Arsenal Women to play more at Emirates

Article posted by Coliseum, May 16^th, 2024

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium will host 11 Arsenal Women matches in the 2024/25 season, making it the main home of Arsenal Women.

Arsenal said it plans to play eight Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) games at Emirates Stadium, alongside three UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) fixtures, should the team qualify for the group stages of the competition.

Progress to the latter stages of the UWCL would also mean all home legs in knock-out rounds would be played at the north London stadium.

Emirates Stadium is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England (UK). It is the home of Premier League club Arsenal F.C., since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity of 60,704, making it the fifth-largest football stadium in England.

Arsenal said the remaining games, including all women’s domestic cup fixtures (Adobe Women’s FA Cup and FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup), will be played at the long-standing host venue, the Mangata Pay UK Stadium (Meadow Park, Borehamwood), the home of Arsenal’s men’s U21 team.

The 4,500-capacity Meadow Park, currently known as the Mangata Pay UK Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football ground in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. It is the home ground of Boreham Wood F.C. and also hosts the home matches of Arsenal Women F.C. and Arsenal youth teams.

The club said the decision to play more Arsenal Women matches at Emirates Stadium follows on from strong support both home and away this season. The six WSL matches hosted at Emirates Stadium this season saw an average crowd of 52,029, which included two sell-outs and three WSL attendance records.

These have contributed to an average crowd of 32,618 over the 2023/24 season so far, across both home venues, including sell-outs of every Mangata Pay UK Stadium fixture.

Vinai Venkatesham, Chief Executive Officer, said, “For almost four decades, we’ve been at the forefront of the women’s game. We’ve recently seen extraordinary growth in supporters coming to Emirates Stadium for games held here, which include two complete sell-outs this season.

“The next step in our journey is to make Emirates Stadium our main home for Arsenal Women. We’re looking forward to giving more supporters the chance to watch our women’s team play.

“This is part of a collective drive across the club to take the women’s game forward and support sustainable growth of the game so it can thrive in the long term.”

Sporting Director, Edu Gaspar, added, “There’s great passion for our women’s team right across our club. We are one club, with a vision to win major trophies across our men’s and women’s teams. This move supports this ambition and we can’t wait to continue this amazing journey with our supporters.”

Arsenal Women head coach, Jonas Eidevall, thanked supporters for the unwavering commitment that has made the move possible.

He said, “We have a special connection with our supporters, who have shown up in huge numbers and pushed us forward every step of the way.

“To everyone who has followed us so far, thank you. You have played a key part in our progress and growth, helping us write this story.

“Next season, Emirates Stadium becomes our main home and we’re all excited to play in front of bigger crowds every week. We can’t wait to see you all there.”

The club also announced a new package available to supporters for next season’s Emirates WSL matches.

The new Emirates Home Advantage Pack + will give supporters the opportunity to purchase tickets for all eight planned WSL matches at the Emirates next season at a discounted rate.

The Emirates Home Advantage Pack – a five-game package introduced for Emirates Stadium WSL matches ahead of the 2023/24 season – will also return, giving supporters the option of attending five select Emirates WSL matches at a discounted rate.

The exact fixtures incorporated into each pack will be confirmed later this summer after the 2024/25 WSL fixtures have been released.

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