It is no secret that we have seen a lot of growth in the women's game since the 2022 Euro's here in the UK however, it feels like more could be done by clubs to ensure that they are capitalising on the growth, getting everyone involved and bringing some vital funds for the women's teams. One of the ways you feel they could capitalize on this is by bringing out women's specific merchandise and make the things they already sell more accessible not hidden away. Imagine if it was easier for fans to get their favourite player on the back of their shirt with the WSL granted most top flight clubs are getting better at this however, it still feels like there is a bit further to push it with the kits being easier to find and easier to buy at all sizes.

Our nephew is 4 years old and was desperate for a Jordan Nobbs & Mary Earps shirt but you just can't get them at that size with the WSL printing, we are meant to be inspiring a young generation not keeping them from celebrating their favourite players in such a great way. When you are at a game and look around there is a big chunk of the fan base around our nephews age and they have plain shirts or male players on their shirts, this could be down to the factthe lettering for the WSL isn't small enough for those smaller sized shirts but surely they can start making them soon, they will definitely get rid of the name sets via printing of the shirts so it is not like they would be wasting too much money and they would be helping the younger generation show their love for their favourite female players. In the end we went through a 3rd party for the nephews Nobbs shirt and it came with the Premier League name set, surely the WSL would prefer money going back to their league via more name set sales. There is definitely a demand for the shirts as you just have to look around at games to see all the women's names on shirts to see that they would sell at all ages and it would be great to see the younger fans have the chance to get more involved with showing their love for those female players.

Manchester United seem to be doing a bit more to allow fans to buy merchandise for the women's team as when we went Old Trafford for the West Ham match we called into the shop first and we saw a few posters of the women's team, mugs with a few players on and even some t-shirts. It is safe to say we definitely didn't expect to see those items but it made a nice change and I am hoping that the range grows more in the not so distant future and that it is something all clubs at a variety of levels start to bring to their club stores as it will give the fans chance to show their support with more than just a shirt. Granted Manchester United seem to be adding more women's related items to their site however, it can be hard to navigate at times hidden in with a sea of men's merchandise, fingers crossed as the game continues to grow teams will start to have a dedicated women's team section with everything in one place so fans aren't having to endlessly scroll to find what they are wanting to purchase. A bit on the menu or a section to click on from the home page to a one stop shop would definitely help fans purchase more women's merchandise and help promote the women's game like they want to. 

When we went to the Manchester derby at the Etihad earlier this season the scarf sellers outside were selling scarves with the men's team on them but there was nothing for the women's teams who were actually playing that day. We did ask them though if they were ever planning on adding ones for the women's team and just a few weeks later at Leigh Sports Village we managed to get a scarf with the United women's team on it which was brilliant. Not long after though there were more and more scarves becoming available and we now own a full team scarf, a Russo one, a Toone one, a Earps one and even a Galton one it is safe to say the collection is coming along nicely and hopefully over time more will become available of our favourites so we can add them to the collection. 

The women's game might be growing in terms of women taking part in playing the game and fans entering the stadium to watch games however, it still feels like there is a long way to go in terms of growing the game in all areas to bring in more funds for clubs at all levels and it just seems like they are forgetting about what could be the easiest part for them... women's team merchandise, we all know merchandise sells and can bring in revenue for the clubs so why not make the most of it and use it as a way for fans to show off their love of the women's games whilst giving clubs a bit of extra advertising whilst they are wearing or using the women's merchandise they purchase. It definitely feels like there is a long way to go with this but let's hope the small steps we are currently seeing is all the beginning of putting the wheels in motion and getting more merchandise to us fans, I know I would definitely end up spending a fortune on it would you? 

Would you love to see more women's team specific merchandise available to purchase or are you happy with how things currently are?