Even our families and friends that attended our first Women’s Super League game of the season against Tottenham on Sunday were saying “wow, you’re playing at Stamford Bridge” because it’s a change from playing at Kingsmeadow.
We are getting bigger and bigger and eventually we want to be at the same level as the men’s game in terms of playing in big stadiums more regularly, but we need fans to keep buying in, coming to matches and filling them.
We know it won’t happen straight away but we have shown the quality we have got. This is where we have to drive for women’s football to grow. We talk a lot about increasing the number of people who attend games but in order to do that we have to be at bigger stadiums.
Even with 25,000 in a 40,000-seater Stamford Bridge, I felt there was an atmosphere. I could hear the fans throughout the whole game. When the goal went in it was electric!
It was a really special occasion. It’s an honor to know that the club put this on for us. The numbers are only going to grow.
We want more days like this. It will definitely be one to remember for a long time and hopefully, it’s the start of a silverware season.
‘Why I think Chelsea are a driving force for change’
I’ve always said it’s good to have a certain allocation of free tickets because it gets attention. But now we want the game to move in a direction where more and more fans are buying tickets. It is a business at the end of the day.
First, we had to get the attention of a new audience and I think we did that at the World Cup and have continued it. That’s been shown in the crowds that have come out this weekend.
At Chelsea, I feel like we are a driving force but we don’t just want it to be at this club. We want it to be for the benefit of the whole league.
We are in a position where we don’t just have to push Chelsea. We want people to see what we’re doing and think “we deserve that as well”. That’s how you get improvements and make a change – it’s about people seeing it and making their club change too.
We are pushing for change in women’s football and on days like Sunday, you could see it for yourself. It wasn’t just about the game but everything leading up to it too – we had face-painting available and fire engines and police cars for kids to try out. There was everything for the fans to make it an entertaining day.
I have big respect for Tottenham because that was their first game in the league and it was a good performance. They put up a fight to the last minute and didn’t give up. It shows the progression of the women’s game and how it’s going to be this season – the toughest yet. Read More
