Would a ‘Magic Weekend’ Work in Women’s Super League?

This Saturday and Sunday (21/22 May) marks the 10th anniversary of Rugby League’s ‘Magic Weekend’ with all twelve Super League teams in action, in six matches across the two days in one stadium, St James’ Park in Newcastle hosting for a second successive year after previous weekends away in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester.

I attended Magic Weekend a few years ago at Manchester City’s Eastlands home and, although not a committed follower of the sport, I enjoyed the concept and the way in which supporters could come and go from the stadium as they pleased.

Newcastle seems a more logical choice for that purpose as the city centre, with its many attractions, is so easily accessible from the ground, allowing for fans to wander into town but also give access to the events outside the stadium to those living, working or shopping locally.

This weekend will also see around 40,000 spectators watch a double-header at Wembley Stadium where the FA Vase and FA Trophy finals will be played on the same day for the first time.

That figure has been helped by the participation of Hereford FC in the Vase final but ‘Non-League Finals Day’ can hopefully build on it to become a regular event in the football calendar.

Looking forward, I feel the idea of playing multiple matches at the same venue and offering a low-cost ticket to the whole event could be perfectly suited to Women’s Super League as it continues to establish itself as a competition.

Much has been made of the boost to the Women’s game from the 2015 World Cup and this season’s FA Cup final at Wembley was another occasion which gave a positive image to those watching live on the BBC.

There is no doubt now that the cup final is here to stay at the national stadium, together with its attractively-priced tickets that this year included free admission for accompanied children.

But, having followed WSL from afar since writing this blog, I would say it still suffers from a disjointed calendar (and this season in WSL1 an uneven number of clubs as it moves towards a 20-team competition) and that the league itself may need an ‘event’ of its own to provide a focal point that showcases its quality to a wider audience.

So, how about next year, when it has a full complement of 10 teams, having five WSL1 matches at one venue (in the Midlands perhaps given the geographical spread of teams) on a weekend that doesn’t clash with any other domestic football?

It could be the last round of matches before a break for Euro 2017, providing those players who are off to the tournament in the Netherlands with another welcome taste of big-match action.

The football itself would be the centrepiece, of course, but the weekend could incorporate a host of family-friendly activities to encourage participation in the game and spread the word even further about the progress being made in establishing WSL as a fully-fledged professional league but one that involves and engages and is easily accessible to its supporters.