[Albion] Todays women’s game

[Han Solo]

It's amazing that this serious question only gets asked of the women's game, when 99% of men's football is operating at a loss.

Indeed.

The normal situation in a PL club is that one single men's first team player has higher wages than the entire women's squad. This is very likely the case in Brighton as well. The players in the biggest teams in the WSL earn some £60k per year on average and we're probably around £40k on average.

We paid 80% of Ansu Fatis £160k-per-week wages last season, meaning that every week we paid him the same money we give to four or five of our female players over a year.

People who support a team in the men's Premier League and talks about the cost of the women's team are among the most moronic and deluded people in society. Complete lack of connection to the real world.

 

[amexer]

Great win. Why can't people just stop belittling women's football , it is what it is, a game of football played by women and really shouldn't be compared to the men's game. Tony thinks it's the right thing to do, it's his money and 5-8k people wanted to watch it and in time those numbers will hopefully increase.

Just because people ask questions about womens game does not mean they are belitting it Far from it. I am all for it and the biggest plus is that young girls will grow up with opportunity to play the game.
However despite massive media coverage and marketing I am amazed with Arsenal the exception how little interest in attending games even at £10/12 a ticket. A couple get 5/6k and even Spurs average under 2k. I did attend WH game with a young relative who would prefer me to take her to mens games and with under 5k asssume Albion mens supporters have little interest so a new audience has to be found.
TB does not get much wrong so lets hope it grows but in the meantime still amazed with this interest clubs can justify full time playing and coaching squads. To give it balance i am even more surprised that on gates of 1300ish Eastbourne Borough mens players and management are full time in tier 6/7

 

[Han Solo]

Just because people ask questions about womens game does not mean they are belitting it Far from it. I am all for it and the biggest plus is that young girls will grow up with opportunity to play the game.
However despite massive media coverage and marketing I am amazed with Arsenal the exception how little interest in attending games even at £10/12 a ticket. A couple get 5/6k and even Spurs average under 2k. I did attend WH game with a young relative who would prefer me to take her to mens games and with under 5k asssume Albion mens supporters have little interest so a new audience has to be found.
TB does not get much wrong so lets hope it grows but in the meantime still amazed with this interest clubs can justify full time playing and coaching squads. To give it balance i am even more surprised that on gates of 1300ish Eastbourne Borough mens players and management are full time in tier 6/7

There are full-time theatre groups, musicians, netballers, bobsleigh riders and all sorts of entertainers where pulling 3-4k+ attendances a dozen times per season is just some utopian dream.

Adding TV viewing figures, this group of entertainers entertain some 50k-100k people three to five times a month and they get £30k per year for it. Peanuts.

A much better question is why some U21 player signing his first first team contract could afford to buy my mother and the apartment she lives in for his first weekly salary.

 

[Jim in the West]

Just because people ask questions about womens game does not mean they are belitting it Far from it. I am all for it and the biggest plus is that young girls will grow up with opportunity to play the game.
However despite massive media coverage and marketing I am amazed with Arsenal the exception how little interest in attending games even at £10/12 a ticket. A couple get 5/6k and even Spurs average under 2k. I did attend WH game with a young relative who would prefer me to take her to mens games and with under 5k asssume Albion mens supporters have little interest so a new audience has to be found.
TB does not get much wrong so lets hope it grows but in the meantime still amazed with this interest clubs can justify full time playing and coaching squads. To give it balance i am even more surprised that on gates of 1300ish Eastbourne Borough mens players and management are full time in tier 6/7

The women's game is still developing, and the quality of the football is improving EVERY year. I went to the Arsenal game at the Emirates a week ago - we were very well beaten. On the one hand, this was slightly disappointing, but it was impressive to see how decent the Arsenal players were.

So - there is still a gulf between the top three (Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea) and the rest. But obviously Man United are catching them up....and maybe BHAFC, too. We've made huge strides in the last 8 months or so, and the ambition is clearly there to challenge the top 3 and get into the Champions League.

I'm sure we will become a major force in women's football if and when the new stadium is built. We already have great facilities for the women, and once they play regularly IN BRIGHTON at a stadium with an appropriate capacity we will be able to compete with the "establishment".

[Also worth remembering that the WSL has just struck a new TV deal which doubles the money coming into the game - this will inevitably make its way into wages, which will in turn make it even more attractive for women to seek a career as a professional footballer.]

