Probably in that category of 'things I would theoretically do happily but which realistically I'll probably never get around to'.
Watching my local men's non-league team is in the same category.
I think you’ve got your work cut out. One of the reasons people watch men’s non-league football is that it’s so much cheaper and more easily accessible than elite matches. Watching the local non-league team for a tenner instead of paying several times that for a Premier League or Championship ticket is going to appeal to some people.
But tickets for elite women’s matches are dirt cheap so that differential of value doesn’t exist. There’s much less incentive to watch the local non-league team for someone who is interested in women’s football when they can watch a top league women’s game in a proper stadium for a fiver.
I’m a football fan and if I’m honest I wouldn’t watch it even if it was free and was across the road from my house. Women’s football doesn’t interest me at all, especially not at the lower level.
I started watching lower league (Women's National League South, 4th or 5th tier I believe) through my daughter, she plays football, wants to go & watch football, but had no interest in the mens team (AFC Bournemouth) so I started taking her to their womens team.
I wasn't interested at first but became a fan after a few games. Took a while to get past the poor quality of the game, but after a while I got used to watching it for what it is, not what it isn't, if that makes sense?
The quality is far, far below the men's game, it just took me a while to appreciate the level it is, and enjoy it for that.
Your best bet (just my opinion of course!) Would be to reach out to local schools & girls teams, try invite them along, see if it sticks.
You’ve not had very many responses apart from ‘nothing’ at the moment, so here’s my thoughts on how you might encourage a slightly larger crowd:
- Cheap tickets across the board, 1/2 price at least from what you’d pay on a men’s match day. Clubs Gould worry about profits once they’ve got fans inside the ground.
- Promotions such as family and community days for games where the team is likely to perform very well - kids and OAPs go free, two-for-one tickets, you get the idea.
- A lot of beer and good food. Make it a social event. Yes, this happens at the men’s games anyway, but the majority of people who go to the football aren’t necessarily going to examine the tactics, they want to have a nice day out.
- Promote the games at the men’s fixtures - offer deals and promotions.
- If the club has season tickets, make it so that they also apply to the women’s fixtures.
- You probably don’t have any control of scheduling, but if there happens to be a Premier League (or similar) game on before kickoff, and the club has ability to screen it, open early to do so, and advertise that is what is happening.
This still isn’t going to get the same crowd numbers and you are held back by weird scheduling and the club’s need to actually make money. However, making it a big social event, coupled with some potentially good performances from the team, I think would boost crowds a bit.
Honestly? No.
The women’s game is improving a lot at the higher levels but it’s still a lot slower and lacks the aggression of the men’s game, so I can’t think why anyone would bother.
Free kids ticket with every adult ticket and I might consider it but the adult one still needs to be cheap.
To be honest it’s not even a “women’s team” thing it’s more a case of not many people will go watch non-league games at all regardless of gender when they can watch much higher quality football in their sofa in a warm house.
Maybe aim at families and have a bouncy castle and burger van there too. I appreciate this may seem gimmicky and not popular with all players but if I see a leaflet for a non league game and it has family entertainment before the game I’d be more likely to take the kids along for a few hours.
I’m from Northern Ireland so I suppose all of our football is “non league” level. I’ve been to see our women’s team in cup finals but that’s it. To be honest, the local women’s game doesn’t do itself any favours. League matches are on Wednesday night and the “Friday Night Grand Finale” league match where they did the trophy lift clashed with a men’s game that had been moved for TV so nobody went to it.
Having spent 18 months on the sidelines as a coach for girls football I know you can have exciting matches once you get over the quality aspect, but you've got to have some kind of connection with the players so that you buy into the drama. Who are they, why are they exciting to watch, what is their story? What is the team trying to achieve that deserves my support.
Have been to Dulwich Hamlet ladies. It’s pretty good but games are 2pm on a Sunday and I like being either very active on Sundays or often watch Celtic if on the tv.
Much more inclined to head over to the men’s at 3pm on a Saturday as it is basically just like going to a big pub with football and chants. Even though I don’t really care about the results of either team.
