Warm atmosphere in perspective. More than 37,000 spectators are expected at the Parc des Princes on Saturday April 30 for the Champions League semi-final return between PSG and OL. A figure announced on Wednesday by the Parisian club and which could still swell before kick-off. A national record that will dethrone the 30,661 spectators of Lyon-PSG in the D1 Arkema championship, on November 16, 2019, at Groupama Stadium.
Are these crowds a sign of the good vitality of women’s football in France? For Carole Gomez, graduate assistant in sociology of sport at the University of Lausanne, “This is very good news and it will be interesting to observe the sequel to see if it continues, or if it was just an exception that confirms the rule”. After having long suffered from a lack of public, which has become an argument for its detractors, women’s football seems to be gathering more and more people.
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The proof by the image with the Camp Nou, sold out twice this season for its women’s section. In the first leg of the Champions League against Wolfsburg, the Blaugranas played in front of more than 91,000 spectators, setting a world record in a competition recognized by Fifa. A support that carries the defending champions, who made short work of the Germans (5-1).
This record is a symbol of the exponential development of women’s football in Spain. Long overdue, the Iberians have seen FC Barcelona regain their splendor and are watching the emergence of Real Madrid. Already in 2019, the Wanda Metropolitano had welcomed more than 60,000 people for a meeting between Atlético and Barça. Figures not observed in France, but difficult to compare.
“It’s not the same link with sport as in France. Support is much broader, rooted in customs and families. The way of going to see the matches is not the same”
Carol Gomezat franceinfo: sport
The strong ties that unite supporters to their club are still beginning to develop in France, concerning the women’s sections. The Lyon 1950 association of OL’s South bend thus openly showed its support for Les Fenottes in the stands of the first leg. Ditto for the Ultras Paris collective, which attended several matches in the women’s section. A trend that is developing in France but which, in Lyon as in Paris, is part of a protest movement against the disappointing performance of the men’s team.
The stadium battle seems to have been won. During the quarter-finals, seven of the eight matches were played in the main venues of the clubs involved. Only Real Madrid did not host their quarter-final at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, but preferred their Alfredo Di Stefano stadium. Another sign of development by the stadiums, the final will be played at the Juventus Stadium, which can accommodate more than 40,000 spectators, a far cry from the 18,000 seats in Gothenburg last year.
Ciao Ilaria Mauro, che bello warned as ambassador of the final di @UWCL!
Sabato 21 maggio tutti allo Juventus Stadium per eleggere la regina d’Europa!#QueensOfFootball #Torino2022 #UWCL #uwclfinal #UWCLF #Torino #calcifeminine #womensfootball pic.twitter.com/ena0UNaJF0
— UEFA Women’s Champions League Final – Torino 2022 (@UWCLFinal2022) April 28, 2022
“People come if you bring them in the right way”commented Ada Hegerberg in an interview with The Magazine Team. The Norwegian striker was also delighted to play at the Parc des Princes in the return match. For the same poster in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, PSG had opted for Camp des Loges, causing some players to misunderstand.
Training centers rather than stadiums, a choice at the heart of critics at the dawn of the next Euro, organized in England this summer. Three matches will be played at the Manchester City Academy Stadium. “Women’s football is taking two steps in the right direction, but things like this happen and you take a step back”had reacted, on the podcast The Pitch, the Icelandic Sara Gunnarsdottir, who will have to play two group matches on these grounds. “The symbolic message is catastrophic and from a technical point of view there is only one central camera, which does not make the match pleasant to watch”, explains Carole Gomez.
A problem also observed in the French championship where many women’s sections find themselves on the training grounds and do not benefit from a good realization. A lack of visibility which is also reflected in the distribution. The Franco-French Champions League semi-final will not be broadcast on television, but only live on Youtube by DAZN. Proof, if any more were needed, that there is still a long way to go.