 

[amexer]

There are full-time theatre groups, musicians, netballers, bobsleigh riders and all sorts of entertainers where pulling 3-4k+ attendances a dozen times per season is just some utopian dream.

Adding TV viewing figures, this group of entertainers entertain some 50k-100k people three to five times a month and they get £30k per year for it. Peanuts.

A much better question is why some U21 player signing his first first team contract could afford to buy my mother and the apartment she lives in for his first weekly salary.

My knowledge is non existant about groups you mention but if full time either have good sponsors lottery money or enough people buying tickets to there events.
Your last point I agree is mad but easy to answer. Any Acadamy player with possibility to be a star (espcially forwards like our 2 who scored early PL goals ) g are soon given long contracts to put club in possition to get big fee later. If Gyokeres had scored a hatrick in his first game sure he would have got a big contract
Doesnt mean I agree with it as think money involved in PL is a joke.

 

[Professor Plum]

Women's football has come on leaps and bounds. If we go back a few years, I admit I thought it really poor to watch, full of rookie errors and misjudged passes and crazy goals. But over recent times, it's really tightened up a lot. I wil now happily watch a women's match. In fact it's time I went to a match rather than just watching on TV. I have been to Lewes a few times in the past but never an Albion women's game. Anyone still deriding women's football needs to give it another look.

 

[Cheggers]

There are full-time theatre groups, musicians, netballers, bobsleigh riders and all sorts of entertainers where pulling 3-4k+ attendances a dozen times per season is just some utopian dream.

Adding TV viewing figures, this group of entertainers entertain some 50k-100k people three to five times a month and they get £30k per year for it. Peanuts.

A much better question is why some U21 player signing his first first team contract could afford to buy my mother and the apartment she lives in for his first weekly salary.

If you don't mind me asking, for how much are you willing to sell your mother? Asking for a friend.

 

[amexer]

Women's football has come on leaps and bounds. If we go back a few years, I admit I thought it really poor to watch, full of rookie errors and misjudged passes and crazy goals. But over recent times, it's really tightened up a lot. I wil now happily watch a women's match. In fact it's time I went to a match rather than just watching on TV. I have been to Lewes a few times in the past but never an Albion women's game. Anyone still deriding women's football needs to give it another look.

I repeat that just because some have questions about womens football does not mean they are deriding it. All for it I just comment that with huge ammount of media coverage and marketing am surprised so few are attending games and wonder where the new audience will come from.. OK to say broadcast revenue has doubled but they will soon pull out if viewing figures are poor.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

There are full-time theatre groups, musicians, netballers, bobsleigh riders and all sorts of entertainers where pulling 3-4k+ attendances a dozen times per season is just some utopian dream.

Adding TV viewing figures, this group of entertainers entertain some 50k-100k people three to five times a month and they get £30k per year for it. Peanuts.

A much better question is why some U21 player signing his first first team contract could afford to buy my mother and the apartment she lives in for his first weekly salary.

The average county cricketer is on about £32000 per year. Exposure on TV and crowd size would be about the same.

The other thing worth mentioning the Women will play half the games the men's team does. This limits the possible amount of revenue.

 

[dazzer6666]

The average county cricketer is on about £32000 per year. Exposure on TV and crowd size would be about the same.

The other thing worth mentioning the Women will play half the games the men's team does. This limits the possible amount of revenue.

Most championship matches have a crowd of about 30

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I repeat that just because some have questions about womens football does not mean they are deriding it. All for it I just comment that with huge ammount of media coverage and marketing am surprised so few are attending games and wonder where the new audience will come from.. OK to say broadcast revenue has doubled but they will soon pull out if viewing figures are poor.

As a participation sport, the women’s game is noticeably growing year on year in the UK and across the world. I imagine this will help grow the game as a spectator sport.

Sport can take a long time to take hold, look at the men’s game in the US, or UFC, for example. Give it time and I’m sure numbers will grow.

 

[Wardy's twin]

I repeat that just because some have questions about womens football does not mean they are deriding it. All for it I just comment that with huge ammount of media coverage and marketing am surprised so few are attending games and wonder where the new audience will come from.. OK to say broadcast revenue has doubled but they will soon pull out if viewing figures are poor.

You might be asking questions but social media is full of snide comments basically attacking women's football as it s not as good as men's and inference they should not be playing. Why can't people accept that it's at a different level and just leave it like that. You don't have to get involved if you don't want to but 5k people were interested enough to go and another 8k or so watched it on line.

