Newcastle United Women continue to climb to the WSL. Photo: Getty Images/Serena Taylor
The banners read: "Howay girls" and the Geordie crowd sang their usual songs like St James' Park received 24,092 fans last month. In the dressing room, club owner Amanda Staveley celebrated the victory with the team. The only notable difference from a regular matchday is that they weren't there for a Premier League game, but for a Women's Level 4 game.
While this is a trend in Women's Super League clubs, Newcastle are quite different at their level in the amount of attention they are starting to attract. That same weekend, only 105 people watched their match against Leeds United. On the level below, the bouncy castle recently prevailed over the women's match at Colney Heath. But what's most remarkable about Newcastle attracting so many fans?
It wasn't even the highest attendance of the season (28,565 in December in the Women's FA Cup game against Barnsley), and this was their third time climbing the club's main stadium.
Whereas in the final years of Mike Ashley's ownership, the women were entirely amateurs and worked for Newcastle's charitable foundation, they officially came under the club's new ownership as of last summer. Newcastle's move to the third tier this month marks the start of their journey up the pyramid, with the club looking to play in the Champions League by 2027.
🏟️50k+ St James Park matches
3️⃣ trophies 🏆
1️⃣ England call-up 🏴-protection of the England squad 🏴—————————————————————————————————————-
🔝Highest average league attendance
1️⃣5️⃣match unbeaten streak< br>
Incredible achievements for a wonderful season 🖤🤍
We can't wait to find out what the future holds for us! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/kiTgmE6LxK
— Newcastle United Women (@NUFCWomen) May 14, 2023
That's a lofty ambition, but in less than 12 months the difference in investment has been exponential, according to manager Becky Langley. This applies not only to St. James. A park. Players and staff have been added to the payroll with part-time contracts that rival some of the women's championship teams, have full health coverage, and Kingston Park now serves as their permanent home. They have averaged 1,966 per game this season, more than WSL clubs West Ham United and Reading, who have averaged 1,541 and 1,935 respectively.
On the pitch « Newcastle have managed to move through a competitive league ahead of Durham Sestria on goal difference. Congratulations came from men's team forward Callum Wilson and manager Eddie Howe, a testament to how united the club is becoming.
'In the past world, we were almost spoken to like second class'
Langley, the only full-time member of the women's team, is still getting used to the way things are now. “I recently spoke to our club doctor and even the way he approached me was impressive,” she says of her fourth season at Newcastle. «He said, 'Here's how we did it with X number of managers I've worked under, how would you like it to happen?' How can we make it feminine?'
"He asked me as if I were a different manager here, like Steve Bruce or Eddie Howe. In the previous world, we were almost spoken to as less important; second class."
The timing of Newcastle's investment has been controversial, both because it coincided with the ownership of the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and because it is ahead of what could be fruitful by several years for the inner game.
The immediate plans for the WSL and the women's championship include a smooth transition from the management of the Football Association to a private organization. There have been speculations about restructuring plans that might be on the table when that happens.
Emma Hayes recently suggested giving due consideration to ditching promotions and demotes in favor of an American-style franchise system. Others behind the scenes have been mulling over the idea of re-opening applications for WSL and Championship club licenses, as happened in 2017.
Newcastle United Women drew huge crowds at St. James Stadium. park this season. Photo: Getty Images/Serena Taylor
At the time, Manchester United were controversially relegated to the second tier despite having never previously fielded a women's team. This came at the expense of women's football stalwarts and independent clubs such as the Doncaster Belles. Based on this recent history, the powerful Newcastle brand and the awakened interest in their womenswear could make them the most obvious addition if such a restructuring were to take place.
Kathy Brazer was the woman in charge of the re-licensing process at FA Six years ago. She was criticized by some at the time, receiving «hundreds and hundreds of emails». petitions against the plans. «You single-handedly destroy women's football.» Brazer told.
But when she looks at the impact of a powerhouse like United on the top rungs of women's football, including last year's sold-out FA Cup final at Wembley over the weekend, she thinks it was a necessary evil.
However, Brazer is now a board member of the independent champion club London City Lionesses and believes this approach is no longer appropriate.
"[In 2017] the balance between supporting the people and the clubs that have years, and understanding that the presence of big brands ' influence could help speed up what was happening in the women's game, she says.
“But when it came to United, we said that this would be the last time this process was completed. Personally, if I were to decide now, I would say to Newcastle: go ahead and take it as it deserves, because now the situation has changed."
Newcastle intends to do just that, Langley. says, but she also notes the important role of the club from a geographical point of view. At last year's European Championships, players from the Northeast, including Beth Meade and Lucy Bronze, formed the heart of the Liones' championship team.
'We want to get promoted on merit, not get into the WSL'
Langley thinks the club could use this rich history of quality players from the region and offer much-needed representation in the WSL — after the restructuring in 2017, there was not a single northeast team in the top division.
«We want to make sure we get promotions on merit.» Langley says. “We don't want to be parachuted into [WSL]. However, it goes without saying that we want the club to reach this level as soon as possible, so if there was an opportunity to jump, I think we would pretend if we said we would not.
"It's not just about us, it's about getting those little girls who get inspired by the crowd, so that when they get the talent to play WSL, we& #39; He has a real North East team in WSL to give them a shot. I don't understand why we want to put it off.
But Maggie Murphy, chief executive of fan-owned Champion Club Lewis, the first football club in the world to offer men and women equal pay, says prioritizing a club based on the influence of their men's team or city code is not the right approach.
"I find it disrespectful to say there are no big teams in the Northeast because Sunderland and Durham are doing so well [in the championship]" Murphy says. "I also don't find many people, including some of the big WSL clubs, in favor of re-opening the [licensing] criteria.
«I feel that if you open the criteria, some people will make a judgment about whether that clubs must find their rightful place. It goes to show that Newcastle deserve to be in the WSL or championship more than Lewis, even though we've invested longer.
This is not disrespect. in Newcastle, I think what they do is exceptional. I'm just afraid that sometimes the leagues, the FA, make decisions that create dependence on men's football.
Along with these issues, there's an elephant in the room: Saudi investment is at the heart of Newcastle's recovery. For those who might suggest that this newfound interest in the women's team is a form of sports laundering, Langley is adamant that the support of the owners, Staveley in particular, has given her players the chance of a lifetime.
Co-owner Amanda Stavely (right) joined the players in St James' Locker room in the park last month. Photo: Getty Images/Serena Taylor. she says. “It helped a lot that Amanda has become a fantastic female role model who is being promoted at all levels of the club to ensure equal access for women. Fans almost want to repay the owners and their faith in the club to support the women's team, because they know that's what they fund and put their energy into.
Murphy believes that the investment made in women's football is must be carefully studied. “I think it’s extremely difficult for any women’s team to turn down or question an investment when they’ve given up and fought for crumbs for so long,” she says.
" money laundering should happen in women's football in the same way that [it happens] from time to time in men's football."
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