Arsenal to hold joint victory parades for men’s and women’s teams

When Arsenal showcase the club trophies won by North London this season on Sunday, the women’s team will be in the spotlight.

While the men’s team are champions of England – and perhaps of Europe after Saturday’s Champions League final – the women’s team are also world champions.

The first FIFA Women’s Champions Cup was won in January and the Gunners management want that success to be celebrated.

“We are one club,” Arsenal commercial director Juliet Slot said at a UEFA-organized conference before an audience of leaders in women’s football.

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A clear message at the annual “UEFA Business Case for Women’s Football” event in Oslo was to view the sport as a whole, and not based on gender.

«I actually think this is a big statement and it should be,» former Arsenal player Johan Djourou told the club Associated press of the plans for the bus parade.

“If a club promotes both at the same time, that we do the parade together, that is huge,” said Djourou, the technical director of the Swiss women’s national teams.

The conference brought together industry leaders ahead of last Saturday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final between two powerhouses, Barcelona and OL Lyonnes.

UEFA created a women’s European club competition in 2001 and the first title matches featured independent clubs. FFC Frankfurt were the first champions, beating Sweden’s Umeå, who won titles in 2003 and ’04.

Germany’s Turbine Potsdam won in 2005 and ’10 and the last indie to reach a final, 2015 champions Frankfurt, later merged with the city’s men’s club Eintracht.

“I always thought the women’s game would change gear once the big men’s clubs bought in,” said Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA deputy secretary general.

Marchetti praised former Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas as a visionary who saw the value of investing in a women’s team. Lyon won a record eight Women’s Champions Leagues between 2011 and 2022, losing two of the past three finals to Barcelona.

Independent clubs were financially swamped as legendary names such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus entered the arena since 2017.

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A rare challenge to the new reality comes from US investor Michele Kang, now owner of Lyon – renamed OL Lyonnes – and trying to make progress with London City Lionesses, which she bought in 2023.

Arsenal are approaching their 40th season and are increasingly playing games in the club’s 60,000-seat stadium.

«Treat women’s football as an investment. Invest with patience,» club director Slot advised the audience invited by UEFA and also suggested «never to give away free tickets» for matches.

The world record transfer fee in women’s football has more than doubled in two years.

Arsenal set a record last year by paying £1 million (then $1.34 million) for Canadian forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool, before Orlando Pride went up to $1.5 million by signing Lizbeth Ovalle from Mexican side Tigres UANL.

Tigres director Carlos Valenzuela told the crowd in Oslo that money from the sale of players to Chelsea funded the youth teams up to the under-13s. That was US international Mia Fishel’s decision in 2023 for a reported $250,000.

Barcelona’s Xavier O’Callaghan said technical support, such as doctors and analysts, for the women’s team is «getting closer» to men’s level. He warned: “It is almost impossible to keep everyone 100 percent satisfied.”

Women’s football still offers good value because the game is growing rapidly, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin emphasizes: «It is still relatively cheap if you compare it with men’s football. You have to invest.»

UEFA’s main event driving growth is the European Championship that Germany will host in 2029.

Ceferin joked that Nadine Kessler, the German great and director of women’s football at UEFA, promised the tournament will at least break even financially.

The 2025 edition was a great success, even surprising, in Switzerland, which subsidized UEFA with around 25 million euros ($29 million). Djourou envisions a process of at least five years to develop the domestic club game.

“I can’t tell you that the stadiums are full today because of the European Championship,” Djourou told the AP. «There are more girls playing. It’s been positive, but not to the point where I can say we’ve seen a significant difference.»

“For example, when it comes to women in leadership positions, we know it’s a bit stuck,” said Lise Klaveness, president of the progressive Norwegian Football Federation, which promotes equal representation in boardrooms.

Klaveness and Wales’ Laura McAllister – both former internationals – are the only women on UEFA’s 21-member executive committee.

UEFA’s Marchetti noted the clear direction of travel, but warned: “The biggest mistake would be to become impatient and say: ‘This is not enough.’”

Three-time Women’s European Championship title winner Sarina Wiegman said on stage with Klaveness and Marchetti that the football industry needed to catch up.

«Society is ready for women in football in every position, men’s or women’s football,» said England coach Wiegman, «but the football world itself is not ready for it yet. That’s why you need women in the boardroom.»

Published on May 29, 2026