Women’s football in a new dimension

El clasico – When Atletico de Madrid broke the 99-year-old attendance file for a girls's football membership match in 2019, the long run appeared shiny.

Some 60,739 folks watched from the stands that day as FC Barcelona beat the hosts 2-0 in what gave the impression to be a turning level for ladies's football in Spain. But a 12 months later, the pandemic hit and the expansion got here to a halt. This week, FC Barcelona have the chance to interrupt that file once more in what would be the largest girls's El Clasico to this point.

Why did this El Clasico seize the creativeness?

Although this is not FC Barcelona's first recreation on the Nou Camp, Europe's largest stadium, it seems like a first. FC Barcelona's 5-0 win over Espanyol in January 2021 was met with silence as Covid restrictions meant the match was performed in an empty stadium.

On Wednesday, nonetheless, FC Barcelona will host arch-rivals Real Madrid for the second leg of the Women's Champions League quarter-final – which they lead 3-1 – in entrance of an anticipated crowd of 90,000.

In a 12 months when Barca's males's staff struggled to seek out their rhythm and identification, the success of the ladies's staff sparked delight and curiosity amongst followers.

For Barça followers, the sport on the Nou Camp marks a actual turning level for the staff. “These stadiums are the symbols, the icons of these clubs”, says Lorena Lopez, who has been following Barcelona's girls's aspect since 2018 and traveled to Budapest to observe the staff win the Champions League ultimate final season.

“Giving women the chance to play in these stadiums makes these matches special and helps the sport to progress as it attracts more fans to women's football.” Natalia Robles, who will attend the assembly as a impartial spectator, agrees with Ms Lopez. “It's great for exposure”she says. “A lot of people can't afford to pay 200 euros to see a match in this type of stadium, but ticket prices for women's matches are much more affordable.”

Club members initially had the choice of claiming free tickets, whereas for non-members ticket costs began at 9 euros. Some 70,000 tickets offered out inside days of occurring sale in January and solely a small quantity stay.

Is reputation on the rise in Spain?

When Atletico Madrid and Barcelona confronted off on the Wanda Metropolitano in 2019, girls's football in Spain gave the impression to be on an unstoppable upward pattern.

The Championship had by no means been so accessible to followers – with many video games on TV each weekend and increasingly golf equipment opening their stadiums to their girls's staff – as golf equipment and gamers negotiated their first contract collective settlement on wages and situations.

However, the long-running battle between La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation has spilled over into girls's football. After years of struggling to regulate the game in the nation, the 2 governing our bodies have begun to battle for dominance in girls's football, with the Federation asserting the creation of a new championship separate from that organized by La Liga.

This dispute triggered a stalemate in wage negotiations, which led to the primary strike of feminine gamers in Spanish girls's football. Since then, the accessibility of the championship has decreased significantly, making it nearly unattainable to observe the matches on tv for many groups, and the professionalization of the Primera División has progressed slowly.

The Spanish girls's football neighborhood hopes that can change. As Euro 2022 approaches, FC Barcelona's dominance and Alexia Putellas' spectacular kind have introduced a renewed sense of optimism and renewed consideration to girls's football in the nation.

Is this a distinctive case?

Restrictions on sporting occasions over the previous two years have prevented girls's groups from regaining their place in these iconic arenas. Barcelona's recreation on the Nou Camp might present the enhance that Spanish girls's football must get again to the trail it was on earlier than the well being disaster.

But it's in all probability unrealistic to assume that these matches will turn out to be a behavior in the close to future. Although FC Barcelona has the most important attendance in the Spanish league, its common is lower than 3,000 spectators.

“I'm quite sure we'll see this more often in the future, but we need to understand the context”says Miki Soria, who has been protecting Barcelona's Femeni for 10 years at SPORT, one of many nation's main sports activities newspapers. “At the second I do not assume it is possible to play each recreation on the Nou Camp. We are nonetheless very removed from it.“

It can be unclear how most of the greater than 90,000 ticket holders will attend. It is feared that some season ticket holders and supporters who've obtained an invite could not present up.

To keep away from this, the membership have redoubled their advertising efforts over the previous two weeks to persuade all ticket holders to take part in the El Clasico. Whether the attendance file is damaged or not, the thrill generated by the match ought to encourage different groups to stage a few of these key matches on the most important levels. Could the Bernabeu be subsequent?