We’re definitely seeing a growth in fans at women’s football games
Republic of Ireland and Arsenal winger, Katie McCabe said the larger numbers of fans attending games recently is “a long time coming”.
Last month over 60,000 fans turned up to support Arsenal Women play Wolfsburg which is absolutely huge and what Katie described as “fantastic.”
She said: “It’s been coming. I think if you looked at our tendencies from the start of the season, Arsenal as a club has really looked into building each game.
“The records speak for themselves, they progressed at a great pace. Ultimately that big one was at the semi-final which we sold-out which was fantastic.
“Without the help and support of the club it wouldn’t have happened, that really matters. Who we are and who we represent as a women’s team and as a whole is important.
“Overall, the fans coming to support us, we want to be able to play a good style of football for them that they want to come watch.
“But yeah it was a fantastic day, obviously we wish the result went a bit better but in terms of what it represented for women’s football in Europe, going forward we can all be proud of it.”
“What better way to kick it off I guess than a game against Northern Ireland.”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off next month where the Republic of Ireland team will head to Oz and take on Australia in the first round.
The girls will make history heading to their first major tournament which the nation is extremely proud of them for.
When they return, there’ll be a well deserved home-coming game against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in September.
This will mark the first time the women’s team will play at the stadium ever with many of the squad members considering Tallaght their home ground instead.
Speaking to Her, McCabe said the timing of this game is great.
She said: “I think the FAI have got it spot on in terms of this being off the back of the World Cup.
“So yeah, I think it’s going to be a fantastic occasion and hopefully all the Irish fans will come watch us. I’ve played at the Aviva before and I picked up trophies there so I’d love to be back there again and represent Ireland.
“What better way to kick it off I guess than a game against Northern Ireland.”
