The Women’s Super League derby weekend is here, featuring six local rivalries. Everton are set to host Liverpool as the divisions look to take advantage of the men’s international break. The scheduling of multiple top-flight derbies on the same afternoon raises questions about potential dilution of focus.
Merseyside Derby Faces Competition
The buildup to the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park has been somewhat low profile. This is partly because there is a natural focus on the Manchester derby given City are closing in on the title. In any normal weekend of the season, Everton v Liverpool should be the standout fixture of the round. Instead, it is only the third most interesting game on Saturday alone.
Part of that problem stems from the fact there is still comparatively little media coverage of the women’s game. There are still relatively few reporters covering the WSL on a full-time basis. A big priority for growing the league is in the broadcasting market and Saturday has understandably been seen as a prime opportunity for the WSL to dominate the live-football running order with three top games.
Attendances Expected to be High
Some of the initial numbers filtering through are encouraging. More than 45,000 tickets have been sold for the north London showdown at the Emirates, including about 500 for away supporters. There could be one of the highest second-tier attendances of the campaign with more than 10,000 fans expected at the Stadium of Light for Sunderland’s game against Newcastle on Sunday, including 1,700 travelling supporters.
Staggering Derbies Could Increase Focus
It is anticipated that there could comfortably be more than 100,000 spectators across the 12 games in the top two divisions this weekend. However, there remains an argument that staggering these derbies across the season may draw a greater cumulative focus.
The WSL remains dependent on stadium availability.