Goodison Park Saved from Bulldozers as Everton Women Set to Call it Home
In a groundbreaking move for women’s football, Goodison Park, one of the UK’s oldest football stadiums, has been saved from demolition and will become the country’s first major stadium dedicated solely to a women’s team next season. According to a report by The Guardian, Everton Women will kick off their first season at Goodison in September, 133 years after the men’s team started playing at the ground in Walton, Liverpool.
The Guardian reports that Goodison, which has hosted more top-flight games than any other stadium in England since it became the home of Everton football club in 1892, was set to be bulldozed when the men’s side move to a new 52,888-seat stadium in Bramley-Moore dock on the banks of the Mersey next season. However, in a shock move, the club’s new American owners, The Friedkin Group, have announced that the historic ground will become the new long-term home of the women’s team in a bid to make the ground “one of the most distinctive homes in European women’s football”.
The move has been hailed as a game-changing moment for women’s football, with Nikki Doucet, the CEO of Women’s Super League Football, stating that establishing Goodison Park as a purpose-driven home for the women’s team sends a powerful signal about ambition and belief in the women’s game. “Belief in the players, the fans, and in what the women’s game can become when given the stage it deserves,” she said, as quoted in The Guardian.
Everton Women are currently in eighth position in the WSL, but sources said the move was a “statement of intent” of the new owners’ ambitions for the women’s team. The Friedkin Group, owned by the Texas billionaire Dan Friedkin, bought Everton in December last year, bringing the turbulent era of Farhad Moshiri to an end. According to The Guardian, after the group took over AS Roma in 2020, the women’s team came fifth in the 2020-21 season and took their first major trophy, winning the 2021 Coppa Italia.
Julie Makin, secretary of the Everton Women Supporters’ Club, expressed her delight at the move, stating that it shows just how committed the new owners are to backing the women’s team and making Everton a force at the very top of the women’s game in this country. Richie Gillham, secretary of the Everton FC Heritage Society, also welcomed the move, highlighting the historical significance of Goodison Park in women’s football. “Evertonians have a saying of ‘If you know your history’, that is why it is deeply meaningful that the very same ground that held the record attendance for a women’s fixture for so many years will now become home to Everton Women,” he said, as reported by The Guardian.
The move is also seen as a financial opportunity for the club to increase attendances at women’s games. The WSL is expected to attract 1 million fans for the first time this season, with attendances doubling in the last two seasons. With more than half of those attending games under 40, the club hopes to build lifelong loyalty at a venue which already has a significant sentimental draw. Everton Women’s captain, Megan Finnigan, welcomed the move, stating that “this move is a testament to where the women’s game is right now and, more importantly, where it is heading”.
A feasibility study commissioned by The Friedkin Group last month confirmed that Goodison Park would meet standards set by the WSL, but the Archibald Leitch-designed stadium is likely to change dramatically after its new custodians move in. Everton’s recently appointed CEO, Angus Kinnear, stated that the club is “under no illusions – there are obstacles we need to overcome to make this a success, but we’re confident that we will overcome those challenges”.
The club’s charitable arm, Everton in the Community, which runs outreach work in the mile radius of Goodison, will be based at the ground, with the charity developing plans to support the development of girls’ and women’s football more widely. Sue Gregory, the CEO of the charity, expressed her excitement about the plans, stating that “what we are looking to do with the women and girls strategy at Goodison Park is really exciting”. As reported by The Guardian, she also emphasised the importance of maintaining the presence of the club in the community, saying that “for our communities I think its important that when they come down the County Road they will still see Goodison and feel the presence of the club”.
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