The WSL wants better atmosphere at games but must make sure that what happened at United v Liverpool is not repeated
Growth brings change. It is inevitable. Women’s football is growing at an impressive rate. Attendances are starting to climb. The showpiece fixtures – 24,790 at the London Stadium on Sunday, 24,564 at Stamford Bridge and 31,213 at the Etihad on the opening weekend – are stealing the headlines and attendance figures are already closing on the number of fans across all 110 WSL games last season (92,000). But the more standard home venues of women’s teams are also seeing more fans through the turnstiles too.
Providing a welcoming environment for all is important. It would be easy and understandable for long-time fans of the women’s game, who have stuck with it through the cold and empty lows, to resent slightly the arrival of new kids on the block or any changes to their usual routine or to the “way things are done”.
Related: Liverpool report offensive ‘Hillsborough chants’ to Football Association
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