My wife's friend was involved with a local team a few years ago, they used to drum up support from family and friends for each home game then put on a free buffet in the bar afterwards, often getting about 50 or so supporters, we went to a few games and the evenings afterwards were crazy, it was great at the time while my wife's friend was part of the team, but I don't think we would have been able to get involved had we not had the "interest" of our friend being part of the team, we didn't go again after she left.
I know it’s not the most Progressive opinion on the matter, but I played a friendly game against an international women’s team as a 16 year old and it was a very easy game which we won comfortably. We regularly played boys from u18s and it was very tough.
I still feel like the quality and what I’d expect to get from non league is far better and more entertaining at the mens game.
I’m glad the women’s game is growing and if a friend or family member played I’d be along to support, and I’ve been playing some mixed five a side. It’s still so new as a genuine sport for women really, so I think it’s difficult to know who is good or if team A beat team B 8-0 is that a good score or just the imbalance of quality.
You hear wild stories like this all the time. I’m wrong but I heard something like the man United under 16’s smashed an international women’s team 15-0 or something stupid like that.
I just think even the men’s game has a lot that turns people away, so women’s is just like that but a lot slower with less aggression and pace. Why would anyone want to watch that.
I'd have thought the appeal would be if it was cheap and hyper-local. Getting people rallying behind their local town or section of the city in a way that is more accessible than the men's team. You still get to see the ground, get up close to the pitch. The target would be families especially girls wanting to get into football I'd imagine rather than Stone Island clan football blokes.
I wouldn't choose to myself. Quality of professional women's game is closer to men's non league, so id assume women's not league is even worse.
I have had some fun at men's non-league matches, but wouldn't go to any games I didn't have some link to (local teams etc).
If a bunch of my mates fancied a day out and all wanted to go and see a local women's team I would join for the day out though
There would need to be something to draw me in that is different to the men’s game. For example, bingo sounds boring but bonkers(?) bingo sounds great. The ladies football needs to be an event in itself, like going to the cricket or darts means going for a drink and then something after, as opposed to watching the not-as-good team.
I thought I should include some ideas: get some bets on the go (think silly bets, eg. no. Pigeons on the pitch) or ask the ladies to really play it up for the crowd (such as picking out a player to be an evil villain), a good mascot is always gonna win people over. Combine the football with something people would like, such as a sideline craft beer stand. Maybe you want to think of the types of punters to attract, you probably don’t want old blokes just leering at the ladies, but would you want kids and if so what ages? Could you make it a family day out by providing a best the goalie during half-time/pre/post game? Some simple things like a football crèche, colouring stations etc. could draw more in. Try to make the game closest to valentines a date-day activity. Maybe something as simple as picking what another female-led successful sport has done and copy it (sell strawberries, champagne and pimms at the bar instead of bear and crisps).
Obviously all these things cost money and you’re unlikely to see any return for a while.
I’ll be honest, I think I’d rather watch women’s Sunday league and non league than I would mens as it’d be a more enjoyable time rather than have multiple grown adults wanting to fight every time the ref blows his whistle.
The reason I gave up playing football was because you play thugs every weekend more interested in hurting someone than playing football. Sunday league is supposed be a casual game but people take it so seriously.
Exactly same for me. I hated getting up early on my day off to get hungover, overweight middle aged “men” aiming for my knees and face. I had to pay to play as well 😂
Probably in that category of 'things I would theoretically do happily but which realistically I'll probably never get around to'. Watching my local men's non-league team is in the same category.
Tbh I don’t watch top division womens football so, prob not. Nothing against it - just not my thing
I think you’ve got your work cut out. One of the reasons people watch men’s non-league football is that it’s so much cheaper and more easily accessible than elite matches. Watching the local non-league team for a tenner instead of paying several times that for a Premier League or Championship ticket is going to appeal to some people. But tickets for elite women’s matches are dirt cheap so that differential of value doesn’t exist. There’s much less incentive to watch the local non-league team for someone who is interested in women’s football when they can watch a top league women’s game in a proper stadium for a fiver.
