Liverpool FC’s engagement with the women’s team has improved this season, according to Liverpool Women Supporters Club.

Last week the club celebrated International Women’s Day in multiple ways, including a scheme to connect local young women to role models.

This week Merseysportlive discussed the state of the women’s team on and off the pitch with Jo Goodall, chair and founder of Liverpool Women Supporters Club.

Increasing interest from the club

Frustrated by a lack of marketing and publicity, Jo believes that the club “are certainly getting better with this”.

“We have started to see more of the players involved in marketing and publicity for new kits and sponsor videos,” she said.

“The supporters club has also had conversations with the club about away travel, stocking of women’s shirt patches and merchandise.

“The club have been great at listening to us and making our ideas happen.”

Measures implemented so far include subsidised coaches for away matches, and names and patches are available in the retail store.

The next step is combating clashing fixture times with the men’s team.

Growing support

Jo added that interest in the women’s side is also growing amongst supporters.

Liverpool women at Prenton Park

She said: “Support has certainly improved since I started going to watch the women in 2017.

“The move to Prenton Park impacted the attendance but over the last couple of years this has peaked again, especially after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.”

Average attendance is usually around 800, but there was 1,851 at a recent FA Cup clash with Arsenal.

Improvement on the pitch

On the pitch, Liverpool are unbeaten in 16 league games, with their only defeat coming on the opening day of the season.

They maintained a seven-point gap at the top with a 1-0 win at Charlton.

They are now just three wins away from promotion back to the WSL.

Jo praised manager Matt Beard and his staff for the team’s success: “Matt has done an excellent job of pulling everything together.

“The players have bonded really well, both on and off the pitch, and their work ethic has been undeniable.

“Fans can see at every game that the team go out wanting to win and seeing them having an excellent run of scoring goals has also been fantastic to watch.”

The bigger picture

Jo was also positive about the state of women’s football in general.

“A lot more time and investment is being put into the women’s game from the likes of the FA, Sky and BBC.

“It’s great to see a lot more coverage for the sport.”

She feels that there was still a long way to go when the main coverage went primarily into the WSL and other leagues were “left in the dark”.

The FA recently a ten fold increase in the prize money for the Women’s FA Cup and Jo said this was great to see: “Investment into making some officials full time would be a good step to help bring more professionalism into the game.”

Liverpool host Charlton this Sunday as they continue their promotion push.

(Images provided with permission by Liverpool Women’s Supporters Club)

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