Women’s football has made big strides in 2019 and the game in England is about to take another huge step with Liverpool and Everton playing the first-ever women’s Merseyside Derby at Anfield.
The Women’s World Cup played in France over the summer attracted record numbers of viewers for the tournament. The prize money offered to the women’s teams also increased making it a landmark year for women’s football.
In the wake of the World Cup, the WSL has started well with attendance records being smashed. The WSL season has already seen the first-ever women’s Manchester Derby which saw over 31,000 fans attend the game at the Etihad Stadium.
Now, Liverpool Ladies and Everton Women are set to play the first-ever women’s Merseyside Derby at Anfield. The club has made tickets for the fixture available at rock-bottom prices of £5 for adults and free for kids under 16. With tickets listed at such low prices, Liverpool will hope they can come close to the figure set by the Manchester clubs.
Liverpool Ladies play at Tranmere Rovers’ Prenton Park for their regular WSL and cup fixtures. The venue can host as many as 16,500 fans.
The Merseyside Derby and Manchester Derby are not the only big WSL fixtures to be played at major Premier League stadiums. Tottenham Hotspur ladies visited Stamford Bridge and played Chelsea earlier this season. Over 24,000 fans attended Tottenham Hotspur women versus Chelsea women game.
Tottenham Hotspur women and Arsenal women will play the same weekend as Liverpool-Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a landmark north London Derby.
The mere idea that women’s football matches are being played at major venues traditionally used for men is a major coup for the game.
The attendance figures for the matches played at the Premier League venues shows the WSL are attracting large crowds for top-level games. The women’s game is thriving and Liverpool hope to take advantage of it with the men’s team off for the international break.
Everton women are fifth in the WSL table and six points off of top team Manchester City. Liverpool ladies, on the other hand, are second from bottom with just one point after four matches. The Reds have not won a match yet this term.
Liverpool ladies may not be having success on the pitch but they have found it away from the field. Over the summer, the ladies team joined Jurgen Klopp’s side in the United States on preseason.
In addition, the ladies team signed a sponsorship deal with Standard Charter in July. The deal extends from the men’s side to the women’s side as the club wants to align both teams.