The atmosphere at Sunday's WFAI Cup Final was that muted it felt like a covid game at times, devoid of the bells and whistles that would usually accompany such a showcase, and surely a damning statement that although women’s football has come a long way in this country, there’s still a hell of a lot of work to be done.
Players' voices should always be at the very forefront of the game, but not quite so literally that you can hear their every word or call on the pitch.
And that’s not to discredit those fans that did attend to cheer on their teams, who did their level best with their drums, chants and general support, but if the showpiece event of the domestic women’s calendar year can only attract 3,526 people, there have to be serious questions asked as to why that might be the case.
Hard to tell what it’s to do with, be it the weather or what, but it’s disappointing not to see Tallaght packed for this cup final.
You’d think after the hype of the summer we’d see the excitement trickle down, not the case it would seem… pic.twitter.com/T1q4e1kxOj— Alanna Cunnane (@acunnane10) November 19, 2023
The players deserve better than that, the league deserves better than that, and women’s football itself deserves better than that.
If we as a country are as committed to gender equality in sport as we say we are, it’s time we began to see that.
That number in itself is a drop of 1,547 from last year’s record crowd of 5,073, a buck against the trend of the turning tide which saw women’s football soar in tandem with the heights of our Women’s World Cup Ireland stars this summer.
In fact, the weekend’s stadium is the exact same one which continues to sell out every time the Irish WNT take to it these days, yet dots of empty seats seem to persist there too when it comes to the crunch time of kick off.
A record that’s stood since 1945 is now broken!
Thanks to all supporters for turning out in your droves! #FAICup | #BOHPAT pic.twitter.com/HQaIdwokB0— FAIreland (@FAIreland) November 12, 2023
We’re yet to see a translation from the hype of the Australia and New Zealand tournament Down Under (in which the Irish WNT became equated with packed stadiums) and the 35,944 people who showed up the Aviva Stadium for the inaugural women’s match translate to the Women’s Premier Division and furthermore to grassroots football, which is a touch ironic given the opposite is true for their male counterparts.
Despite the Irish men’s team flailing, the League of Ireland appears to be in as good a place as ever, selling out the Aviva just over a week ago for St Pats vs Bohemians men’s FAI Cup Final.
43,881 people bore witness to that colourful, lively and spirited affair, marking up to be nearly 12 and a half times that of the number of those who attended Shelbourne vs Athlone.
Over 4,000 tickets gone for Sunday!
Can we make it a new record crowd? 🏆
🎟️ - https://t.co/gcLYFdtGgM#FAICup | #ATHSHE pic.twitter.com/oy9i45b3RJ— FAIreland (@FAIreland) November 17, 2023
The FAI reported in the days leading up to the women’s tie that around 4,000 tickets had been sold, and were propping it up to be a potential “record crowd”, but what was done to make that projection a reality?
You can tout that the final being in November and the weather not being up to scratch was a part of the reason all you want, but the fact is that those same factors applied to the men’s edition not over a week prior, and so that has to be set aside.
Insufficient promotion? A shortfall in organisation? Lack of engagement with grassroots clubs, or even actively dismissing to work with them in some cases?
Leagues in dublin refused to move grassroots matches to earlier times for clubs to attend. That’s part of the problem
— Aoife Crowley (@aoifehattie) November 19, 2023
All of those questions might rightly be raised, but the real answer that needs to come to the surface is with regards to how it’s all going to change.
Living in hope that the effect of Katie McCabe and co’s achievement of making it to the 2023 World Cup will therefore automatically mean it’s a new era for Irish women’s football has clearly not worked.
Structural plans, a cemented ethos and a commitment to growth need to immediately be corrected if we’re to see more than 3,526 at the biggest women’s domestic game of the year.
And if those are in fact a reality, let’s see them published, and held accountable to.
If not, we may be wondering in years to come why we haven’t made it to more history making tournaments, with our best homegrown players playing overseas, instead of in-front of the onlooking little eyes who'd flourish in watching their heroes play in their local stadiums.
💬“People get sick of seeing the same clubs lift the same trophies every year”
Chloe Singleton talks about what @AthloneTownAFC’s WFAI Cup win will mean for the rest of the @LoiWomen, and also calls for more funding to be pumped into the league ⚽️.#wfaicup #LOI #athlone pic.twitter.com/9if4ralCic— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) November 20, 2023
