Football came home. Just as the original ‘Three Lions’ song dreamt of England bringing glory to a home European Championship back in 1996, it eventually played out in 2022. That it happened for the Lionesses rather than their male contemporaries only made things taste sweeter in many ways.
Women’s football has been fighting for advertising space for the past half-a-century. To have ended the 56-year wait for English senior international success is to have alerted the vast majority of the football-watching public that there is more to life than watching detached millionaires compete against detached millionaires every week.
Sarina Wiegman’s England side were as personable and grounded off the field as they were scintillating on it. For a month in July they won over a new audience. Sure, many were always going to talk of their preference for the men’s game and would be back on their familiar terraces come August. But this was still a line-in-the-sand moment.
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There were 87,192 at Wembley Stadium to watch the Lionesses win the Euro 2022 final against Germany, while 23 million more watched on the BBC, whether on their TV screens or streamed online. And since that historic afternoon beneath the arch, Women’s Super League attendances have gone up by 200 per cent year-on-year. A record 47,367 were at the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in September, with another 44,259 attending the Manchester derby between City and United earlier this month.
Before the 2022 highlight in the summer, Chelsea had secured a second straight WSL crown by just a single point over Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal. The London pair are one and two again in the table at the end of the year but the Manchester clubs are both a concern this time around, particularly Marc Skinner’s United following their recent 3-2 come-from-behind win at Arsenal which sees them only two points off the searing pace.
It has been great to see depth added to the WSL too, with Euro 2022 winner Rachel Daly’s return to the country after nine years in the US bolstering Aston Villa’s squad and Amy Turner and Drew Spence doing similar for Tottenham. After their 2020 relegation amid serial neglect, it has been refreshing to see Liverpool return to the top flight with a spring in their step under Matt Beard.
There are big personalities who are now household names too, and not just BBC Sports Personality of the Year Beth Mead. Everyone fell in love with the story of best mates Ella Toone and Alessia Russo playing key roles in England’s glorious run, while the Queen of the Jungle, Jill Scott, and ace goalscorer Ellen White have ridden off into the sunset as national heroes.
Women’s football has never been in better health in this country since the lifting of the archaic playing ban in 1972, and the WSL continuing to thrive can only be great for the entire game. As we head into a World Cup year, England could barely be in a more prosperous position to challenge the world champion United States.
Even lower down the pyramid, clubs are making the most of the bounce in interest in the game. It was a full two-and-a-half months before the Lionesses’ Euro heroics that Newcastle United smashed their previous attendance record of 2,754 with a 22,134 St James’ Park gate for their National League Division One clash with Alnwick Town in May. They then bettered that figure when 28,565 went along to watch them beat Barnsley in the second round of the Women’s FA Cup in November.
With clubs now buying into the power of women’s football, it is a wonderful time to be involved. Whether you’re Chelsea – looking for a third straight WSL title – or York Railway Institute playing in the North East Women’s Regional League, there’s a new, entirely deserved, respect for players.
The job is far from done, but 2022 has been a landmark year for women in football. Finally, the sight of female pundits outnumbering male counterparts is becoming as normal as the reverse. Crowds are up massively, with fans buying into their women’s teams every bit as much as they would the men’s. And there is greater competition than ever for the biggest prizes.
Bring on 2023, with its World Cup, the endless possibilities of the Champions League, a WSL title race that has plenty of life left in it, and a million more headlines written by great female role models.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
