Jonas Eidevall, considering last weekend’s postponed situation, believes that a substantial yet measured approach to the event could help the Women’s Super League start.
Three WSL fixtures were postponed on Sunday due to frozen pitch conditions. Unlike our visit to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur’s clash with Leicester City, Chelsea and Liverpool’s fixture at Kingsmeadow kicked off with only six minutes left. The new disruption has challenged calls for a jump in heating at WSL stadiums, as well as a power switch at the main stadiums.
In his press conference for the quarter-final against Aston Villa in the Continental Cup, our head coach said: “If you look historically at January, it’s a difficult month to play on grass that has no protection against nature. When you are scheduling games, you must know that it is problematic.
“If you avoid scheduling games in January, that’s not a good trade. I don’t think it’s as easy as undershooting the demand for heating. What is the solution? I think there is a difference between the short term and the long term. Short-term communication is the key.”
Eidevall recognized that player safety is the main factor in making decisions to play or postpone, while supporters of caution have a lot of information: “Early communication saves time and money not to travel for reasons.”
While the boss noted that changing fixtures to the main stadiums can sometimes be done for established WSL clubs, the question remains how it will evolve league-wide: “when you are a new team promoted, how quickly can you meet those stadium requirements. ?”
“Look at all the investments you have to make to the game and prioritize. There are many things you want to invest in women’s sports. When you compare the cost of undersoil heating to the cost of an academy system to develop more British players in the league, I don’t think it’s easy to say how you want to prioritize that money. Our academy system is also really important.”
“I think it’s always the easiest thing to try and fix the topic of the day. Looking at it from a more zoomed-out perspective, we have to really try to see where the priorities are with the investment. Just because yesterday this was a problem, it doesn’t mean that all the money will suddenly go into undersoil heating.
“This is not good for women’s football: we need to make really, really good decisions about where to go in order to grow the game in the long term,” he said.
While the majority of our home games at Prato Park have now been postponed, our women’s sides have played a record number of matches at the Emirates Stadium this season, paying off WSL officials in the process.
“Our long-term plan is to try and be at the Emirates Stadium permanently. This is a long-term plan.
To watch Eidevall’s press conference in full, click on the story in the movie.
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