My experience at a Barcelona Women's game at Camp Nou, the El Clásico Champions League quarter finals.
I have never experienced anything like what I did at the Barcelona v Real Madrid Women Champions League quarter-final El Clásico. This was at Camp Nou, the first time the women have played there since the renovations started.
This game saw a record attendance of 60,067 fans, the highest attendance for any game at the stadium since its reopening, more than the men's. The 6-0 victory for the home side was the largest ever in a Women's El Clásico. Plus, the 12-2 aggregate is the heaviest defeat in Real Madrid's Champions League history.
The final milestone was Alexia Putellas making her 500th appearance for Barcelona during the second leg and becoming the first Spanish player to score 30 goals in the women's club competition after opening the scoreboard.
From my experience, here are some things I would take into the WSL and others I wouldn't.
These are the things I would happily take from this game to the WSL, and ultimately, the atmosphere was the biggest for me. I believe this comes down to the club's fans supporting the men's and women's teams equally. There are not just women's team fans of men's teams; there are just Barcelona fans. So they do not diminish the women's team, as you can see by the attendance. While the likes of Arsenal have big fan bases that are definitely still fans of the women's team, not the men's, fans are also coming to support the women's team. I love that pride and removal of the stigma that the women's team is less than.
The ultras are a set of fans in one corner of the stadium, which, to be honest, I would have loved to be in. They have the flags, the atmosphere there jumping, chanting, aggressive, but not violent, just so much pride. At the WSL, the stadium sometimes lacks energy, and we cannot always rely on individuals like Basil to bring the vibes. The ultras also had drums, which I have seen a bit of. It is like at Spurs: the drum is used for the chants, unlike at London City Lionesses, where they start playing songs. That I do not like and find rather distracting: you want something that connects with the game, not distracts from it.
We needed more of them. While there was tifo, the club organised a full-stadium show where every seat had a card, creating a beautiful scene when the players came out. This card also had photos of the players. It was like a poster with great marketing.
The constant chanting throughout the energy never dipped, even in a game where they were dominant. The waving of the scarves when they score is beautiful to see.
These are the things I recommend we improve or avoid bringing over to the WSL. Most are cultural, so women's different to what I have experienced, but could be normal in mainland European football.
But say no to the Mexican wave that does not belong in football, even if you're 6-0 up.
On the more logistical side, this is likely a cultural difference, or because it is still a building site, with no signs or people to direct you to the sections you were sitting in. Once we got into the stadium, people kept trying to sit in our seats even though there was a different block (with clear signs), so for a fan on their first game, we walked a lot just to find an entrance to a different block.
At half-time, it stank of cigarettes in the UK stadiums, which are smoke and vape-free locations. Still, due to the style of the stadium, the smell of smoke radiates, but also, given the intensity of the smoking, I feel someone was smoking in the stadium, whether that is legal or not. Another thing. It's likely B, as Barcelona still attempts to save money, with cubicles in the toilets having no toilet paper. You had to get some before entering from the dispensers outside the bathrooms, where there were fewer than toilets,s which is why I feel it was just a cheaper alternative to buy fewer dispensers.
Something I would bring from the WSL to Spain is the ability to drink. In the Premier League, you can drink, but not in the stands, and in certain WSL games, they are trialling drinking in the stands. I feel this could work, but in Spain and many countries in mainland Europe,e you cannot drink at all, which is a big culture shock.
Ultimately, the atmosphere and the marketing of this game around the city on metro lines, on posters, they knew their audience, and it worked. It felt like you were in a World Cup game where the stakes were high, which they weren't, as they were already 6-2 up on aggregate. This game was such a success that the club is thinking of doing it again for their semi-final match against Bayern Munich.
This game brought in fans not just from across Spain but from across Europe. They did not have fans there because they have a crush on Alexia Putellas or because Claudia Pina is their favourite. They came because they love and have pride in the club. That's not something you can just start; it's the next step, and what we should bring: atmosphere, energy, pride.
I think this is helped by the design of Camp Nou, where it's fluid, you can walk around the whole stadium on the concourse, also known as “open-bowl”, where it's one massive airy design, so the sound flows through the stands. It is one long stair, not an opening in the stands. It is a Mediterranean-style bowl. It has a continuous wall of people that prevents sound from escaping and traps the noise within the seating. It also helps maintain a constant, high-energy atmosphere.
It is an experience which is hard to describe. Still, it is worth it and nothing like the WSL constant chants signing waving flags angry shouts at the ref applauding to the player its everything to want to experience in a game and more minus the logistical things this is a prime example of when a women's team is treated on par to the men's within a fanbase not just within the club itself there is so much having the games at the main stadium you have to bring the energy to them no cheap tickets free merch and brass band will do that it is down to the fan base clubs who have a mens side have an advantage a market an audience that in english football they have not capitalised on let to the women's side.
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