Blues boss Emma Hayes wants English women’s teams who compete in the Champions League to play those matches at the men’s grounds.
Looking ahead to next season, she says that making it mandatory to stage European football nights at big stadiums will help boost the women’s game.
With the Women’s Super League now settled after coming from behind to beat United 4-2 on Sunday (8 May), Chelsea are gearing up for a double helping of FA Cup final action this weekend as both the men and women challenge for their respective trophies.
It signals the conclusion of a season that everyone at Stamford Bridge and Kingsmeadow wants to put behind them, with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the club and its future ownership.
Sunday’s Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley against Manchester City will be a swansong for Ji So-Yun, who – after 200 appearances for the Blues – is returning to South Korea, and Jonna Andersson, the left-back whose pinpoint crosses have saved Chelsea’s blushes in the past few games.
She is going home to Scandinavia, her starting place on the wing even less certain after the signing of Alsu Abdullina.
The Blues will again be without Fran Kirby for the cup final. She is now undergoing alternative therapies at home with a cryo-chamber as she battles an unexplained lethargy.
Musing on the Women’s Champions League, and on making such good-quality football available to a larger number of spectators (especially as the Italian women’s game is about to go pro), Hayes says that she believed big European clashes merited more imposing stages.
“Maybe make it mandatory for Champions League games to be played in men’s stadiums,” she said. “I think that would be a step in the right direction. Champions League level requires it.”
But first, Wembley. It’s a chance for Chelsea’s army of fans to gather at the home of football for a showpiece to round off this crazy season.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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