Arsenal Women’s average home attendance last season was 28,808. That was higher than four Premier League teams (Fulham, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Bournemouth). The second highest WSL average home attendance was Chelsea’s 9,426. If we take out the two WSL home games against West Ham and Crystal Palace, played at the 4,500 capacity Meadow Park, Arsenal’s average WSL home attendance at Emirates Stadium was 34,110 across nine games.
That likely would have been a little higher but for the fact that the game against Leicester City in April had to be swiftly rearranged for a Tuesday evening due to the Gunners’ participation in the UWCL semi-finals, meaning it only drew a crowd of 5,539. I say only, in April 2019 when Arsenal sealed the WSL title at Brighton’s AMEX Stadium, the game drew a crowd of 5,265, which broke a WSL record set six years earlier (by Arsenal, at home to Liverpool).
In short, it is easy to be blasé about the announcement that Arsenal plan to play all 11 WSL home games at Emirates Stadium next season. But the data shows that the demand justifies the decision. Clearly there are scheduling challenges with the men’s team and their expanding fixture list but our understanding is that one of the benefits of the FA handing over the running of the WSL to Women’s Super League Football (nee WPLL, nee NewCo) is that there is greater capacity for WSL Football and clubs to collaborate on fixture scheduling and to avoid clashes.
Clearly Sky and the BBC will have a say here too for broadcast picks but WSL Football at least have a little more room to be more collaborative with clubs and broadcasters, compared to the FA who have a much larger remit beyond the women’s game. A series of record attendances (nine of the top 10 WSL attendances of all time and all the top six attendances involve Arsenal) make the case on their own.
The recasting of the stadium wraps in 2023 fostered an intangible connection with the women’s team by showcasing the 2006-07 quadruple winning women’s team alongside the men’s 2003-04 Invincibles. I was part of the committee that workshopped what should be on those wraps and Arsenal fans of all stripes argued the women’s team should feature prominently- even those with little emotional involvement recognised AWFC’s history as part of the fabric of the club. Kelly Smith even attended one of the workshops.
The team parading the Champions League trophy in front of that wrap a few weeks ago with ‘Arsenal Women- Champions of Europe’ embossed onto the hoardings outside the Armoury provides a further intangible connection and deepens the ties between the women’s team and the Emirates. Those hoardings remained in place for the recent Robbie Williams concerts at the stadium.
These images and these moments matter. When the stadium opened in 2006, there was a lot of talk about the men’s team needing to make some memories inside the walls of the stadium before it would truly feel like home. The women’s team has increasingly managed this too.
A decision has been made to move UWCL group games back to Meadow Park and the agreement with Boreham Wood for the women’s team and academy teams has been extended (the original agreement ran until 2027). Clearly there is a continuous need for the youth teams to use the stadium and the women’s team will always need a ‘secondary’ ground.
Champions League games draw much lower attendances compared to the WSL. This is principally because the games take place during midweek, which doesn’t really suit the core demographic for women’s games. Arsenal Women’s support is also quite geographically dispersed, and many fans live outside London. The UWCL also still hasn’t quite garnered the attention that the WSL has managed through its associated broadcast deals.
Disney+ will pick up the UWCL rights from DAZN next season and it remains to be seen whether they can throw some garlands around it and create a bigger buzz. Last season scheduling issues meant that the Bayern Munich match day six group game had to be moved from the Emirates back to Meadow Park. Bayern Munich and Juventus, who were also in Arsenal’s group last season, decided not to use their ‘main stadiums’ for the group stage.
One of the complications is not just the scheduling when your men’s team is in the now expanded Champions League, but UEFA requires the stadium the day before any UEFA fixture. The away team has a protected right to train on the host’s pitch the day before the match and media duties are usually executed either in the stadium in question or at the training ground.
Boreham Wood have made some upgrades to Meadow Park this summer, including moving the dugouts, improving press facilities, improving facilities for away fans in the southeast corner of the ground and, crucially for UEFA regulations, improving the floodlights. I believe that Arsenal have contributed towards the cost but I’m not aware of the figures.
Boreham Wood were also promoted back to the National League after relegation last season and have clearly benefitted from better attendances at women’s games in recent seasons. Hopefully better floodlights will help with general lighting near the stadium- the exits at Meadow Park literally take you into a park and getting to the main round requires a brief walk through some lowly lit streets, which isn’t always ideal for female fans attending games alone or in small groups at night.
