MANCHESTER: Premier League champions Manchester City have plans to enhance women’s football as it has tremendous potential, the club’s chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak has said.
City has been a pioneer in this regard as their women’s team was revamped in 2012, as it invested in international players such as Steph Houghton, Karen Bardsley and Jill Scott, and won the league four years later, ESPN reports. Rivals Manchester United will reportedly launch their women’s team next season.
“I think this is where it should be going,” al Mubarak told ESPN.
“I believe ultimately there’s a responsibility that all of us in the Premier League should have jointly in respecting the women’s game, supporting the women’s game and making that competition more competitive.”
The club owner sees footballing improvement, fan support and sponsor interest as clear indicators of the potential the women’s game offers.
“I think you can assess their growth on three different parameters,” al Mubarak told ESPN. “One is obviously the footballing side. How is it evolving? How is it improving? How is the quality of players growing? And here were seeing progress continually in the game.”
“Secondly is the demand from the fans. Are fans going to these games? Is there a growth in that space?
“We’ve had 3,000 people attend a semi-final against Lyon and that tells you there’s a growing demand for this. The fans are appreciating the women’s game and the roots are growing in the sport.”
“The third parameters are sponsors. Are we able to attract sponsors to support this sport? In the beginning, it was an investment by the club and now, more and more, that investment is being supported with sponsors,” al Mubarak pointed out.
City ended as runners-up in the Women’s Super League this season to Chelsea and reached the semi-finals in the Champions League.
