‘We had to persuade a few clubs and cities to come forward’: FA admit to having to PAY clubs to host women’s European Championship games due to limited interest being shown
- FA admit cities and clubs had to be persuaded to apply to host Euro 2022 games
- FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said interest was limited for various reasons
- However, hype for the women’s European Championship has seen ticket sales fly
- All three of host nation England’s group matches this summer have sold outÂ
The FA have admitted they had to pay clubs to host matches for the Women’s Euros after ‘very few’ cities came forward during the bidding process.
The opening game will be played at Old Trafford and the final at Wembley, but there has been criticism over the limited capacity of some stadiums.
Leigh Sports Village, which will host three group matches and a quarter-final, only holds 8,000. Manchester City’s Academy, which has a capacity of just 4,700, will also host three group games. Both stadiums have standing sections which cannot be used due to UEFA guidelines.
Leigh Sports Village only holds 8,000 fans and the standing sections at the ground cannot be used during the women’s European Championship this summer as per UEFA guidelines
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said interest was limited, with cities and clubs having to be persuaded to apply.
‘In terms of the venues, they were chosen in 2019 and the absolute truth of it is we did a tender process throughout every major ground and city in the country and there were very few that came forward in wanting to host the women’s Euros.
‘We actually had to persuade a few clubs and cities to come forward so we are actually very happy with where we got to. We think we have got some brilliant venues. If you think people were knocking our door down to host matches that was not the case.’
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said interest was limited among clubs hosting games
Chris Bryant, the FA’s head of tournament delivery, said host clubs will receive a stadium hire fee in line with their capacity and profile.
‘We need them to want to host,’ said Bryant. ‘It’s not just the stadiums you need to work on, the local councils have to come on board. There’s lots of justifiable reasons why some cities couldn’t be a part of this.’
England will play group games at Old Trafford, Southampton’s St Mary’s and Brighton’s Amex Stadium. There has been significant growth in the women’s game since the bidding process began in 2017 and all three matches have sold out.
Wembley will be sold out for the final this summer, with the tournament ticket sales double the amount from the last European Championship held in Holland back in 2017
Baroness Campbell, the FA’s head of women’s football, admitted they could have picked bigger venues.
‘I don’t want to sit here and say “We think we’ve done it all right”, because we can always learn from these things,’ she said. ‘But I think the most important thing for us is full stadiums for England.’
Ticket sales for the tournament have reached 450,000, double the amount sold for the last Euros in Holland in 2017.