EXCLUSIVAS

WSL set for thrilling season as fans flock to games

Cian Cheesbrough

LiveScore

Chelsea will look to secure their fourth straight Women's Super League title in 2022-23

Jacqui Oatley believes the 2022-23 Women’s Super League season could be one of the most exciting ever — despite England star Keira Walsh’s world record move to Barcelona.

The WSL commentator is excited by the raft of big-name international arrivals set to grace the English top flight this term.

Euro 2022-winning Lioness Walsh recently sealed a reported £400,000 switch to the Catalan giants from Manchester City following her successful summer.

But City have themselves been busy recruiting, with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham also strengthening their squads.

Ahead of the curtain-raiser between Arsenal and Brighton on Friday, Oatley told LiveScore: "We can’t dress up Keira’s departure as anything other than a big blow to the WSL.

"She just knitted that whole Man City team together. She’s just so fantastic and it’ll be really hard for them to deal with her loss. It’s not ideal to lose her on the eve of the season.

"But it’s really, really exciting looking at the players who’ve come into the division across the board.

"You look at Deyna Castellanos and Laia Aleixandri, who have signed for Manchester City from Atletico Madrid.

"Mary Fowler, who feels like she has been around for ages but is still only a teenager, has come in from Montpellier.

"They also have Leila Ouahabi from Barcelona. It will be interesting to see how they get these new signings to gel quickly."

Former Atletico Madrid star Deyna Castellanos is an exciting addition to Manchester City's forward line

The battle resumes

Chelsea and Arsenal are poised to renew their rivalry once again after last season’s title race was decided by just a point in favour of the Blues.

The London pair will likely be the teams challenging at the top but Oatley, 47, believes there are plenty of others with hopes of reeling them in.

She added: "It seems a long time ago where we would just talk about Arsenal winning the title every year with no challenge.

"It’s between them and Chelsea for the title again. Chelsea have really strengthened in the summer but let’s not forget they are absolutely desperate to win the Champions League.

"Arsenal have also got their hands full with the Champions League, so maybe we will see a challenge from this new-look Manchester City or even Manchester United, who are very ambitious under Marc Skinner.

"With the likes of Alessia Russo, Ella Toone, Katie Zelem and Mary Earps, you never know.

"Tottenham are another team to watch. They have recruited so, so well and are such a well coached side.

"If new signing Nikola Karczewska can hit the ground running, then they’ll have goals they were lacking last season. That could make a difference when it comes to the battle for the European places."

Future Lionesses

Chelsea's Lauren James recently earned her first England cap in a 2-0 win over Austria

Having sealed England’s first major tournament success since Sir Alf Ramsey's men's side lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966, attention is already turning to how Sarina Wiegman’s side will fare at next summer’s World Cup.

A 10-0 victory over Luxembourg last Tuesday ensured the Lionesses completed a clean sweep in their qualifying campaign and they will once again be among the favourites in Australia and New Zealand.

With stalwarts Jill Scott and Ellen White retiring, there is the opportunity for a number of prospects to stake a claim for a place with a strong WSL campaign.

Running the rule over those in the frame, Oatley said: "I’m really excited to see what Lauren James can do.

"Hopefully she’s now in peak condition. That’s what we all want to see is Lauren at her best because she is an incredible player.

"She’s only started 11 league games in her career and she’s 21 so it’ll hopefully be great to see her in peak condition.

"Jess Park is another. She’s on loan at Everton from Man City. She started eight WSL games last season and is about to turn 21. She will provide them with the pace they were really lacking last term.

"England are very well stocked with forward players but I don’t think it’ll be long before she gets in.

"There is Maya Le Tissier as well. She’s been tipped as a future Lucy Bronze successor so we’ll see if she can work her way in."

Harness the opportunity

Women's Super League clubs will hope for an increase in attendances following England's summer success

Teams across the WSL will be hoping the ride the crest of England’s successful summer by seeing increased audiences at their games.

There are signs that is coming to fruition, with the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium on September 24 already selling 40,000 tickets — a record for the WSL.

Lower down the league, Brighton reported a 155% rise in season ticket sales in August following the success of the Lionesses at Euro 2022.

While encouraging signs, Oatley urged clubs to harness the celebrity status the Lionesses now have in order to ensure stadiums across the country are regularly packed during the 2022-23 campaign.

She added: "I hope it will have a huge impact.

"Everybody I’ve spoken to — and I don’t mean just diehard women’s football fans — regular fans and even those who didn’t like football have been swept away and had their eye opened to what a brilliant sport it is.

"People have now switched on and thought, ‘OK, this is the level that women’s football is now, let’s watch'.

"We want Anfield full for the Merseyside derby, we want the Emirates full for the North London derby.

"But not just the big games and the showpiece events but also the 'bog-standard’ games. I want West Ham against Reading to be full.

Leading broadcaster Jacqui Oatley is looking forward to an action-packed WSL season

"Excuse me for calling them marketing tools, but Lionesses are great currency at the moment when it comes to brand awareness.

"We need them front and centre of the club’s marketing with fixture lists, times and ticket information.

"The players can play their part on their own social media too because they want to help, they want to play in front of big crowds.

"So far since the Euros, I have noticed clubs being much better at that.

"I’ve seen Chelsea use Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell to promote a Chelsea women’s game and how to buy tickets. That kind of thing takes 10 seconds but can make a huge difference."

After the first round of WSL matches was postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Matchday 2 will get the season up and running with six matches spread across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.