Women’s football – it is designed differently for a reason

Brighton and Hove Albion Women are in the process of designing and building the first football stadium in England designed specifically for a professional women's football team and the fan base that the sport attracts. They are being closely followed by Durham Women's Football Club who are partnering with Durham Cricket to build a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to women's sport.

Women’s sport, and women’s football in particular, is on the ascendancy. Deloitte reported that the Women’s Super League clubs generated £48million in revenue in the 2022-23 season – a rise of 50% on the previous season. Whilst the rules of the game are the same women’s football is very much a different product to the men’s game. This is becoming ever more apparent on attending women’s games in stadiums designed for the men’s games where workarounds are being put in place to shoehorn the women’s experience into a space which it was not designed to support.

The recent growth in women’s football is just the beginning – this is a product that has longevity and is very marketable. As it continues to grow and develop its own unique identity it needs to be supported by appropriate infrastructure. By designing the infrastructure to suit the unique needs of the women’s game, clubs and associations can assist in building the future of the game. Design it differently and design it to suit the nuances of this exciting and exploding sport.

The Crowd

According to data produced by Two Circles, a sports marketing agency, the crowd at Women’s Super League matches is often different to the attendees of professional men’s matches which is impacting stadium design and the amenities provided in purpose-built stadiums. Their data suggests that the crowd at a women’s football match will often be 26% more female than the audience at a men’s match. Ticket prices at Women’s Super League games are on average significantly lower than the average ticket price for a men’s Premier League match. This has meant that children are often in attendance at women’s matches as it can be the more affordable option for families to watch a live football match together.

A relatively different crowd at women’s matches mean stadiums designed to host the women’s game require different facilities. The single turnstile entrances at traditional football stadiums are suitable, and most importantly safe, for allowing individual fans into stadiums, but are less practical where families with children are trying to enter the stadium. Similarly, bags are often not permitted in men’s football stadiums, but where families are attending a bag with snacks and other supplies will often be a necessity. The designers of a stadium to be used exclusively by a professional women’s club are now creating innovative design features to allow groups to enter the grounds together and bags to be brought into the stadium safely.

Purpose built women’s football stadium designs are including spaces for breastfeeding and childcare. There is also a need for more female and gender-neutral bathroom facilities for spectators. On attending last season’s Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley I witnessed that staff were stationed outside of the male toilets to notify the largely female fan base that these were allocated as female for the day. A clear indication that the stadium’s infrastructure was not designed to meet the needs of the women’s game (which is understandable given that Wembley was built some time before the rise in women’s football).

Food and beverage options are also being reconsidered. Think of the men’s game and a pie and a pint spring immediately to mind. At a recent women’s cricketing event tea and coffee outsold everything else. A family focussed crowd is looking to spend money on more family friendly produce with increased non-alcoholic options and more child-friendly meals being the starting point.

Women’s Super League Fans

The research conducted by Two Circles indicates that professional women’s teams tend to have 14% more ‘floating’ fans and fans who support several clubs than professional men’s clubs. It is not uncommon for women’s football fans to follow players and managers to different clubs. Fans are often less tribal than can be the case at professional men’s matches and at women’s matches home and away fans will often be seated together in the same stand which is almost unheard of for spectators at men’s football matches. This friendly and unhostile atmosphere does not necessitate the separation of ‘rival’ supporters as is needed in the men’s game.

Arguments have been made that because of this ‘floating’ fan mentality there should be regional bases for professional women’s matches, particularly as the sport gains popularity. Rather than each club having their own home stadium, it has been suggested that a specifically designed stadium could accommodate several teams. Some have gone as far as to suggest that there should be a North Stadium and a South Stadium in England, specifically for the use of female teams to allow fans from across the country a chance to see a match live.

Were such regional stadiums to come to fruition it would have a perhaps obvious impact on the ‘look’ of women’s football stadiums when compared to the stadiums of professional men’s teams. Team branding would have to be easily removeable and replaceable for each team playing. Similarly, merchandise sold at stadium shops would have to be easily swapped out and replaced. This last point is of some significance given the increased revenue clubs are seeing from merchandise at women’s games – adults taking children along are treating them to a memento from the day, something that does not happen quite so much in the men’s game.

As noted, fans will often follow players and managers, so it has been traditional for Women’s Super League players to interact with fans at the end of matches by signing autographs and posing for pictures, which may impact the degree to which fans are separated from the pitch. One of the world’s first purpose-built stadium for a professional women’s team was completed in 2024 in the United States for Kansas City Current. Interestingly, each seat in the stadium is no more than 100 feet from the pitch according to the website of the stadium’s designers. It will be interesting to see whether a purpose-built stadium in England will take a similar design approach.

Stadium Capacity

On average, the capacity of stadium currently used by the Women’s Super League is just under 10,000 compared to the 60,000 fan capacity at some Premier League clubs. It is hoped that larger, purpose-built stadiums with increased capacity will allow the women’s game to grow and reach a larger fan base. In February 2024, Arsenal hosted Manchester United at Emirates Stadium in front of a record Women’s Super League crowd of 60,160. In March 2025, Newcastle United v Sunderland set the record for the Women’s Championship at just over 38,500. There is clearly the fan base to support larger stadiums for professional women’s matches.

Player’s Needs

Following the spate of injuries suffered by many female professional footballers, in particular injuries to their ACL, clubs are now considering whether female players require different pitch types to reduce injury risks. This research may lead to tailored surfaces designed specifically for women’s biomechanics. In addition, tailored training and recovery areas, and gender-neutral changing areas, as well as women-specific medical facilities that include pregnancy support are all being considered.

More and more players and coaches are becoming mothers during their careers. Provision of childcare facilities at stadiums and training grounds is becoming increasingly important. The players have other needs that differ to their male counterparts, at a recent Women in Football conference Emma Hayes, head coach of the United States women’s national team, highlighted that a spirit of togetherness played a huge part for her players. Her players post-match do not want to relax by individually playing video games but would rather spend time together as a unit – leading to the implementation of a more inclusive social environment (there was mention of a karaoke machine!).

It’s the generation for building new stadiums, just not as we know it.