Everton Women are moving to Goodison Park with backing from new owners the Friedkin Group
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Host former boxer Tony Bellew (L) talks with Everton's Women's team manager Brian Sorensen (2L) and Everton Women's captain Megan Finnigan during the post-match celebrations after the English Premier League football match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on May 18, 2025,
(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Image)
Everton Women are about to enter an exciting new era after a season of turbulence. The Toffees are set to make Goodison Park their new home in 2025/26 Women’s Super League season with the men's team moving to their new, state-of-the-art Hill Dickenson Stadium.
The future of Goodison Park remained unclear for the majority of the season before it was announced that it would become the permanent home of Everton Women.
Goodison Park was the first major football stadium to be built in England and has been home to the Everton men’s team since the inauguration on August 24, 1892.
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Since then, multiple alterations have been made to the stands and the implementation of safety regulations over the years, meaning the stadium now holds up to 39,414 spectators.
This will be a huge upgrade for the Everton Women’s team as their previous ground, Walton Hall Park, held 2,200 fans, however only 500 tickets were seated.
Everton men played their final home game at Goodison Park on Sunday, May 18, beating Southampton 2-0 in the Premier League. They now move two miles away to the newly built £750million stadium, Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
And that leaves Goodison Park to Everton Women, who will be hoping to put a difficult season behind them and spark a positive new era with backing from owners The Friedkin Group.
Everton Women had a rocky start to the 2024/25 WSL season after numerous injuries to their starting line-up left them fighting to stay out of the relegation zone.
Injuries included midfielder Aurora Galli who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury in their opening game against Brighton.
She was one of two Blues to sustain an ACL injury in the first month of the season, with Imma Gabarro suffering the same problem eight days after Galli.
The Toffees also lost club captain, Megan Finnigan, at the start of this year after she sustained another ACL issue in the opening minutes of Everton’s game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite these injuries Everton were able to turn their season around after an impressive January transfer window saw many crucial players come in to aid the team and finish 8th.
Brian Sorensen, Everton manager, added four new players to his team, Kelly Gago, Martina Fernandez, Emma Watson, and Hayley Ladd.
Gago, came from FC Nantes and played 10 matches for Everton in the WSL, getting four goals and two assists since joining.
Her four goals meant she drew with Katja Snoeijs and Honoka Hayashi for top Everton goalscorer for the season.
The Toffees will be looking for a similar outcome in the summer transfer window with four players, Karoline Olesen, Rikke Madsen, Maren Mjelde and Lauren Thomas, leaving due to their contracts expiring in June.
The move to Goodison Park should also motivate the Blues to push for the top half of the table in the 2025/26 season.
Alongside that the investment from new owners, The Friedkin Group, could allow Everton Women to invest in more players in the upcoming window.
With the Women’s Euros taking place in July undoubtably Sorensen will be looking out for players that can elevate his side.
Everton have made history with the move as Goodison Park is now the largest dedicated women’s football stadium in the UK.
With many Women’s teams using the same stadium as the men’s team or a stadium used by another club, Everton will be one of the only WSL teams to have a stadium solely for their women’s team.
In the 2024/25 season Everton Women played two games at Goodison Park with 11,932 supporters in total over the two matches. They hosted WSL Champions, Chelsea on Sunday, November 3, when 2,109 showed up to support the Blues.
The Merseyside Derby on Sunday, November 17 saw 9,823 supporters come to Goodison.
The average attendance of Everton Women’s team is 2,062, with nine games at Walton Hall Park and two at Goodison Park last season.
The 2025/26 season should allow Everton Women to raise their attendance rates and further grow women’s football in the Merseyside region.