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By Tony Attwood
Following a major campaign by Arsenal Independent Supporters Association (AISA), Arsenal have agreed to stage 11 women’s games at the Emirates Stadium next season.
Given that Arsenal Women are getting crowds of over 50,000 each time they play at the stadium, this will make Arsenal Women beyond doubt the best-supported team in the Women’s League. Indeed as ESPN recently pointed out, Arsenal women get crowds that are bigger than half the clubs in the Premier League.
Eight of the games will be league matches, and the remaining three will be Champions League games if Arsenal get through the qualifying stages. If Arsenal don’t qualify, those final three games will be three more League matches.
As things stand Arsenal are third in the 12-team league
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City Women | 21 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 59 | 14 | 45 | 52 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 64 | 18 | 46 | 49 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 21 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 48 | 20 | 28 | 47 |
| 4 | Liverpool Women | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 28 | 4 | 38 |
From a very personal point of view I really welcome this development not just because I am a member of AISA, and so have supported the strong campaign for this move that AISA have led, but also because this represents both a boost for women’s football to have these extra matches played to such a large crowd. It also does mean that a lot of families who cannot go to first-team games either because of the shortage of tickets or because of the cost, can now experience more games in a large (and very family-friendly) crowd at the club’s main ground.
Indeed if I may meander backwards for a moment, when, aged nine, I first asked my dad to take me to the Arsenal, he very sensibly didn’t take me to first-team games, but instead took me to see Arsenal reserves, who in those days played at Highbury on the saturdays when the first team were away.
Those games were usually attended by anything from 5,000 to 10,000, and admission price for children was something like 6d (that is about 2.5p give or take a yard or two). It was my chance to see the club that my family had supported since it first arrived in north London, and, on a personal note, I have found that notion of continuity very important as I’ve moved around the world but never lost touch with my north London roots.
So the fact that more and more people can get to see Arsenal, and at what I am hoping will continue to be reasonable prices, is something I am really supportive of. Indeed I have just seen that there are now details on the Arsenal.com website.
Thus in my view a really good move by Arsenal, which not only serves their interests but also allows supporters of all ages to see the club, and supports the continuing growth of the Arsenal Women’s team. And I am also particularly delighted by the part AISA has played in this.
AISA is a campaigning supporters’ group that has a long history of working positively with the club on a wide range of activities from supporters’ safety through to the erection of the statues around the ground (which was an AISA initiative which the club adopted).
You can join AISA either as a full member, or for free as an Associate member through the AISA website here.
The growth in support for the Women’s team has been quite phenomenal. When I first started going to their games at Borehamwood, I guess 12 to 14 years ago a crowd of over 1,000 was a good turnout. Immediately pre-covid I had to get to the ground earlier in order to get a seat although there was stoll plenty of standing room. To be regularly selling out the Emirates is simply incredible and no other team in the country has anything like that level of support.
The last game of the season is at Borehamwood on Saturday afternoon when the fans will be able to say goodbye to Vivianne Miedema who has decided to leave at the end of her contract. To say she will be missed is an understatement. In full flow she has been simply unstoppable during her 7 years with the club.
Andrew
Thank you for all your coverage and information regarding the Womens team. I’m certain I would not of got as involved as I have if it wasn’t for your previews and reports here on untold, so thank you.
A quick question. Do you know why Vivianne has decided to leave?
wow!! are they being helpful by advising CFG??
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-13417475/Abu-Dhabi-owners-Man-City-Girona-given-options-meet-Champions-League-entry-rules.html
I’m curious… what is the break even point when hosting a match at the Emirates? If they pull in a good crowd, will this not help the budget for the Arsenal Ladies?
Nitram,
I really have no idea why Viv Miedema has decided not to sign a new contract with Arsenal. I’m not sure that she really fits with Jonas Eideval’s preferred playing style and her numbers certainly haven’t been as good since he took over from Joe Montemuro. Certainly we haven’t seen her in any meaningful manner since her ACL injury last season as she has had a number of follow up operations for subsequent problems. I’ve never had the opportunity to interview her so have no inside knowledge as to what makes her tick. My gut feeling is that her time with us has just run it’s course and as such I thank her wholeheartedly for everything she has done since she joined us in June 2017 and wish her the best for the future, even if she joins Manchester City (if that is what decides to do in summer).
We in Malaysia have been getting a regular dose of Women ‘s football , and quite often the Arsenal Ladies games . I always look out for Viv Miedema , who was playing well till her injury . Good luck to her in her future exploits.
I have to be honest it has only been the last few years I have even bothered to watch Woman’s football and whilst I am unlikely to ever travel the 120+ miles each way to watch our team ( Chelsea) I quite enjoy watching their games on TV and to be fair to the BBC and Sky they have done a significant amount to advance the statues of woman’s football.
Hopefully the move to play games at The Emirates pays off it’s a sound decision and almost certainly I would expect other teams to follow and whilst Kingsmeadow is not shared by another club I would imagine that it won’t be too long before SB is designated as being the home stadium as opposed to the much smaller facility in Kingston.
Statues ? Status