Cracking crowds is the key to growing the game and bringing teams in from satellite grounds will attract more fans
Below the line on every women’s football article, you see the same comments time and time again, regardless of context. And sometimes, beneath the veneer of vitriol, there are valid points worth answering.
One gripe in particular, on attendance figures, underpins the moaning. It is hard to disagree. Attendances are low – staggeringly so. Women’s football has lower week-by-week averages than some other sports with a fraction of the funding. And while the figures have been slowly climbing, the switch from a summer to a winter season – mirroring the men’s – has meant an 11% drop in attendances, to 953 per match.
Related: Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action
Arsenal
Stadium: Meadow Park
Capacity: 4,500
Attendance at last home game: 1,586
Distance from men's stadium (in miles): 12.2