Reading FC Women’s manager Kelly Chambers wants the Women’s Super League to capitalise on attendances during the Men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
With the controversial tournament kicking off on Sunday with the hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador, the Royals boss feels this is the ideal time to present a different side of the game.
“The whole experience will be different for fans travelling to those games (in Qatar),” said Chambers.
“We do have a different product to the men’s game with the fan engagement and the closeness we have with those fans.
“It’s something I believe that gets fans through the door with the personal touch. We’ve got to make sure we use this time to grow our attendances as much as possible.
“This weekend with games at men’s stadiums is huge and it’s a time where people still want to watch football and go to live games.
“We need to grab those people and get them through the door. It’s a window of opportunity and we need to grab it with both hands.
“It’s great. It gives fans an opportunity to go to those stadiums, you get higher attendances and can be used as a whole day experience.
“Off the back of the Euro’s we will get some really big crowds and we hope to see more of that happening.
“All the clubs knew the biggest thing we wanted to change was getting fans in the door and build fanbases as individual clubs. The Euro’s has been an advocate for us to be able to do that and has been a stepping stone to getting people in.
“It’s definitely something in the game that needs to grow and keep growing.
The Royals on the road on Sunday against Aston Villa where they are seeking to find their second league win of the women’s Super League season.
Reading have just one win on the board from their opening seven matches which came against bottom of the table Leicester City after Rachel Rowe’s dramatic stoppage time double.
Chambers continued: “We didn’t get too disheartened with the result (against Man City).
“We’re now looking at how we can create more instead of just being defensively strong. To get points on the board we need to create and get points on the board.
“They’ve (Villa) had a good start to the season. Apart from the City game, they’ve beaten the teams they would be expected to beat. We’ve got a team that can compete with Villa.
“They’ve got a few very good individuals higher up the pitch so we know the threats they can pose and Rachel Daly has been a huge player for them.
“We know what they like to do and we need to put into practice what we’ve been doing on the training pitch.
“We set up every game and do all our homework and work hard out on the pitch. It’s been a frustrating start to the season for many different reasons.
“Whether that’s been down to us or decisions that have cost us in games, in many different ways it’s been frustrating but we’ve got a strong willed group who know we are going into a tough week, but a week that we’re feeling really positive about.”
