One of the most brilliant things about elite women’s football is the relationship between the fans and the players. It is unique, heartwarming and reciprocal. A case in point: after a late goal sees Arsenal go 2-1 up against Manchester City on Sunday, the Gunners’ keeper Manuela Zinsberger turns around to ask fans how long is left. While this is the top tier of women’s football in England, Arsenal’s home ground Meadow Park is leased from fifth-tier men’s side Boreham Wood. For this game, it seems, the clock facing Zinsberger’s goal is either broken or hasn’t been turned on – it’s just a blank screen – so she has no way of knowing the time. The fans come to her assistance, with outstretched palms indicating that a handful of minutes remain.
Barely minutes later, a supporter collapses near me, also in the all-standing North Bank section. We file out onto the tarmac below, with the crowd calling to Zinsberger for help. This time, she comes to their aid, directing the medical team and shouting to the referee, who subsequently pauses the game while the fan receives treatment. “Thank you, Zinsberger!” shouts a small girl as we wait by the hoardings. “You’re welcome,” she replies. After the game, players from both sides send their well wishes on social media (the fan is now recovering at home).
Touching moments like these underpin why the Women’s Super League is so special to those who follow it. After the success of the Lionesses, both as European champions and World Cup finalists, the WSL’s fanbase is booming. In recent years, progress has meant it’s easier to watch the WSL than ever before: selected games are now broadcast on mainstream television and there’s a burgeoning fan culture on social media, with the players often interacting themselves, from TikTok dances to funny fan compilations, as well as dedicated women’s football clothing companies like Foudys. Matches are family-friendly, with young children wearing the shirts of their favourite players.
Supporters clubs are growing, too, with cohorts at many clubs, from Chelsea to Manchester United, going to every home and away game. Arguably, Arsenal has the biggest following: this year, it set the WSL attendance record for the second year in a row. Its Facebook fan forum, meanwhile, has trebled in size to more than 180,000 members, up from 60,000 in January.
Last year, a handful of Arsenal fans set up The Red and White AWFC, which works to improve the atmosphere at the club’s games, namely with chanting and there is a song for every player. “To see it grow the way it has has been amazing,” says Farah Chowdhury, who is a member and also vice-president of the Arsenal Women Supporters Club. “The atmosphere means everything to me, so it’s great to be part of it.” While the women’s game is known for LGBTQ+ inclusivity, clubs including Arsenal have faced criticism for lacking diversity, and increasing representation is important to Chowdhury on a personal level. “If I can do anything on my part, on the fan side in the growth of the game, then I’ll do that proudly as a South Asian woman,” she adds.
In another show of reciprocation, the Arsenal squad have even got involved in the songwriting. Last season, goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese came up to fans in the North Bank, asking them to sing a song about fellow player Jodie Taylor to the tune of ABBA’s Money, Money, Money. For Red and White singer Ellesse Johnson, the growth in the women’s football fanbase has been “just amazing to see, really,” she says. “I’m only 20 – hopefully in my lifetime this will develop so much more.”
As the fandom for the Women’s Super League continues to boom, the current set-up is playing catch-up. Fanbases have outgrown the home grounds of top clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, whose facilities are also not adequate for top-tier football. (Last season, Chelsea’s home game at Kingsmeadow was abandoned after just six minutes due to a frozen pitch.) Some stadiums lack accessibility areas. Sunday’s fixture at Meadow Park sold out in just one hour. While Arsenal reportedly have a vision to move all their women’s home games to the Emirates Stadium, with five matches there this season, the other six will be played at Meadow Park.
Another area to navigate is how clubs can support their players with fan numbers growing beyond levels that many of them had imagined. Last month, Manchester United keeper Mary Earps spoke out about the difficulties of managing the relationship with fans, after one supporter criticised her on social media for not meeting her daughter after a game.
For Jude Morris-King, treasurer of Manchester City Women’s official supporters’ club, who set off at 6am to get to Sunday’s game, education is needed to manage fans’ expectations. “When you buy a ticket for a football match, you’re paying for the game, for the 90 minutes,” she says. “Nobody should feel an entitlement to have a meet and greet with the players afterwards. It’s fantastic when the players do it. But I think a lot of people don’t fully appreciate they’ve been running around for 90 minutes.”
Fan signs asking players for their kit have become commonplace, despite some WSL players having to use spare boots from teammates with sponsorship deals. Morris-King adds: “I think a lot of the players find that awkward because so many players don’t have a boot sponsor [or] a glove sponsor.”
In the end, says Morris-King, it’s about trying to preserve the fan-player relationship in a way that’s manageable. “It’s a real unique selling point of the women’s game,” she says. “You want to be able to keep it, as long as it’s safe for the fans and the players.” Ultimately, the WSL’s thriving fanbase can only be a good thing, says Morris-King. “You used to see an empty stand in front of you,” she says. “Now you’re seeing full stands and it’s fantastic. The players must love it, and we love it. It’s just going to keep growing and growing.”
