The Women’s Super League kicks off on Sunday with a “watershed season” predicted for the game, powered by the success of the Lionesses at the Euros and World Cup.
Attendances were up 170 per cent last season on the back of England’s Euro 2022 victory with one reason being that leading teams, including Arsenal, now play at Premier League stadiums rather than smaller grounds. It is expected attendances will soar further on the back of the national side reaching the World Cup final this summer.
The first game, Aston Villa v Manchester United, is being shown live on BBC2 and will be played at Villa Park, which has a capacity of more than 42,000. The day’s other televised game, Chelsea v Tottenham, is in front of Sky Sports cameras at Stamford Bridge, which holds more than 40,000.
Away from the cameras, Arsenal take on Liverpool at the Emirates, which will be one of five WSL games they will play at the north London stadium, which can hold 60,000 fans. Arsenal will play away games in a separate kit designed by Stella McCartney.
Change is coming off the pitch too with a new body — NewCo — being set up to take over the running of the WSL and the Championship from the FA with WSL chair Dawn Airey openly speculating about it becoming the world’s first £1 billion women’s football league. Taken together all these things point to a bright future, according to Laura Doyle, head of women’s football for sports agency CAA Stellar.
She said: “I think it’s certainly going to be a watershed season. You have the WSL gearing up for NewCo coming in by the end of the year and there is so much more investment pouring in now commercially, and it will be interesting to see what the TV figures are going to do.
“I know the first four months of 2023, figures were up almost one million from the previous year so it will be interesting to see what that jump is again.”
The sense of excitement is shared by former Lioness Anita Asante, who is now part of the BBC’s team covering women’s football after a career that included spells at Chelsea and Arsenal.
She pointed to “the quality of the players returning to the league and the players who are newly-signed”. Lioness Bethany England, although injured for the start of the campaign, is about to have her first full season with Spurs since becoming their record signing, while “proper finisher” and Lioness Alessia Russo will turn out for Arsenal after joining from Manchester United.
Global superstar Sam Kerr — considered one of the greatest forwards — hopes to fire Chelsea to their fifth title in a row. Asante also points to the importance of players like England and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps, whose criticism of sports giant Nike forced it into a U-turn to produce replica goalkeeper shirts — typifying the Lionesses’ high-profile embrace of empowering causes off the pitch.
