How close are Women's Super League grounds to the men's stadiums?

Women's Super League grounds: Kingsmeadow
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Although more and more WSL games are being played at big stadiums, most sides still have their own Women's Super League grounds. Only two WSL clubs currently share their home ground with the men's teams.

Reading Women have shared the 24,000 capacity Madejski Stadium with the men's side since the start of the 2020/21 season whilst Leicester City Women play the majority of their matches at the 32,000 capacity King Power Stadium.

Manchester City Women are about as close as you can get without sharing a stadium. They have played at the City Academy Stadium, situated adjacent to the Etihad Stadium, since their inception in 2014.

The team with the furthest Women's Super League ground from their men's side is Brighton & Hove Albion. The Seagulls play at The People's Pension Stadium in Crawley, 21 miles away from the American Express Community Stadium in Falmer where the men play. 

Aside from Brighton, Manchester United and Arsenal also have their WSL grounds quite far away from the main stadium with Meadow Park being 12 miles away from the Emirates and Leigh Sports Village being the same distance from Old Trafford. Arsenal though have committed to playing even more of their women's matches at the Emirates this season, with three WSL and three Champions League games already scheduled.

Chelsea's WSL ground is unique in that it is not next to Stamford Bridge but is owned by the club. Most WSL teams hire their grounds from other clubs, but Chelsea purchased Kingsmeadow from Wimbledon back in 2015 with the women's side moving in at the start of the 2017/18 stadium. With Wimbledon having since returned to the rebuilt Plough Lane, Chelsea Women now only share their ground with the men's development team. 

Everton Women also managed to find a uniquely local site for their WSL ground by playing at Walton Hall Park. The ground is just a mile from Goodison Park and was renovated specifically for Everton Women in 2019.

Women's Super League grounds

The full list of distances between WSL grounds and their respective men's grounds are:

Manchester City (Academy Stadium, Manchester) - 0 miles

Reading (Madejski Stadium, Reading) - 0 miles

Leicester City (King Power Stadium, Leicester) - 0 miles

Everton (Walton Hall Park, Liverpool) - 1 mile

Tottenham Hotspur (Brisbane Road Stadium, Leyton) - 5 miles

Liverpool (Prenton Park, Birkenhead) - 6 miles

Chelsea (Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames) - 7 miles

Aston Villa (Bescot Stadium, Walsall) - 9 miles

West Ham (Victoria Road, Dagenham) - 10 miles

Arsenal (Meadow Park, Borehamwood) - 12 miles

Manchester United (Leigh Sports Village, Manchester) - 12 miles

Brighton & Hove Albion (Broadfield Stadium, Crawley) - 21 miles

Jessy Parker Humphreys is a freelance women's football writer. A Chelsea fan, Jessy has been following the women's game since being taken to the 2003/04 FA Cup final at Loftus Road and seeing Arsenal thrash Jessy's local side Charlton. Fortunately, Arsenal don't win quite as much as they used to – although Jessy hopes Charlton will also be back at the top of the women's game one day.