The Women’s Super League has defended the standard of pitches after Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall warned poor pitch quality is causing injuries. A WSL spokesperson said that pitches at WSL stadiums are monitored throughout the season with “steps taken” to support clubs where necessary. Significant progress has been made in recent seasons with several clubs delivering new hybrid playing surfaces following investment through the Premier League Stadium Fund. However, of the 12 WSL clubs, only Chelsea (Kingsmeadow), Everton (Walton Hall Park) and West Ham (Chigwell Construction Stadium, Dagenham & Redbridge) currently have a hybrid pitch.
Eidevall later implied the Leigh Sports Village pitch may have had an impact, saying: “You see the pitch, it is a pitch that has a lot more to [be desired]. I think it’s going to continue here with the schedule we have and pitches like that, players are going to get injured. That is something that we all need to improve on, the facilities where we play, so we can keep the players on the pitch.” In January, he said “emotional” decisions about investment in women’s football should be avoided amid growing calls for clubs to have undersoil pitch heating, adding that “we need to take good decisions on where the investment should be going to grow the game in the long term and I’m very doubtful that should be put into undersoil heating at the moment.”
The latest concern for Eidevall is the injury of Arsenal midfielder Jordan Williamson. She fell awkwardly while chasing possession and was replaced after 15 minutes of Wednesday’s match. The extent of her injury is still unknown and will cause great concern to England manager Sarina Wiegman, with less than 100 days to go until the World Cup.
The Women’s Super League has defended the standard of pitches after Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall warned poor pitch quality is causing injuries. A WSL spokesperson said that pitches at WSL stadiums are monitored throughout the season with “steps taken” to support clubs where necessary. Significant progress has been made in recent seasons with several clubs delivering new hybrid playing surfaces following investment through the Premier League Stadium Fund. However, of the 12 WSL clubs, only Chelsea (Kingsmeadow), Everton (Walton Hall Park) and West Ham (Chigwell Construction Stadium, Dagenham & Redbridge) currently have a hybrid pitch.
Eidevall later implied the Leigh Sports Village pitch may have had an impact, saying: “You see the pitch, it is a pitch that has a lot more to [be desired]. I think it’s going to continue here with the schedule we have and pitches like that, players are going to get injured. That is something that we all need to improve on, the facilities where we play, so we can keep the players on the pitch.” In response to this, Eidevall suggested that “emotional” decisions about investment in women’s football should be avoided amid growing calls for clubs to have undersoil pitch heating. He added that “we need to take good decisions on where the investment should be going to grow the game in the long term and I’m very doubtful that should be put into undersoil heating at the moment.”
The latest concern for Eidevall is the injury of Arsenal midfielder Jordan Williamson. She fell awkwardly while chasing possession and was replaced after 15 minutes of Wednesday’s match. The extent of her injury is still unknown and will cause great concern to England manager Sarina Wiegman, with less than 100 days to go until the World Cup. The Women’s Super League has responded to Eidevall’s concerns by saying that pitches at WSL stadiums are monitored throughout the season with “steps taken” to support clubs where necessary. Significant progress has been made in recent seasons with several clubs delivering new hybrid playing surfaces following investment through the Premier League Stadium Fund. However, of the 12 WSL clubs, only Chelsea (Kingsmeadow), Everton (Walton Hall Park) and West Ham (Chigwell Construction Stadium, Dagenham & Redbridge) currently have a hybrid pitch. Eidevall suggested that “emotional” decisions about investment in women’s football should be avoided amid growing calls for clubs to have undersoil pitch heating and instead focus on taking good decisions on where investment should be going to grow the game in the long term.