Arsenal have determined to prioritise the Crystal Palace Carabao Cup tie on 18 December over the Ladies Champions League group sport in opposition to FC Bayern.
That is definitely an issue which may grow to be recurrent sooner or later with the membership committing to have the 2 first groups at dwelling on the Emirates Stadium.
I definitely suppose it sends a foul sign to prioritise the fourth-ranked males competitors over the number-one girls’s membership competitors in Europe.
This is because of a logistics nightmare as the lads’s schedule is full as they’re concerned in 4 competitions, whereas the ladies takes half in three.
There are numerous shifting components on this downside – the cup draw, the TV rights and scheduling for the Premier League, pitch availability and so forth. However that Bayern sport has been set in stone since 27 September.
There ought to have been one other solution to remedy that downside.
There’s the monetary facet to take note of, and if the lads’s sport on the evening will convey from twice to 10 instances the income introduced in by the ladies’s sport, it’s a no-brainer for the membership.
There’s discuss shifting the sport to Meadow Park the place Arsenal Ladies have a historic dwelling. The bottom shouldn’t be permitted for the Group Stage video games and there may be additionally a danger that resulting from its small capability, Arsenal might need already offered extra seats than Meadow park capability. That might be an enormous ticketing mess.
The sport must be performed on December 18th as it’s the last group sport and it must be performed similtaneously Juventus v Valerenga at 8pm.
I’d hope UEFA wouldn’t enable the sport to be performed at Meadow Park as it’s a clear downgrade in time period of floor high quality. Various grounds that aren’t in use on that evening and have been permitted by UEFA lately for his or her different competitions are Brentford FC, MK Dons, West Ham, Wembley Stadium. Fulham FC, Watford FC, Crystal Palace may be UEFA compliant.
However after all, utilizing any of these floor would wish organising a business settlement and possibly wouldn’t be good in time period of income.
It will additionally grow to be a ticketing nightmare to organise the transfer of all those that have purchased tickets already. Geographically talking Watford or Wembley would make extra sense, relying on the ticket quantity already offered, MK Dons that has an even bigger capability than these two grounds and would make sense apart from the truth that is basically removed from London and going dwelling in midweek in December can be a trek.
We’re speaking concerning the last and key sport within the Champions League group stage and to see it being moved round is a poor selection by the membership.
At the very least it’s 41 days away, so followers can re-arrange their journey or hopefully will be capable to get their ticket refunded if the venue doesn’t swimsuit them any extra. Nevertheless it definitely units a unfavourable precedent for the ladies’s group in time period of floor sharing with the lads’s group.