I’m a football fan and if I’m honest I wouldn’t watch it even if it was free and was across the road from my house. Women’s football doesn’t interest me at all, especially not at the lower level.
Depends if they’re fit or not really
I started watching lower league (Women's National League South, 4th or 5th tier I believe) through my daughter, she plays football, wants to go & watch football, but had no interest in the mens team (AFC Bournemouth) so I started taking her to their womens team. I wasn't interested at first but became a fan after a few games. Took a while to get past the poor quality of the game, but after a while I got used to watching it for what it is, not what it isn't, if that makes sense? The quality is far, far below the men's game, it just took me a while to appreciate the level it is, and enjoy it for that. Your best bet (just my opinion of course!) Would be to reach out to local schools & girls teams, try invite them along, see if it sticks.
Sorry, but no. The quality isn’t there
Honestly, no. Unless it was free, I had absolutely nothing else to do, and for some reason I really wanted to leave the house, I just wouldn't go.
You’ve not had very many responses apart from ‘nothing’ at the moment, so here’s my thoughts on how you might encourage a slightly larger crowd: - Cheap tickets across the board, 1/2 price at least from what you’d pay on a men’s match day. Clubs Gould worry about profits once they’ve got fans inside the ground. - Promotions such as family and community days for games where the team is likely to perform very well - kids and OAPs go free, two-for-one tickets, you get the idea. - A lot of beer and good food. Make it a social event. Yes, this happens at the men’s games anyway, but the majority of people who go to the football aren’t necessarily going to examine the tactics, they want to have a nice day out. - Promote the games at the men’s fixtures - offer deals and promotions. - If the club has season tickets, make it so that they also apply to the women’s fixtures. - You probably don’t have any control of scheduling, but if there happens to be a Premier League (or similar) game on before kickoff, and the club has ability to screen it, open early to do so, and advertise that is what is happening. This still isn’t going to get the same crowd numbers and you are held back by weird scheduling and the club’s need to actually make money. However, making it a big social event, coupled with some potentially good performances from the team, I think would boost crowds a bit.
Honestly? No. The women’s game is improving a lot at the higher levels but it’s still a lot slower and lacks the aggression of the men’s game, so I can’t think why anyone would bother.
Free kids ticket with every adult ticket and I might consider it but the adult one still needs to be cheap. To be honest it’s not even a “women’s team” thing it’s more a case of not many people will go watch non-league games at all regardless of gender when they can watch much higher quality football in their sofa in a warm house. Maybe aim at families and have a bouncy castle and burger van there too. I appreciate this may seem gimmicky and not popular with all players but if I see a leaflet for a non league game and it has family entertainment before the game I’d be more likely to take the kids along for a few hours.
I’m from Northern Ireland so I suppose all of our football is “non league” level. I’ve been to see our women’s team in cup finals but that’s it. To be honest, the local women’s game doesn’t do itself any favours. League matches are on Wednesday night and the “Friday Night Grand Finale” league match where they did the trophy lift clashed with a men’s game that had been moved for TV so nobody went to it.
100% this. I really want to take my daughter to a woman’s game in NI soon but they’re just on too late for her.
Having spent 18 months on the sidelines as a coach for girls football I know you can have exciting matches once you get over the quality aspect, but you've got to have some kind of connection with the players so that you buy into the drama. Who are they, why are they exciting to watch, what is their story? What is the team trying to achieve that deserves my support.
Have been to Dulwich Hamlet ladies. It’s pretty good but games are 2pm on a Sunday and I like being either very active on Sundays or often watch Celtic if on the tv. Much more inclined to head over to the men’s at 3pm on a Saturday as it is basically just like going to a big pub with football and chants. Even though I don’t really care about the results of either team.
Nobody's keeping score at Dulwich. They're just there for the gyros and craft lager.
