Joanne O'Riordan: Women’s sport is having its moment – let’s make it last

Ada Hegerberg, Norwegian and Lyon striker, probably said it best when pointing out that women's football existed before FC Barcelona Femení, who recently shattered attendance records twice in the space of a month. This is the same Ada Hegerberg who was once so upset with women's football being left behind, she left the national team for more than five years.

Since then she has scored many goals. This season, she scored 25 times in 15 appearances, suffered a serious knee injury and is now pushing to be a six-time winner of the Women's Champions League. Her mission is clear, and all she wants is for the game to be in a better place than when she started.

Last week alone, various attendance records were broken. In Newcastle's St James's Park, a record-breaking 22,134 fans cheered on fourth division team Newcastle United against Alnwick Town Ladies. The tickets were only £3, but the noise and volume from four stands highlighted what we already know. Women's sports' stock is growing.

Going up through the ranks, Paris Saint-Germain Féminine had 43,254 fans attend their Champions League semi-final against Lyon, breaking a record for a women's club game in France. The drama on the field aside, viewers on DAZN's YouTube channel were greeted with the PSG ultras doing everything they could to get their team over the line. Flares, tifos and chants were going from the first minute, and images like that make outsiders look at it as a "wow" product.

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Sellout crowd

Over in the US's National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), newcomers Angel City FC made their debut in front of a sellout crowd of 22,000 fans in Los Angeles. You might recall that Angel City FC were put together by actress Natalie Portman, technology guru Julie Uhrman and Kara Nortman, managing partner at Upfront Ventures, LA's largest venture capital firm. This club is a connection between fans and players, city and team, and – more importantly – has a cause and a purpose, to promote equity in sport and ensure the playing field is level for women.

Amazingly, the obsession with the number of fans is being replaced by creating atmospheres, party and family vibes and safe spaces for women and children

Before the start of its first season, the club sold nearly 16,000 season tickets to the Banc of California Stadium, which went for between $180 and $51,000 for 10 “field-level” suites. The premium seats sold out in three days.

The best thing right now about women's sports is the quality of fans. Women's sports are beginning to capture everyone's imaginations, which was evident in Madison Square Garden for the massive fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Better writers have created word pictures about that fight, but nothing encapsulated it better than Taylor saying the scenes would stir anyone's soul.

Amazingly, the obsession with the number of fans is being replaced by creating atmospheres, party and family vibes and safe spaces for women and children. With interest going up, it’s still incredible that women’s sports refuse to price out those who show up every day. Long may that last.

Fan support

The product immediately looks and feels better with loud, active, and vocal fan support. You can see sponsorships, amazing front and back page stories, people wanting to return and a dynamic game growing its appeal among the masses. That’s the vision, and that’s a selling product. Not large swarms of crowds heading to Croke Park because they got the ticket on a freebie and don’t really know what’s going on but are still happy to make noise.

Women already make up a large portion of sports fans and, according to various studies on female fandom, women are essentially the same as men in their viewing experience. They want to see a good game with entertainment value while also being in a safe and inclusive environment. Of course, the dirty toilet at the back of the stand is off-putting, but women don’t really mind if the product is good. That means loud and vocal fans, an atmosphere and a mildly entertaining game.

Lessons must be learned from other sporting organisations if we’re to achieve some type of parity in our sports. That starts with investment. People like companies that sponsor women’s sports. It’s about organisations investing in local teams and building that foundation up. It’s about having access to the best facilities without it costing a thought.

The fans are already there. Vocal, loud and active. Now it’s about making that meaningful connection and making a sustainable fandom from the round-robin stages to the All-Ireland finals and beyond. It’s about connecting people to that product and making them go, wow, I want to be a part of that. We’re a tiny nation that thrives off of success, irrespective of gender. Our heroes are super accessible.

Let’s build a sustainable model and take the best parts of other sports and make them even better.