Eni Aluko would welcome teams hosting WSL and Premier League double-headers

Eni Aluko believes hosting men’s and women’s double-headers could be the next step in growing the game.

Women’s football has undergone a huge transformation in recent years from a largely amateur sport to one with a multi-tiered professional European and domestic structure, and has continued to reach new heights domestically since England’s Euro 2022 success.

Arsenal sold 46,811 tickets for Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Women’s Super League at the Emirates Stadium, just shy of a league record attendance which was set at the north London derby at the same ground in December.

Double-headers are not a new concept and they have been touted before, notably following the previous Women’s World Cup in 2019 when England were knocked out in the semi-finals.

The format has yet to take place with WSL and Premier League fixtures, though a Community Shield double-header was held behind closed doors at Wembley in 2020.

Aluko, who played for Chelsea, Birmingham and Charlton in the domestic leagues, believes hosting back-to-back games could help further grow the women’s football audience.

“I think that (having more matches at men’s stadiums) is obviously a solution in terms of exposure to a wider fanbase,” Aluko told the PA news agency.

“I actually think that there could be opportunities where you play double headers in the same stadium – a bit like the boxing undercard – where the women’s game would precede the men’s game, fans would get to the stadium early and then stay and watch the men’s game.

“So really, if you were a Tottenham fan or an Arsenal fan or Chelsea fan, you get two brilliant games for the price of one. Or you pay a little bit more money but you see two fantastic games.

“The women’s game has exposure to a huge fanbase that may not ordinarily have seen the women’s game, rather than the pressure of having to sell out a 60,000-seater stadium.

“I was at Stamford Bridge for the (Women’s Champions League game against) Paris St Germain on a Thursday night, and it wasn’t full and part of me thought I don’t know if it’s good to have a game at Stamford Bridge that’s not full, or a game at Kingsmeadow that is full.”

Double-headers have been successful in other sports, especially in cricket with The Hundred.

However, some past attempts in football have seen large numbers of spectators leaving between the matches.

Sunderland held a double header last August, but only a few supporters stayed for the women’s game against Birmingham which kicked off an hour-and-a-half after the men had lost to Norwich.

But Aluko would have liked to have played in a double header during her career.

“One hundred per cent. If you look at the WSL in terms of who the teams are, and you look at the Premier League, it’s quite similar,” she said.

“So I think there’s a way the FA and the WSL and the Premier League can sit down and say, ‘Arsenal and Chelsea men are playing, how do the women’s teams play on the same day that same game’, and put it on at the same stadium.

“I think there’s a way that can happen. I think the excuse has always been ‘the pitches are so pristine’ but I think in this day and age the pitch management is so high a level that I’m not sure a 90-minute women’s match would make a difference.

“I certainly would have thought that was a great idea – and I’m not saying every week, just four or five times a year.

“So you’re constantly exposing the game to a wider fanbase.”

:: WeSeeYou Network is a new platform launched by Three in partnership with Chelsea Football Club to recognise all the incredible women in football from different backgrounds, and areas across the UK. Nominate a player, coach, or businesswoman by 17th February at https://weseeyounetwork.co.uk/.