MY ACCOUNT
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall is confident the new Women’s Super League campaign will live up to expectations.
After all English football fixtures were postponed last weekend as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Gunners’ home game against Brighton at Meadow Park will kick off the season on Friday night.
Following England’s Euro 2022 glory earlier this summer, there is more interest than ever in the WSL.
And Eidevall, who boasts Lionesses stars Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy among his squad, believes fans of the game will not be disappointed this season.
He said: “I’m sure the players will respond in a way that will be excellent because of the quality on the pitch and we see that the sporting product is of high quality.
“We just need to make sure that we now find stadiums that allow all attendances to come in and watch. I think that will be the problem because we have a very low number of medium-sized stadiums in the country.”
Arsenal have already sold more than 40,000 tickets for the North London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium on September 24, which will beat the WSL record of 38,262 when the two teams met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019.
Eidevall, 39, added: “In the end, it is about creating a product that means so much to people that you go there and watch the game even if it is a snowstorm, even if it is not convenient, because you care so much about the team and you want to be there so much.
“We try to do our best on the pitch to create that.
“As a whole club, we try to work together with all the departments so we can reach out to all our potential audiences and bring them to the stadium so we can experience that together.
“That’s not a quick fix just to do one thing, but it’s about creating that connection with people so they want to go and they feel they have to go because it is their first priority.
“And then you don’t have to worry about the weather in January when you have created that.”
WLS Matchday 2 fixtures
Arsenal vs Brighton (Friday, 7.30pm)
Manchester United vs Reading (Saturday, midday)
Aston Villa vs Manchester City (Sunday, 12.30pm)
West Ham vs Everton (Sunday, 3pm)
Leicester vs Tottenham (Sunday, 3pm)
Liverpool vs Chelsea (Sunday, 5pm)
(British Summer Time applies to all times listed)
