by Rachel Gore (16/12/24)
Above: The Emirates Stadium. Photo: Arsenal FC.
The last month has seen highs and lows for Arsenal; the squad has consistently won matches however they have also been told that they are being forced out of The Emirates Stadium so that the men can play there instead.
At the beginning of November, it was announced that Arsenal men’s League Cup quarter-final fixture would have to occur on 18th December due to a Metropolitan Police request that Spurs and Arsenal did not host home matches on the same day.
To many this would not have seemed to be an issue, simply the men would play Crystal Palace at the Emirates on 18th. However, a match at the venue had already been scheduled for this date; Arsenal Women were set to play Bayern Munich in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Arsenal had been selling tickets for their women’s game on this date since September but suddenly it would no longer be held at the Emirates – the women had been pushed out to accommodate the men.
It is not simply the principal of the removal of the women’s team for the men’s that is disappointing for fans, it is also the practicality. Now, the game will occur at Meadow Park which has a capacity of 4,500. Prior to the announcement of the stadium change, more tickets than this had already been sold meaning that many fans who thought they would get to witness Arsenal take on Bayern Munich will no longer get the chance to.
The problem with Meadow Park is not solely its capacity, it also does not meet UEFA regulations. These regulations include a wide range of requirements, some of which look at pitch heating, grass height, pitch surrounding areas, and goalpost structures. UEFA has granted “special dispensation” to their usual regulations for this fixture, allowing Arsenal to host the match at Meadow Park.
If Arsenal were still to host the game against Bayern Munich, after The Emirates was taken away, it was never going to be a case of them finding a big enough venue for the number of tickets already sold, the only option was Meadow Park due to UEFA regulations.
Article 25.02 of the Champions League competition regulations states that “each club must propose one or a maximum of two stadiums for its home matches as from the group stage” and that these must be nominated prior to the beginning of the competition.
For Arsenal, this change in stadium is particularly disappointing following their conscious effort to show that the Emirates was also the home of their women’s side.
In May, the club announced that they would host 11 women’s games at the Emirates in the 24/25 season, three of these being Champions League fixtures. Upon this announcement, club CEO, Vinai Venkatesham, said that the move “is part of a collective drive across the club to take the women’s game forward and support sustainable growth of the game so it can thrive in the long term”.
Arsenal was not the only club making stadium changes this season. Numerous Women’s Super League (WSL) clubs announced that they would be hosting some, or all, of their matches in their respective ‘men’s’ stadiums. These included Spurs, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, who are hosting three WSL games at their major stadiums. Furthermore, the King Power Stadium is the permanent home of Leicester City and Villa Park will hold all of Aston Villa’s WSL matches.
These shifts to move women’s football matches into main stadiums should have meant that Arsenal Women’s removal from the Emirates was unprecedented. However, the reality of women’s football remains; it’s overlooked and therefore the men’s teams remain the priority. This fact is recognised by fans who have been left disappointed but not necessarily surprised.
Arsenal’s interim head coach, Renee Slegers, has called this move to Meadow Park a “bump in the road” and fans are certainly hoping that this is all that it is.
The forced removal of Arsenal WFC from the Emirates to make way for the men’s team has raised many questions about the priorities of the club and how women’s football is truly viewed in the UK.
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