Aberdeen Women co-manager Emma Hunter believes that the club will benefit from the success of Euro 2022.
This year’s Euros – held in England – have been the biggest ever, with attendances already surpassing the last tournament in the Netherlands in 2017.
The final, which will be played at Wembley on July 31, has already sold out, while more than 68,000 fans watched England’s opening game at Old Trafford.
The media coverage has also improved with the BBC broadcasting every game live, while the tournament has featured in newspapers and news bulletins alike.
And, while Scotland didn’t qualify for the tournament, Hunter reckons the fresh momentum for the women’s game has reached north of the border.
She said: “Seeing it on prime TV – even if you’re not a football fan – you can’t help but notice it. You’re seeing it on the news every day, it’s better access into women’s football.
“People can now have an affiliation with it – especially young girls and women, who before might only have had the men’s game to look to.
“They’re now realising there is a sport out there that they can relate to. I think it’ll have a massive impact.
“With the AberDNA Junior programme at the club, we’ve already seen that more girls are starting to get in touch and are asking about our fixtures.
“We’re already starting to see that extra bit of interest in the women’s game in Aberdeen.”
Aberdeen making moves to grow the women’s game
Hunter knows that Aberdeen can’t just rely on fans’ own increased interest in the women’s game in order for them to come along to more games.
She says the club have already taken steps to increase engagement with fans by building on their own success from last season and this summer’s tournament.
The Dons co-boss added: “It’s up to the clubs – things won’t happen unless you take action to do something about it as well.
“We have to use the momentum from the Euros and capitalise on it by advertising the game.
“When we played at Pittodrie, a lot of it was last minute – and that wasn’t anyone’s fault – it was because of scheduling with fixtures.
“Now, with the SWPL being aligned with the men’s game – we can advertise any future Pittodrie games much earlier.
“And, with the AberDNA Junior scheme, we hope we can offer tickets to the women’s games and not just the men. We’re already in discussions about that.”
🏟️ 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 💪
Tonight's attendance of 28,994 is the biggest Women’s EURO quarter-final crowd we've ever had 😮#WEURO2022 fans, you're incredible! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TVXlGcDfV6
— UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 20, 2022
Dons Women squad have played promotional part, too
Hunter also praised her players for stepping up and taking on responsibility to boost the profile of the women’s team.
She said: “Our team are really good. They go to youth teams and go to their end of season awards to hand out trophies. They do this in their own time.
“A lot of them are out coaching and a couple have taken up roles with the Community Trust, so they’re out delivering summer camps at the moment.
“The young girls are out seeing our players face to face, so we’re doing a lot within our team and we realise that part of our job is to drive the women’s game forward.
“I’ve got to give huge credit to the players, because if we ask them to go and do something, they’re more than happy to do it.
“They speak to the fans, sign autographs and go along to events. We know that we have to take that on as a club as well. We want to be role models.”