
Arsenal women to play all league matches at the Emirates
The Gunners made the Emirates their main home last season, hosting nine WSL games with an average attendance of 34,000.
Arsenal will begin their defence of the Champions League at Meadow Park, the longstanding home of the club's women's team, which will also host home matches in the domestic cups.
But should Renee Slegers' side progress, their home knockout ties in the Champions League will also be at the Emirates.
Arsenal shocked Barcelona in Lisbon last month to become the first English side to win the Women's Champions League since they themselves won it in 2007.
But they have not won the WSL since 2019 as Chelsea have stormed to six consecutive titles.
"For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," said Slegers.
"We'll come back next season, with fire in our hearts, more determined, more ambitious, and more together than ever."
Aston Villa and Leicester City hosted all their home WSL games at their main club grounds last season and Everton's women's team will move to Goodison Park next season as the men's side move to a new stadium.
However, a report by Deloitte this week found that average attendances across the league dipped by 10 percent last season to 6,642 as the surge in interest generated by England's Euro 2022 success faded.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Tuchel wants Bellingham to inspire, not intimidate England team-mates
Tuchel suffered his first defeat in four games as England boss on Tuesday when Senegal became the first African side to ever beat the Three Lions in a 3-1 friendly win. Bellingham thought he had made it 2-2 late on at Nottingham Forest's City Ground only for the goal to be controversially disallowed before Senegal broke away for a third in stoppage time. Tuchel had to restrain Bellingham's protests at the decision at full-time and said it is a balancing act to retain the 21-year-old's fight without it bubbling over. "He has a certain something and brings an edge. It's needed if we want to achieve big things," Tuchel told talkSPORT. "It needs to be channelled towards the opponent and towards our goal, and not to intimidate team-mates or be aggressive towards team-mates or referees but always on winning. "He has the fire -- I don't want to dim that, he should play with that as that's his strength. "But the fire comes also with some attribute that can intimidate team-mates. Sometimes you see the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game. "If he can channel this in the right way he has something that we need and that edge is hard to find." Tuchel, who won the Champions League at Chelsea and league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, was hired with the task of ending England's wait for a major tournament victory since 1966. Under Gareth Southgate they reached the final of each of the last two Euros, plus a quarter-final and semi-final of the past two World Cups. Tuchel has a richly talented squad to choose from but has so far failed to find the right blend in three underwhelming World Cup qualifying wins over Albania, Latvia and Andorra before the Senegal defeat. "I already have an idea of what to do," he added with one year to go till the 2026 World Cup begins. "We did some experiments in the second camp, not everything was bad, we did some good things but the two games were not good enough. "It was a good learning and it brings clarity. Each game is a learning situation and helps us mould the team and find solutions." © 2025 AFP


France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
A step too far? New Club World Cup set to have far-reaching impact on football
The 32-team tournament, with one billion dollars in prize money on offer, has been crammed into an already overloaded schedule leading to concerns it will push elite players to breaking point. It also threatens to upset the balance of domestic and continental club competitions, giving competing teams huge financial advantages over rivals. Consider the leading clubs in Europe, which is sending 12 teams including Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea. The chances are high that some will go deep into the Club World Cup, with a maximum of seven games to be played up to the July 13 final. The riches on offer are extraordinary, up to a possible $125 million for the top-performing European team. "The Club World Cup model affects the ecosystem of national leagues, especially in Europe," Javier Tebas, the president of Spain's La Liga, told radio station Cadena Cope. But while the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona will not be in the United States and so will miss out on the cash prizes, they will be able to give players a much-needed rest. "I think it will have a huge impact and it will give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage in the next season to not be there," said England manager Thomas Tuchel when asked about the consequences for the Premier League. Lavish sums Those clubs are already among the world's wealthiest without taking into account the sums being lavished by FIFA, but what about teams elsewhere. It will become harder for clubs in South Africa to challenge Mamelodi Sundowns once they leave with a guaranteed minimum of almost $10 million -- the equivalent of the prize money for winning nine domestic titles. The amateurs of Auckland City already dominate in Oceania before being handed over $3.5 million just as an appearance fee. But if taking part here will be perhaps the ultimate career highlight for their players, it just adds to the demands on those at top clubs. The introduction of the competition was met with opposition in Europe, and global players union FIFPro has warned that the wellbeing of many of its members is being threatened by the huge workload they face. Too many games? Portugal midfielder Vitinha has played 52 matches for PSG this season, including the Champions League final win over Inter Milan on May 31. There have also been eight games for Portugal, including the Nations League finals last week. Now he is off to the United States with PSG, with potentially no holiday until mid-July. The next French season is then due to start in mid-August, at the same time as the Premier League and La Liga. And at the end of next season Vitinha should be back in North America with Portugal at the expanded 48-team World Cup. Such demands on leading stars are why player unions in Europe last year raised the threat of strike action in a bid to cut down on the number of matches. "The problem is the accumulation of excessively long and intense seasons back to back," said Maheta Molango, chief executive of England's Professional Footballers' Association. "Players don't think just about the summer, they think about how they are not going to have a holiday for the foreseeable future." Meanwhile, domestic leagues do not see why they should change to accommodate FIFA's new tournament. "International organisations and especially FIFA have increased the number of matches they organise, so now we have a calendar that is beyond saturation," said Mathieu Moreuil of the Premier League. Other competitions are being devalued because the Club World Cup is taking place at the same time, like the CONCACAF Gold Cup, also being played in the United States. USA coach Mauricio Pochettino is unable to call on leading players like Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah because they are at the Club World Cup with Juventus. "That is the circumstance that we have and we need to adapt," said Pochettino, the former PSG coach who may disagree with the view of Luis Enrique, currently in charge of the French side.


France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Netherlands thrash Malta, Poland stumble in World Cup qualifying
The results leave Finland top of Group G on seven points, one ahead of the Dutch who have played two matches less. Poland sit third on six points after three played. In Groningen, the Dutch raced into a three-goal lead against their overawed opponents inside the opening 20 minutes. Memphis Depay converted from the spot on nine minutes, before doubling the lead with a rifled finish from the edge of the box seven minutes later. Depay's brace brought the 31-year-old to 50 international goals -- level with former Manchester United and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie as the Netherlands' all-time leading goalscorer. Captain Virgil van Dijk killed the match off as a tie when he stepped onto the ball and arrowed a right-footed finish into the bottom corner from 20 yards. The Oranje then turned on the afterburners inside the final half-hour as Xavi Simons, Donyell Malen, who got two, Noa Lang and Micky van de Ven all netted. Poland began life without leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski in miserable fashion as they went down 2-1 in Helsinki. The 36-year-old played 158 times for Poland, scoring 85 goals, but announced Sunday he was no longer available for selection so long as coach Michal Probierz remained in charge. The Poles fell behind to Joel Pohjanpalo's 31st-minute penalty, before Benjamin Kallman added a second nine minutes after the break. Jakub Kiwior pulled one back in the 69th minute, shortly before the match was interrupted when a spectator fell ill. After a lengthy stoppage, the final 10 minutes of play resumed but Poland were unable to find an equaliser despite applying relentless pressure on the hosts' goal. Elsewhere, Serbia eased past Andorra 3-0 to move to third in Group K on four points courtesy of an Aleksandar Mitrovic hat-trick. They trail Albania in second by one point and sit level with Latvia after those sides played out a 1-1 draw in Riga. Austria beat San Marino 4-0 to go second in Group H, three points behind leaders Bosnia and Hercegovina who have played an extra match. Marko Arnautovic scored a brace inside the opening quarter-hour, as Michael Gregoritsch and Christoph Baumgartner completed the scoring in Serravalle.