‘you Have To Laugh Or You’d Cry’: How Fixture List Chaos Blights Women’s Football

Waiting for men’s broadcast picks, dodging section nosy runs and moreover having to debar clashing pinch adjacent drama gigs: invited to nan quagmire of trying to put nan Women’s Super League and WSL 2 schedule.

The fixture database is often a bony of contention for supporters, and organisers look a painstaking task successful trying to organise games successful venues wherever different teams get first dibs.

“Stadium readiness is led by nan men’s crippled and past broadcast is led by nan men’s game, truthful it tin beryllium really hard,” Zarah Al-Kudcy, main gross serviceman astatine WSL Football, says. “Some of nan reasons we are fixed arsenic to why fixtures person to change, you conscionable person to laughter aliases you’d cry.”

The rumor has travel into crisp attraction pinch Arsenal 2 games into a tally of 7 matches successful 20 days, and pinch Saturday’s Women’s Champions League semi-final – which prompted nan rearrangements of aggregate convention fixtures – clashing pinch a tantalising last time of nan WSL 2 season, but activity began connected this season’s schedule 18 months ago.

Even releasing nan fixture database to supporters each summertime presents a bid of hurdles. Dates are locked into nan world almanac first by Fifa – which has confirmed its lucifer windows up to 2030 – past by Uefa, which inserts European nine competitions dates. Then WSL Football and nan Football Association acquisition “very friends negotiation” complete which of nan vacant slots will beryllium reserved for cup ties.

Conversations typically statesman nan December earlier nan play but, for 2027-28, they will commencement soon because of nan “added complexity” of January 2028’s Club World Cup, says nan WSL’s main operating officer, Holly Murdoch, who says nan new, longer, three-game Fifa windows that each usage 2 afloat weekends of nan almanac are problematic. The WSL has 20 guaranteed disposable weekends a twelvemonth compared pinch 33 successful nan Premier League.

Once information dates are agreed, women’s shot has to wait, hold and hold immoderate more. The Premier League decides its fixture list, nan EFL follows and nan WSL moreover waits for nan men’s National League, because 2 WSL clubs, West Ham and Crystal Palace, are tenants of National League grounds astatine Dagenham & Redbridge and Sutton respectively.

“Across 5 games, nary nine should person [more than] 3 location and 2 distant aliases nan different measurement around,” Murdoch says. “In May we will constitute to each of our clubs up of 2026-27 and inquire them to capable retired our fixture questionnaire, including astir stadium readiness and constraints. There mightiness beryllium awesome events – specified arsenic nan Women’s Rugby World Cup this play – aliases roadworthy closures owed to runs.”

Last summertime 3 clubs requested to play astatine location successful their main stadiums connected nan opening weekend. Others will petition a location aliases section distant fixture consecutive aft European matchweeks. Ideally, each clubs’ men’s and women’s teams who stock venues mightiness alternate location lucifer weekends but Al-Kudcy says: “That’s easier successful nan first half of nan season. Where it becomes really difficult is successful nan second rounds of nan men’s cup competitions, arsenic that’s erstwhile we don’t cognize which men’s teams mightiness beryllium astatine home.” That situation has been exacerbated by 9 English men’s sides qualifying for Europe.

Then a computer, tally by nan IT institution Atos, is asked to compile nan fixtures. “I’ve sat successful meetings wherever we’ve re-run it done nan machine possibly 8 aliases 9 times,” says Murdoch. Then comes shape 2 of nan complications: kick-off times and broadcast picks.

For a emblematic gameweek, Premier League broadcast picks travel first, followed by nan EFL. Then Sky Sports, which has astir WSL first picks, will make its selection, earlier nan BBC comes in. Then clubs cheque if it useful for them. This season, midday Sunday games person go commonplace aft a Football Supporters’ Association questionnaire suggested fans recovered it difficult to cognize erstwhile WSL games were on.

Al-Kudcy says: “We gave that feedback to Sky and [that’s] really we landed connected that midday slot. Clubs besides said they didn’t want 6.30pm kick-offs connected a Sunday because they said it was affecting summons sales, truthful we listened to that.”

Firm decisions person not been made astir kick-off slots for adjacent play but nan convention is taking onboard instrumentality feedback and reviewing data, including nan measurement of nutrient and merchandise sold pre-match depending connected nan kick-off time. In a athletics trying to go financially sustainable, each item counts.

Sometimes wider factors impact kick-off slots. Manchester United stock nan Leigh Sports Village crushed pinch rugby league’s Leigh Leopards. Broadcasters’ different commitments – specified arsenic nan BBC’s sum of this season’s Winter Olympics – tin adhd to nan complexity.

Chelsea will play each of their Women’s Super League location fixtures astatine Stamford Bridge adjacent season. Photograph: Leila Coker/WSL Football/Getty Images

That situation will turn adjacent word pinch nan WSL apical tier’s description from 12 to 14 teams. More clubs moving to play astatine their men’s stadium– astir precocious Chelsea – is welcomed by nan convention but leads to clashes. Even erstwhile a squad has their ain women’s stadium, arsenic pinch Manchester City, it does not mean they tin play whenever they like. A John Bishop standup gig astatine nan neighbouring Co-op Live venue was a facet for a City WSL crippled past year. TfL must beryllium consulted astir women’s games astatine Stamford Bridge erstwhile Fulham’s men are playing astatine Craven Cottage. “I cognize nan cognition tin beryllium that we’re not being fan-friendly but we’re doing nan champion we tin pinch nan building we’ve got,” Al-Kudcy says.

When it comes to broadcast viewership, Friday nighttime games person done well. Attendances are a different matter, but aft conscionable 27 Friday matches location is possibly not capable information to make expansive conclusions, and Friday nights person brought immoderate occurrence stories, specified arsenic nan 32,970 who watched Chelsea look Arsenal astatine Stamford Bridge successful nan 2023-24 season.

These are challenges faced nan world complete by women’s leagues, and Wednesday’s announcement by nan American NWSL that it will proceed until 2030 pinch a spring-autumn almanac – alternatively of switching to occidental Europe’s September-May almanac – shows big-picture questions are being posed each astir nan sport.