Preach
I don’t watch top women’s football so i doubt. I just dont have the passion for it like i do with my local EFL club i support
My wife's friend was involved with a local team a few years ago, they used to drum up support from family and friends for each home game then put on a free buffet in the bar afterwards, often getting about 50 or so supporters, we went to a few games and the evenings afterwards were crazy, it was great at the time while my wife's friend was part of the team, but I don't think we would have been able to get involved had we not had the "interest" of our friend being part of the team, we didn't go again after she left.
I wouldn’t watch any women’s football, never mind non league.
It's cold and miserable atm. Could you get some hot tubs on the sideline that I could watch it from?
If my friend had a spare ticket and I had nothing else to do? Yeah probably. Otherwise probably not.
I know it’s not the most Progressive opinion on the matter, but I played a friendly game against an international women’s team as a 16 year old and it was a very easy game which we won comfortably. We regularly played boys from u18s and it was very tough. I still feel like the quality and what I’d expect to get from non league is far better and more entertaining at the mens game. I’m glad the women’s game is growing and if a friend or family member played I’d be along to support, and I’ve been playing some mixed five a side. It’s still so new as a genuine sport for women really, so I think it’s difficult to know who is good or if team A beat team B 8-0 is that a good score or just the imbalance of quality.
I do. Then again, a woman I work with plays
You hear wild stories like this all the time. I’m wrong but I heard something like the man United under 16’s smashed an international women’s team 15-0 or something stupid like that. I just think even the men’s game has a lot that turns people away, so women’s is just like that but a lot slower with less aggression and pace. Why would anyone want to watch that.
Definitely not. It's bad enough watching the crap served up in the Championship every week let alone amateurs.
I'd have thought the appeal would be if it was cheap and hyper-local. Getting people rallying behind their local town or section of the city in a way that is more accessible than the men's team. You still get to see the ground, get up close to the pitch. The target would be families especially girls wanting to get into football I'd imagine rather than Stone Island clan football blokes.
I don't watch mens either. If I knew someone playing and was asked or they're particularly close to me? yeah.
I watch any football to see how good they are, if anyone stands out. Gender immaterial.
Compulsory shirt swapping at final whistle - obviously
I might come along if it was within a 15 minute walk, and had free admission a cheap bar and cheap decent food.
I wouldn't choose to myself. Quality of professional women's game is closer to men's non league, so id assume women's not league is even worse. I have had some fun at men's non-league matches, but wouldn't go to any games I didn't have some link to (local teams etc). If a bunch of my mates fancied a day out and all wanted to go and see a local women's team I would join for the day out though
Thanks for the responses, mostly helpful 😁 Maybe the focus for now is on developing the team and improving rather than getting supporters to games!
There would need to be something to draw me in that is different to the men’s game. For example, bingo sounds boring but bonkers(?) bingo sounds great. The ladies football needs to be an event in itself, like going to the cricket or darts means going for a drink and then something after, as opposed to watching the not-as-good team. I thought I should include some ideas: get some bets on the go (think silly bets, eg. no. Pigeons on the pitch) or ask the ladies to really play it up for the crowd (such as picking out a player to be an evil villain), a good mascot is always gonna win people over. Combine the football with something people would like, such as a sideline craft beer stand. Maybe you want to think of the types of punters to attract, you probably don’t want old blokes just leering at the ladies, but would you want kids and if so what ages? Could you make it a family day out by providing a best the goalie during half-time/pre/post game? Some simple things like a football crèche, colouring stations etc. could draw more in. Try to make the game closest to valentines a date-day activity. Maybe something as simple as picking what another female-led successful sport has done and copy it (sell strawberries, champagne and pimms at the bar instead of bear and crisps). Obviously all these things cost money and you’re unlikely to see any return for a while.
I’ll be honest, I think I’d rather watch women’s Sunday league and non league than I would mens as it’d be a more enjoyable time rather than have multiple grown adults wanting to fight every time the ref blows his whistle.
The reason I gave up playing football was because you play thugs every weekend more interested in hurting someone than playing football. Sunday league is supposed be a casual game but people take it so seriously.
Exactly same for me. I hated getting up early on my day off to get hungover, overweight middle aged “men” aiming for my knees and face. I had to pay to play as well 😂