Arsenal FC has announced that the Arsenal women’s team will use Emirates Stadium as its main home ground from the start of the 2024/25 season. The stadium plans to host 11 Arsenal Women matches next season, including eight Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) games, as well as three UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) fixtures, if the team qualifies for the group stages of the competition.
Progress to the latter stages of the UWCL would also mean all home games in the knock-out rounds would be played at Emirates Stadium.
All other games, including all women’s domestic cup fixtures (Adobe Women’s FA Cup and FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup), will be played at the long-standing host venue, the Mangata Pay UK Stadium (Meadow Park, Borehamwood), the home of Arsenal men’s U21 team.
The six WSL matches hosted at Emirates Stadium this season saw an average crowd of 52,029, which included two sell-outs and three WSL attendance records. These have contributed to an average crowd of 32,618 over the 2023/24 season so far, across both home venues, including sell-outs of every Mangata Pay UK Stadium fixture.
“For almost four decades, we’ve been at the forefront of the women’s game,” said Vinai Venkatesham, CEO of Arsenal FC. “We’ve recently seen extraordinary growth in supporters coming to Emirates Stadium for games held here, which include two complete sell-outs this season. The next step in our journey is to make Emirates Stadium our main home for Arsenal Women. We’re looking forward to giving more supporters the chance to watch our women’s team play. This is part of a collective drive across the club to take the women’s game forward and support sustainable growth of the game so it can thrive in the long term.”
“There’s great passion for our women’s team right across our club,” added Arsenal sporting director, Edu Gaspar. “We are one club, with a vision to win major trophies across our men’s and women’s teams. This move supports this ambition and we can’t wait to continue this amazing journey with our supporters.”
Arsenal Women head coach, Jonas Eidevall, has thanked supporters for their unwavering commitment, which has made this move possible. “We have a special connection with our supporters, who have shown up in huge numbers and pushed us forward every step of the way,” he said. “To everyone who has followed us so far, thank you. You have played a key part in our progress and growth, helping us write this story. Next season, Emirates Stadium becomes our main home and we’re all excited to play in front of bigger crowds every week. We can’t wait to see you all there.”
