Bring Home the Albion
Let’s get the guilt out of the way first. It’s OK if you’ve never been to watch Brighton in the WSL.
Andrew Forsyth
The fact is the majority of Brighton fans are in the same boat. Our average home attendance last season was 3,043 or around a tenth the number that shows up at the Amex.
Yes, we could all go in better numbers to watch the women’s team and we should. Traditionalists might roll their eyes and mutter something about ‘proper football’, but it’s a cheaper and a safer environment for kids, with much less explanation required for five-year-olds about what a ‘wanker’ is. Arguably there are more reasons to go than not, but we can partially absolve ourselves for lagging behind other fanbases in the WSL - the problem is not entirely us.
Can we ever truly call it a ‘home’ crowd if the games are in Crawley? The answer is, of course, ‘no’.
Can we ever truly call it a ‘home’ crowd if the games are in Crawley? The answer is, of course, ‘no’. The Albion women’s team has led a nomadic existence over the last 25 years, playing at Culver Road in Lancing and the Withdean at various points.
Broadfield stadium became the team’s permanent home in 2018 as we returned to the top tier of the women’s game for the first time since 2003. This isn’t a history lesson, but it goes to show how hard it has been for the fanbase to follow the women’s team.
With the backing of the fans and investment from the club, Brighton could be one of the biggest names in women’s football. Manchester United’s women’s team was launched in 2018, next season they’ll play in the Women’s Champions League. The losing finalist in that competition this season was Wolfsburg - a similar size club to us. My point is that history and ‘being a big club’ means little in the women’s game. What really matters is willingness and willingness equates to investment.
The world record women’s transfer fee is £400k, which gets you less than half a Joel Veltman. The average WSL player earns £47k a year, with top earners getting £250k a year, meaning Adam Lallana earns more in a month than any women’s player in England makes in a season.
Do women’s players deserve better pay? Of course, but Brighton could put together a squad capable of playing in the Women’s Champions League for a fraction of the men’s playing budget. We already have Katie Robinson, that’s the starting point for a superteam right there. What’s better than going on a European tour? Going on two European tours.
What’s better than going on a European tour? Going on two European tours.
That feels a long way off while we are still playing in Crawley and the club gives the impression it feels the same way. Given the spending required, outwardly there appears to be a lack of motivation to build a title-winning side for the 3,000 loyal fans turning up at the Broadfield.
Of course the easy answer to this is ‘let the women’s team play at the Amex’. Yeah, problem sorted. We did that once last season and 5,000 fans showed up. The Lionesses had just won the Euros, it was built and we didn’t come. The gate was above average but not enough to make it viable week in, week out.
A few years ago Paul Barber was asked on a podcast why we can't use the Amex for every WSL home game. His answer was unsurprising: “the issue there is cost, there is a theory we build and they will come, unfortunately with the women's game, internationals and Euros aside, we haven't yet got that level of demand that gives us a good enough reason to open the Amex for every game.”
"We don't want to compound the losses that we suffer in women's football already by doing something that is just not right for the game at this stage of its development.”
“I would love to see a 10-15,000 attendance for our women's game and then I'd open the main stadium at the Amex all the time because then we would be able to justify it. Even if we only broke even but we are such a long way from breaking even on women's games at the Amex, with one or two exceptions."
Barber is right. It’s more than a bad look if the Amex is one sixth full for women’s games, it’s bad business. Tony Bloom’s Brighton will never choose bad business.
Danny Last
Here’s another question, what can we do about it? Firstly, let’s go to the Broadfield when the WSL season starts in late September. The bigger the interest, the stronger the argument. Next - and perhaps more importantly - let’s do something that we as Brighton fans are really fucking good at. Let’s bring our team home.
I don’t think the answer is the WSL team playing at the Amex. It’s a romantic thought, but we’re a long way from the Brighton women’s team filling enough seats to make it viable every week. What we need is a purpose-built venue in Brighton where we can show our support.
People used to question why we needed such a big stadium when Brighton were playing at ‘The Theatre of Trees’ in League One, funny how no one talks about that anymore. If we can get 3,000 to Crawley, then why not 10,000 in Brighton? A stadium that’s ours, with decent facilities and easy to access.
Bloom isn’t afraid to spend money on a worthwhile investment, he’s already financed a new elite women’s training facility. Manchester City are the model here, their women’s team play in a tidy 7,000-seat venue on the same site as the Etihad. This is what we need. Build that and we will come. Build that and Alessia Russo or Maya Le Tissier would not need to move on to bigger things. Build that and Sam Kerr might be a Seagull.
The club want the WSL in Brighton, but we - as fans - need to play our part. Let’s organise, write letters, gather signatures - all that stuff we did to get the Amex, we can do it again. As we found with Falmer, space for a new stadium in the city is limited, but there might be an option. Let’s find one and make it happen. We can bring home the Albion… again.