 

[amexer]

You might be asking questions but social media is full of snide comments basically attacking women's football as it s not as good as men's and inference they should not be playing. Why can't people accept that it's at a different level and just leave it like that. You don't have to get involved if you don't want to but 5k people were interested enough to go and another 8k or so watched it on line.

Have never seen these comments or heard that opinion from football supporting friends. It is understandably a different viewing experience and hopefully the new audience that will pay a proper price for tickets will appear after this investment

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Part of it is about giving it just one chance. The last one I went to was that Charlton game which was heavily promoted. I'm keen to go again but, as I live in Brighton, the Crawley expedition might put me off. I will give it a go though.
What I'm basically trying to say, is give them a chance. In doing so, a decent proportion will get the bug.

I wholeheartedly agree, I’ve taken DFP jr to every home game for the ladies team this season, he’s fully bought into it, he recognises the players and knows their names, and as of last night has a massive Nikita Parris poster on his bedroom wall.

 

[dazzer6666]

Have never seen these comments or heard that opinion from football supporting friends. It is understandably a different viewing experience and hopefully the new audience that will pay a proper price for tickets will appear after this investment

What’s a ‘proper price’ ?

 

[amexer]

What’s a ‘proper price’ ?

Dont know but surely no future to pay its way at £10 ticket.
I think every game can be watched live on youtube. Surely this of no help when trying to increase attendances.

 

[ozzygull]

If I lived in Brighton or closer to it I would definitely watch some of the women’s games. Going to a match for me is not a couple of hours out of my day, it is a whole day event. So I don’t have the capacity to follow any other team. Saying that I have watched them play live at Wycombe, the game they got promote, a couple seasons ago when they played Reading, also watch a couple of the games at the Amex when my mum was still alive as I could combined visits and one game I took her to a match and she really enjoyed it.

If the women’s games are on YouTube or TV I will watch. They are representing The Albion, so I want them to do well.

I can’t imagine why any Albion fan would not want them to do well, unless they have something against women doing sport, and any person saying they are not interested and don’t want it forced them, don’t watch it then or do you feel the need to give your opinion on every televised sport that men play that you don’t have interest in? Probably not.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

What’s a ‘proper price’ ?

What we paid for Davy?

 

[hart's shirt]

I can’t imagine why any Albion fan would not want them to do well, unless they have something against women doing sport, and any person saying they are not interested and don’t want it forced them, don’t watch it then or do you feel the need to give your opinion on every televised sport that men play that you don’t have interest in? Probably not.

I don't think any Albion fan wants any Albion team to do badly and I can't immediately recall any comment on NSC against women doing sport.

In fairness, NSC is a football forum (as well as many other things), so commenting on football - whether male or female - and everything around it is to be expected over other sports, televised or otherwise. No one should get kid gloves treatment, everything is up for robust but civil debate. That's where the equality comes in. Now I'm typing this in the early hours with one eye on The Women's Football Show. It's great that it's being shown, but with a finish at almost 1am, far too late on a Sunday night / Monday morning to encourage kids watching unless its on the iPlayer. So that's one bit of feedback that's clearly meant as a positive. Breakfast of champions and all that.

As for anyone who isn't interested, well they're probably not reading this thread let alone commenting on it. But that's not good.
In the words of Wilde, "there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about".
Media column inches (e.g. Suzy Wrack in The Guardian) promote from the top, but the organic growth desired really needs to come at club forum level.

So let's keep talking on NSC about Women's Football and all concerning it. We may not always agree, but interest and engagement is better than the alternative.

 

[dazzer6666]

Dont know but surely no future to pay its way at £10 ticket.
I think every game can be watched live on youtube. Surely this of no help when trying to increase attendances.

So you want to increase prices and attendances ? Long term the economics of the game will develop as the game does. At the moment the FA pumps tons of money into the women’s game (for example grants, paying salaries for certain staff etc - at championship level at least). At the moment it‘s all about growing engagement so making the game available to all via YouTube (or FA Player) makes sense. The game being ‘sustainable’ from a financial perspective is still a way off I would think (although I think you’ll struggle to find much in the way of clarity on the finances of women’s teams) - it’ll likely be the media deal that will be the major contributor ultimately, much the same as the men’s game. That’s been rising significantly.