A Groundhopping Blog Series For The 2023-24 FA Women’s Cup!
The summer of 2023 was a great success for women’s football – the FIFA Women’s World Cup was watched by more people than ever before, both on television and at the stadiums. England followed up the previous summer’sEuropean Championship win with a credible campaign, just falling short as they lost 1-0 to Spain in the final. Nevertheless, their run captured the imagination of viewers, potentially boosting the women’s game in the country even further than they did the previous summer.
But what state is the domestic women’s game in England in right now? With much debate about the long-term viability of the ‘product’ offered up by women’s football, what is it like to watch as a spectator? How different is attending matches compared to the men’s game? What unique aspects does it offer? I figured a great way to understand all this would be to see the women’s game at all levels – and what better way to do that than the FA Cup? The knockout competition that runs through the season, starting from community sports facilities with amateur players and ending at Wembley Stadium. I believe that through this competition, we’ll truly see what women’s football is like at all levels – and this is what this blogging project is all about!
So, during the 2023-24 season, I followed each round of the Women’s FA Cup – groundhopping from the first qualifying round, right through to the final. I started with one team and followed them until they lost and switched to follow the victor, and so on. Eventually, we would reach the big stadiums and household names – a destination only made possible by the grassroots clubs that are the lifeblood of the game.
In the run-up to December 2024, I’ll be posting a blog of each of the matches I attended every week – so please feel free to join the journey!
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