If you build it, they still won’t come

NIKITA PARRIS introduced a welcome dose of realism into what might be termed the Field of

Dreams stage of women’s football in England. The call for club matches to be moved to huge arenas, despite average attendances of 937 in the Women’s Super League, belongs very much to the fantasy world of Kevin Costner’s cornfield baseball diamond bringing forth the ghosts of the 1919 Chicago White Sox baseball team.

‘If you build it, they will come,’ Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, is told — which is a nice line for a film, but doesn’t help sell out stadiums, when average gates are actually down by 16.9 per cent from two years ago.

Phil Neville was among those encouraging clubs to move women’s games to their main stadiums, citing the 60,739 that watched a women’s match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona recently. Yet more than half the crowd got in free and massive emphasis was placed on promoting a set-piece event.

Atletico Madrid Femenino have played at home to Real Betis at their 3,865 capacity stadium since, and the attendance was 613. Giving away a product free does not translate to increased interest.

Parris (above), who plays for Manchester City, seems alone in advocating organic growth. ‘Let’s build women’s football from the bottom before we get to the top,’ she said. ‘We can talk about the Etihad and Manchester United’s ground in a few years’ time. Let’s fill the academy Stadiums and the Kingsmeadows, first of all.’

Kingsmeadow is where Chelsea Women play. It has a capacity of 4,850 and the most recent match, against West Ham, drew a crowd of 2,854 — very good for a WSL game and better than the average attendance at five League Two clubs, but roughly 39,000 under what Stamford Bridge holds.

So what purpose is served taking Chelsea Women to an echoing, empty bowl? They might get a spike for a one-off outing, but beyond that? It could be ruinous for a sport that is working hard to build a core audience.

That is where the future for women’s football lies: not in the fantasy of novelties and gimmicks.