The only English women’s team left in the UEFA European Champions’ League ran onto the Stamford Bridge pitch on Thursday night to a sparse crowd. In a tournament that’s meant to pit elite footballing teams against one another, Chelsea decided to cap the capacity at just 5,000 in its 40,000-capacity stadium, allowing the club to save on staffing costs by leaving three stands completely empty. But it was hardly a raucous atmosphere to welcome coach Emma Hayes' ultra successful team to the first home game in Europe this season.
Amid growing interest in the women's game, occasional bumper crowds, and record viewing figures on television, the only team that is this season regularly packing out grounds in the UK is Arsenal, the north London football club owned by the American Kroenke family, at its 60,000 stadium in north London.
Despite the positive press surrounding women’s football, deep divides remain about how to both increase popularity and make money. The owner of a London-based team told Bloomberg he would willingly shut his club's women's team down if not for the negative press he might receive, adding that it was a drain on management time and on financial resources.
There's little doubt too that the development of women's football was hampered by a ban on the game between 1921 and 1971. "The game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged," said an FA statement on 5 December 1921, according to the FA website history of the game.
Yet even now, as interest is at an all-time high following the summer’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, the women’s game in the country is still in a “financially vulnerable position,” according to a government review into its future carried out by former star Karen Carney. Revenues are still far smaller than for men’s teams and most women’s sides are loss-making. Arsenal Football Club’s revenues in the year to end of May 2022, for instance, are nearly 50 times as great as the £6.9 million revenue of its women’s team.
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Women’s football has big decisions to make. Some owners accept they have to spend more to build what could become marketable assets — pointing to the success of US women’s clubs such as Angel City. Most others are waiting for revenue to surge before investing more deeply.
Arsenal decided to back its women’s team early on, and in terms of market share and fan base are far ahead of their rivals. “They recognized the potential for growth early, but also have sunk club resources into helping the market grow,” says Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer in Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of Portsmouth.
To be sure, the club’s success off the pitch comes despite the team making a fairly slow start to the season, having unexpectedly been knocked out of the prestigious Champions’ League already. The squad has also come under criticism for having no visible players of color in the 27-woman squad, particularly in one of the most racially diverse parts of the country.
The club has since accepted its failings, adding that it’s a wider problem to address in women’s football — and also introduced 17-year-old Vivienne Lia in a matchday squad. It’s a sharp contrast with its men’s team, which features the likes of Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah.
Arsenal is the only team to schedule around half its 11 league matches at the home stadium, the 60,000-plus capacity Emirates, this season, giving them the opportunity to attract the same size of crowds that watch the men’s team. They already have five games in the calendar and expect to pencil in a sixth shortly, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The crowd at this season’s opening fixture at the Emirates was more than 20,000 greater than the 34,096 fans that attended the other five Women’s Super League matches played in England on the opening day of the season.
Crucially, it is hoped that attendance leads to sustained support and future revenue through tickets and merchandise sales and, later, bigger sponsorship deals. According to European footballing body UEFA, the commercial value of women’s football in Europe is set to reach €686 million ($744 million) by 2033.
But that relies on a doubling of the existing fan base and a sixfold increase in club sponsorship, up to €295 million. Television is also a crucial potential revenue earner, but women’s football is currently seen as cost-effective filler for Sky and good for the BBC’s profile, according to a recent report by Enders Analysis.
Some other WSL teams aren’t pulling in the fans in the same way. West Ham, for example, who haven't hosted a women’s match at their 60,000-capacity stadium since 2019, attracted 1,360 fans on the opening game of the season — and the club hopes to host just one match this season at its main stadium following criticism from its players last season.
While some clubs are wary of not bringing in enough of an audience – and having a flat atmosphere for the players – Arsenal’s approach is more proactive. For example, it marketed the season opener against Liverpool for weeks in advance, according to Misha Sher, global head of football at marketing group WPP Sport.
“What’s stopping Man United from doing that?” said Sher. “Nothing.”
Manchester United, who only launched its women’s team in 2018, hosted their first-ever Manchester derby for that team at its main stadium, Old Trafford, on Sunday against Manchester City. The team will play one more game there this season.
Premier League clubs have almost forgotten how to market tickets because the men’s games routinely sell out without the need for any promotion, Arsenal’s Commercial Officer Juliet Slot told industry leaders at an event in October.
Pricing is an important factor, with Arsenal offering cheaper early bird adult tickets that start at just £9.15, although prices are likely to increase over time as the club looks to boost revenue. At the current price level, matchday revenue at a women’s game is just less than 20% what they receive when the men’s team play.
Chelsea took a different approach, increasing ticket prices to £15-50 for their four games to be played at the 40,000 capacity men’s stadium. But attendance at the two league games so far played at Stamford Bridge has since slumped (both below 15,000 compared with an attendance of 38,000 against Tottenham Hotspur last season), signaling the danger of overestimating demand. It costs £250,000 a time to open up the Bridge in full for a game, according to a source familiar with the situation. “There was a strong case for raising ticket prices but maybe not as swiftly as they have done,” said Rob Pratley of CFCW Social, a content platform led by Chelsea supporters.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Everton and West Ham all declined to comment publicly on their strategy for playing games in their main stadia.
“Arsenal are doing a really deliberate job to involve the women’s team at every level,” said women’s season-ticket holder Amos Schonfield. “You see women players in the kit announcements and videos… if you see Leah Williamson alongside Bukayo Saka, you’ll know who she is.”
There is clear interest in attending women’s games outside of the big women’s teams. Newcastle United, for example, have attracted crowds of more than 20,000 to their men’s stadium for women’s matches despite being outside the top tier, after a strong marketing push.
“It is part of the club’s responsibility to the community to provide a pathway for women to play football,” said Amanda Staveley, part-owner at the Saudi-backed football club.
The Disney show ‘Welcome to Wrexham,’ following the club under the ownership of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, largely focused on the men’s team. Yet the club hosted a match for its women’s team at the Racecourse Ground last season when it was still playing in an amateur league.
Attendance broke local records for any domestic Welsh league game with more than 9,500 coming to back the players. This support also helped lead them to promotion, after which they turned semi-professional.
Back at Arsenal, attention has already turned to its next match at the Emirates on December 10 when the team plays London rivals Chelsea. Arsenal have already sold around 50,000 tickets for the match-up between the early season’s two top teams. That will take the team’s total home crowds so far this season to over 140,000. No other team comes close.
Author: David Hellier, Helen Chandler-Wilde and Ellie Harmsworth