Women's Euro 2022: Ella Toone reflects on long-term impact tournament will have

England midfielder Ella Toone has reflected on the longer-term impact of Euro 2022 on the growth and development of women’s football in England, hoping that the exposure set to come as a result of the tournament on home soil will drive its increasing popularity.

The FA have made a record number of tickets available for a European Championship – more than 700,000 – with more than 500,000 priced at £25 or less and 90% of the population in England living within two hours of a host stadium.

All 31 games will also be broadcast live on BBC platforms, with most on BBC One or BBC Two.

That is on top of the WSL’s broadcasting deal with Sky Sports and the BBC, which had a successful first year in 2021/22, and continued evidence that exposure and accessibility are both huge factors in growing viewing figures for the women’s game.

“The fact that our games are being broadcasted live on television is massive and it gets even more people watching the women’s game,” Toone told Fotbollskanalen’s Their Pitch podcast.

“If they watch a game on TV, they might want to come and watch a game live in our stadiums.

“Social media has had an effect on women’s football, it’s out there more and more people can now see it…the tournament being held in England will help grow it even more as well.”

Three years ago at the 2019 World Cup, the BBC recorded more than 28m cumulative views, with 11.7m tuning in for the semi-final between England and United States alone – the most watched TV event of the year at the time.

Interest that was drummed up off the back of that World Cup also had a positive impact on the club game, although the Covid-19 pandemic halted such momentum and domestic attendances are yet to recover for a number of clubs.

Now is the opportunity to recapture that with the feelgood factor of a home tournament.

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