almost full, filled with the enthusiasm of the supporters.
Personally, Joy Stadium seemed like an ideal environment for watching women’s soccer. The distance from the front row stands to the pitch is approximately 2 meters. You can even hear the breathing of the players on the pitch, giving you an outstanding sense of realism. There are few partitions and the wiring is easy to understand, making it a friendly structure for people visiting the stadium for the first time. In Japan, it is close to Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka, the home base of Nippon Television and Tokyo Verdy Beleza of the WE League.
It was also possible to take pictures of the pre-match practice from the side of the pitch, where girls of middle school and high school age were eagerly holding SLR cameras. It was noticeable that the fan base was mostly girls in their teens to 20s.
Yui Hasegawa, who plays the playmaker in City’s midfield, said, “When we play at this ground, even if the opponent is a strong team like Chelsea or Arsenal, City can basically have the ball, so I feel like we have the home advantage.” Ta.
That should be it. The boos towards the opponents were relentless, and the enthusiasm of the cheering remained constant both behind the goal and in the stands. It reminded me of a scene I saw in a Premier League stand about 60,000 people about 10 years ago.
Manchester is the second largest city after London, and is home to two major clubs, City and United. People’s passion for football was swirling throughout the city.
Stadium gourmet food and MDP are also available.
What the two stadiums we interviewed had in common was that they were both located within walking distance from a station, had good access from a large station, and had a large female audience.
Ticket prices for both were 12 pounds (approximately 2,500 yen) (discounts apply for children, students, and seniors). Currently, 1 pound is worth nearly 200 yen, making prices two to three times more expensive than in Japan. If you think about it that way, the ticket price in Japan would be around 1,000 to 1,500 yen. At WE League games, unreserved seats can be purchased for around 1,500 yen (lawn seats start at around 1,000 yen), so the price should be about the same.
There were about 7 to 10 types of stadium gourmet food available at both stadiums. The famous fish and chips sold outside the Amex Stadium cost 14 pounds (about 2,800 yen), and there was also chicken and sausage.
Joy Stadium’s menu was diverse, with seafood sandwiches, salami pizza, and vegetable soup priced around 5 pounds (approximately 1,000 yen), as well as desserts such as cakes and chocolates. According to the information on the official website, they have staff who can accommodate various allergies, vegetarians, vegans, halal food (food that Muslims can safely eat), and gluten-free food.
What surprised me was how comprehensive the Match Day Program (MDP) was. The price is around 4 pounds (about 800 yen). Brighton has a familiar American comic-style cover, and the inside consists of nearly 30 pages of interviews with notable players, posters, analysis of opponents, and photos from matches. City had just as much MDP content as the boys. In the WE League, many teams make MDPs, which are concise summaries of highlights and interviews with notable players, available for free online. WSL probably has a lot of core fans.
As a side note, there was a buffet set up in the press room for reporters and photographers, and I was surprised at how well they were treated. This was also the case when I covered NWSL matches, so I guess they have the know-how for the men and the budget for the women.
What is the unique charm of WE League?
There is also the impression that there is a large disparity in financial power between clubs in the WSL, but starting this season, the league will become independent from the FA (English Football Association), and clubs will work together to announce a development plan that aims for the success of the league as a whole. Clubs, which currently lack resources, will likely improve both their hardware and software in anticipation of increased media exposure and corporate sponsors.
This development is enviable considering the current situation of the WE League, which has a vision of “making it the best league in the world,” but is struggling to attract fans.
Considering the differences in soccer culture and the fact that investment in sports is still slow in Japan, it would be difficult to follow the same path. However, if you look at how the official websites and SNS of women’s leagues like the NWSL and WSL, which continue to develop, are operated, or the points in which budgets are spent on stadium construction, there is still much to learn from the WE League. There is room for growth. At the same time, it is essential to communicate the unique appeal of WE League.
The people who most understand the appeal of this sport are probably the players who are currently active in the world. In that sense, I would like to listen closely to the feedback and voices of Japanese female players who play for big clubs.
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