We take a dive into the genesis of WSL and The FA’s efforts into laying the groundwork for making women’s football UK’s 2nd most popular sport.
A crowd of 30,000 has gathered at a stadium to watch a women’s football game. For those of you familiar with the history of the women’s game or my recent piece about it, I wouldn’t blame you for feeling that I’ve taken you back in time for the brief period when women footballers were drawing in record crowds for their games even in a completely amateur era. The good news is that it’s 2015 and this is taking place at Wembley. Chelsea Ladies are up against Notts County in the first Women’s FA Cup final ever to be played at the stadium – old or new; the first women’s final also to have an official title sponsor, the energy firm SSE who have signed a four-year deal that includes a “commitment to further investment in encouraging girls to take up the sport with girls-only football programmes held across the nation”. In a year’s time, Chelsea Ladies will also be involved in a new Women’s Super League home ground attendance record in their game against Manchester City Ladies.
From being told that the sport was too rough for their delicate constitutions, to later being allowed to have their own league, albeit largely relegated to the background, women’s football is finally receiving the attention and investment it deserves. Much of it is rooted in the five-year plan laid out by the FA in 2014 once they realised that the buzz surrounding the women’s game was going nowhere, but it really took flight with the introduction of the Football Association Women’s Super League in 2011.