This Sunday the English women’s soccer league, the Women’s Super League (WSL), starts. One of their teams, Arsenal, hopes to fill the 60,000 seats at the Emirates for their match against Liverpool. On the same day, Aston Villa hosts Manchester United at a Villa Park with few tickets on sale, while the champion, Chelsea, debuts against Tottenham at the majestic Stamford Bridge. If Bristol City joins in, two thirds of the matchday will be played in the main stadiums!
The World Cup and the great role of the Lionesses have triggered the fever for women’s football in England. According to sports writers, this year there are up to four teams that can challenge Chelsea for the title. Then competition increases, public interest grows, income rises and there is more money to sign. It is something that can have consequences throughout the European football map. Barcelona player and world champion Laia Codina has just joined Arsenal.
It is also likely that the Spanish women’s league will arouse more expectations than in the past. Because of the world championship achieved by the team and because its players have gained a lot of sympathy with their cause against inequality and machismo in sport. It can be taken for granted that the big teams will open their stadiums to their female soccer players. Real Madrid could make the jump to the new Santiago Bernabéu with the help of its World Cup players Olga Carmona or Teresa Abelleira.
It is in this context that a paradoxical circumstance occurs today. Barça, current European champion, base of the national team, a dream team with a double planetary attendance record (91,648 and 91,553 spectators), begins the league by playing its games in a stadium, the Johan Cruyff, where only 6,000 people can fit.
It is true that the Camp Nou is in the demolition phase and there are still no scheduled dates at the Olímpic, now the fiefdom of the men’s section. But perhaps this wave should have been taken advantage of to start League F in Montjuïc, where the important matches are planned to be played. It would have meant a message of firmness for the rivals and recognition for the champions. The competition looks fierce this year and it is not advisable to lower our ambition.
The club and the city have become global references of the women’s football revolution due to the sellouts, the Champions League and the projection of Alexia Putellas’ double Ballon d’Or. In men’s soccer, franchise players who provide income to clubs are praised. Well, the benefit of having two stars of this level, idols for young people all over the planet, is also evident. As evident as the risk of losing this advantage to other clubs and cities with more determination.
Because the uncertainty about the future of this Barça goes beyond the capacity. The departure of the manager responsible for the virtuous cycle, Markel Zubizarreta, casts doubts that the club has not yet dispelled. In leagues like the English one there is more money to sign and Barcelona – a ruined club – is today a showcase full of stars who are, in several cases, pending renewal. Not to mention the possible discomfort among some players who have seen how their board supported them late and coldly in the Rubiales case. Or the specter of the Negreira case clouding the horizon. It is legitimate to worry.
In any case, the club cannot succumb to the temptation to put on the brakes and disinvest or stagnate. On the contrary, it must dedicate even more resources to retaining and attracting talent. We are talking about budgets that are modest when compared to the magnitude of men’s football (the annual investment in women’s football, of 12 million, is a fifth of what it will cost to sign the young promise Vitor Roque), but it is a very large outlay. profitable in terms of prestige.
For their part, Barcelona and its institutions, which in times of reputational crisis used Leo Messi’s Barça to promote the city’s brand, must continue to provide facilities for Alexia, Aitana Bonmatí and company to be a reference for an innovative and progress.