I think the Bayern game, unwittingly, demonstrated the difference between a sold out and fully engaged Meadow Park for a midweek game, versus a 10-15% full Emirates Stadium. While it’s true that the Champions League victory may lead to another swell in attendances, it is unlikely to truly alter the demographic who will still find midweek games tricky to attend.
It is not a silver bullet solution, clearly. There could be challenges around ticket sales for season ticket holders- although last season’s game against Bayern did not, to my knowledge, cause significant issues despite the much lower capacity. Ultimately the demand at the Emirates didn’t significantly outstrip the capacity of Meadow Park for midweek games but there still could be challenges around ticket sales, that remains to be seen.
The playing surface was also really poor at points during the early months of the year. Arsenal lost an FA Cup game at home to Liverpool in March on an unctuous surface that benefitted Liverpool far more than Arsenal. The Gunners also virtually abandoned playing out from the back in the FA Cup win over LCL in February due to the pitch. Some of that was simply the natural consequence of three teams playing on the pitch during the winter (and it is primarily Boreham Wood’s ground, not Arsenal’s, they carry the consequence more than Arsenal do).
It was probably an error to have the two WSL games played at Meadow Park- against Crystal Palace and West Ham- during the busy cup tie period. Arsenal were also drawn at home for all but one cup game, with ties against Bristol City, Manchester City, London City Lionesses and Liverpool played close together. Playing all WSL home games at the Emirates ought to ease the pressure. (Equally they might get a series of away ties next season too).
Arsenal’s success in ‘growing the audience’ has been multi-faceted. This piece on BBC Sport really sets out how Arsenal used the expertise of Chief Commercial Officer Juliet Slot, who has previous experience with Ascot, London 2012 and women’s sportswear, to really get to know their target markets in this space and to sell to them. Back in 2022, I also spoke to Emirates Stadium Venue Director Tom McCann on the Arsenal Women Arsecast around the early strategy for Arsenal Women games at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal clearly benefitted from the post Euro 2022 explosion and were brave enough to market games on the basis of their female talent, like Lionesses Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and when she signed in 2023, Lessi Russo. They didn’t really lean on the men’s team to market the women’s team. A glance around the Emirates on a women’s matchday will show you that it’s a different crowd.
While it’s still just about majority white men between 21 and 49, that majority is far more diluted compared to men’s football. There are lots of people who like football but felt excluded from the men’s matchday experience. There are families who have been priced out of men’s games, as well as people with ASD or sensory conditions who can find the more fraught atmospheres at men’s games overwhelming.
Clearly there is a far bigger female audience too and the gay female audience is sufficiently large that The Gay Times recently ran an LGBT History month feature on Sapphic couples who had found a home at AWFC matches at the Emirates. There are lots of people who have felt excluded either by the price or the testosterone charged atmosphere at men’s games who have found a home with Arsenal Women at the Emirates.
The Arsenal Women’s Supporters Club have also had a big role to play, recognising early that, previously, isolation was a barrier to attendance for people at women’s football. Unlike men’s football, it is not a given that your workmates, family or immediate peer group will be interested in women’s football, so it can be difficult to find people to go to games with.
Going to games alone is a more daunting prospect for female fans for obvious reasons. But men at men’s games tend not to be ‘social’ or conversational outside of their immediate friend groups. Men often go to football as an escape and experience the game in a more insular way. Female fans are more likely to want to strike up friendly conversation with those around them and men’s games do not really lend themselves to this.
The supporters’ clubs have been very proactive at organising meet ups, welcoming solo fans and quickly creating a social fabric around games which has translated into a vibrant fan culture with a swelling songbook. The more people see this on the TV, the more they want to be a part of it. When Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to beat Leicester 6-2 away from home last season, the players were broadcast dancing to Cloe Lacasse’s song, set to the tune of Abba’s Voulez-Vous, in front of the full away end.
I think moments like that, captured by broadcast, act as a great recruiting tool for new fans who want to be part of this burgeoning scene. The club deserves credit for blazing this trail. In the summer of 2022, Arsenal held a welcome home event for Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy after their success at the Euros and for Rafaelle Souza, who won the Copa America with Brazil that summer.
I was privileged to attend this event at London Colney. That day I had a conversation with then CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who quite casually told me the ambition was for the Emirates to become the permanent home of the women’s team. Even in that immediate post Euros glow, I remember being surprised that a) he would express it so casually to me and b) I just couldn’t see how that would ever happen.
Fast forward three years and here we are. The fact that the announcement came as little surprise is a strong sign of how justified the move is. But it should also be viewed with great pride for all Arsenal fans, regardless of their level of interest in the women’s team. It is a success with many factors and many authors but most of all it is a victory for football’s ability to build community.