There is a huge clamour for a dedicated TV slot for women’s football, according to a survey of thousands of fans carried out by the Football Supporters’ Association.
Backing the recommendation made in the 2023 review of women’s football, led by Karen Carney, 90.7% of fans surveyed by the FSA believe that the Premier League, English Football League and broadcasters should come together to create a specific, set time for the showing of such matches.
The survey, which was completed by 3,474 fans and covered a range of topics from across the women’s game, also found that 79.7% of those asked believe broadcasters have too much sway in determining kick-off times. A dedicated broadcast slot would help alleviate the uncertainty around fixture changes due to selection for broadcast.
The Carney review recommends women’s football being exempt from the Saturday 3pm blackout and for that to become the dedicated broadcast slot for women’s football. However, the Guardian understands such a move is highly unlikely to happen.
Deborah Dilworth, the FSA’s head of women’s football, said: “Our survey results provide us with a vital insight into the views of fans, and we will use the findings to support our work in advocating for supporters across all levels of the women’s game as we work with NewCo, the FA, government and other stakeholders in the game, to ensure their views are heard.”
A new independent company – NewCo – takes charge of running the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship from the Football Association this summer. The change has been heavily publicised yet the FSA survey found that 39.9% of those asked were unaware of its creation.
Details regarding how the NewCo will be run have yet to be released, though it is understood that there will be no voting rights for Championship clubs in several key areas. This is something fans surveyed feel keenly about, with 76.2% of respondents believing Championship clubs should have an equal say alongside WSL clubs and 61.4% expressing concern about the potential for the concentration of power at the top of the WSL.
There was also strong support for greater financial redistribution from the men’s game to support women’s football, with 84.1% in favour of the idea. The rising cost of living was also highlighted as an issue, with more than a third of respondents saying they are spending less on items such as food and drink, programmes and raffle tickets when attending matches, and 28.3% saying they are attending fewer away games than they would have done in a typical season due to having less disposable income.
A little more than half of those who completed the survey disagreed with the statement that “the standard of refereeing is acceptable in women’s football”. There is also sizeable support for referees to be able to be full-time, with 88.9% of those who took part in the survey backing such a move. Currently, around 50% of WSL referees are full-time.
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Support for the introduction of goalline technology was also strong, with 83.1% in favour, although views on the use of VAR in women’s football was more mixed, with 54% backing its introduction and 31.9% opposed to such a move.
There is also a desire for greater coverage of women’s football, with only 31.8% of those surveyed believing there is sufficient coverage of the sport in mainstream media, albeit that is an increase from 26% in 2022.
