Inevitable or avoidable? The consensus suggests the former but in any case, the Women’s Super League was overdue a reckoning with overenthusiastic fans who became dangers in their scramble for photos and autographs at matches.
Chelsea have become the first WSL club to announce its players will stop meeting supporters at Kingsmeadow, saying in a statement that doing so is “no longer safe or sustainable”. The seven-time WSL champions added that incidents last season “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”, and promised instead to host organised meet-and-greets away from matches.
Will others follow? No one would be surprised if they did. Since England’s European Championship win in 2022 turned WSL players into veritable celebrities, the post-match frenzy for autographs has reached fever pitch. The Athletic heard last season from fans who had been injured when supporters rushed towards the players at the final whistle. Others claimed to have witnessed fans jumping on players’ cars to force their idols to stop.
We knew life in the women’s game would be different after that summer but watching it all unfold has felt strange. Crowds…
