The first comprehensive study of women’s football supporters in England revealed general satisfaction with the product but criticism of the price.
Three-quarters of the 2,156 football fans surveyed by the Football Supporters Association had attended a women’s football match during the previous season. It was discovered that fan enthusiasms and complaints were comparable to those in the men’s game, with a few notable exceptions.
While supporters were not directly questioned if they enjoyed what they were viewing, several pieces of evidence indicated that they were pleased: Seventy-two percent of respondents said their club had a lively fan culture, while more than three-quarters (77%) felt tickets were either good or very good value for money. Similarly, 89.5% of respondents concurred with the statement, “I feel comfortable watching women’s football games.”
In the list of concerns, however, a constant theme emerged: 37 percent of respondents cited the cost of travel (and the distance required to travel to a match) as a problem, making it the most commonly-held concern among fans. There were also complaints about the price of items, with only a third of respondents finding it to be excellent value for money, and almost half of respondents (45.3%) stating that the cost of watching women’s football on television prevented them from tuning in.
The cost of being a fan was not the only complaint shared by supporters of the men’s game; just 5.8 percent of those surveyed strongly believed that officiating was of the needed standard, and 77.3 percent said that television had too much influence over kickoff times. Additionally, it should be mentioned that 52,2% of those surveyed were male.
Regarding the development of the game, however, two significant divergences occurred among enthusiasts. The majority (73 percent) said that pre-qualifying matches should be implemented at the international level, maybe in response to the Lionesses’ recent thrashings. Second, 89.4% of supporters say there should be a greater financial shift from men’s to women’s football.
