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The end of the WSL post-match player selfie?

By   Laura Howard   • September 13, 2024

Amid increasing concerns over the safety and sustainability of crowd interactions at women’s football, Chelsea announced their players will no longer engage in post-match selfies and autographs at their home ground (Kingsmeadow).

While women’s football has traditionally offered a strong connection between fans and players, the growth of crowds has led to concerns over the practicality of such close interaction – with reports of some fans being injured by others as they attempt to interact with players at the end of games.

The problem has already reared its head in pre-season as swathes of Arsenal fans were seen filling the walkway before the end of their friendly match with Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.

(Credit: Arsenal FC)

It is a sight that has become increasingly familiar in stadiums hosting women’s football across the UK and beyond in recent years.

Chelsea cited safety issues stating: “There were occasions last season that led to concerns about the safety and security of both supporters and players, largely due to the rising numbers who are seeking signatures and selfies before and after games.”

The club have instead said they will hold events specifically organised for fan meet and greets with players.

It is a problem the whole of the WSL is grappling with as Manchester City have opted to introduce an ‘Autograph Alley’ post-match where ‘randomly selected fans’ are granted access to player selfies and autographs.

It might not have been what Women’s Professional Leagues’ CEO Nikki Doucet envisaged when referencing a drive towards engaging a ‘Taylor Swift demographic of fans’, but perhaps a selfie with City strikers Lauren Hemp or Bunny Shaw will become the new ‘22 hat’.

Meanwhile, fellow WSL big-hitters Arsenal and Manchester United have opted not to introduce restrictions. However, both will predominantly play at better-equipped stadiums for fan-distancing in the Emirates and Leigh Sports Village next season.

Neither club will deter fans from rushing to the front, blocking exit routes and the views of spectators behind them, with ‘Can I have your shirt signs?’ and Sharpies at the ready.

It is a trend bringing accusations of entitlement, as the Lionesses experienced after their match against Scotland at the Stadium of Light in September last year. Fans were seen chanting “get off the bus” as the team coach departed the ground.

https://twitter.com/cwilkins_8/status/1705335726336844057

Cardboard signs expectant of shirts, boots and autographs have become an all too familiar sight in the stands, with players such as former Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps known to have spent up to an hour answering requests.

Earps, in fact, has responded to criticism online labelling her “too busy and important” to stop to greet the poster’s daughter. The reality is, with crowd sizes pushing 60,000 in the WSL players do not have the capacity to greet each individual, nor should fans expect it.

Not only does this put an unreasonable expectation on the players, but it also means they cannot proceed with post-match media obligations or the recovery plans required of elite athletes – recovery which feels even more important now given the increasingly demanding match schedules the players contend with.

Criticism can also often be found tinged with misogyny as players are expected to show their gratitude to the fans for supporting them, as though they have not just exerted themselves for 90 minutes for the crowd’s entertainment.

Of course, for many years, smaller attendances did enable personal interactions and fan relationships with players. Such accessibility became a key attraction of the women’s game with new fans pulled in just as much by personality as well as play.

The boom in crowds since the 2022 European Championship means the days of a gaggle of six or seven people standing by the tunnel after a match are long gone.

Now, women’s football must confront the uncomfortable reality that with a change in attendance, there must also be a change in behaviour.

As Chelsea and Manchester City lead the way on restrictions, it could well spark more teams into similar action across the league and abroad.

While no fan should believe in their own preordained right to ‘meet and greet’ their idol, women’s football also prides itself on inclusivity and must be careful not to alienate those fans drawn in by personality.

Change always takes time to adjust to, and clubs will have to balance pleasing fans, new and old, while most importantly protecting the safety of their players.