WSL season: Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says Euro win is just the start

Record-breaking audiences - at home and in the stands - watched the Lionesses this summer

It was a summer of success for women's football, with England capturing the nation's hearts during the Euros. The Women's Super League season kicks off this evening after last weekend's matches were postponed following the death of the Queen. And recent record viewing figures and attendances have led many to predict a massive growth for the game.

Chelsea women's boss Emma Hayes agrees, and says the Lionesses' success generated a lot of emotion.

"I just felt excited for all the little kids in the audience looking around seeing their faces," she says.

And the tournament also brought relief for Emma.

"There was just a huge weight lifted off my shoulders," she says. "I no longer have to bang on all the time about the women's game, because it's actually going to sell itself now."

But speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat just before the domestic WSL season starts, Emma accepts there is still a long way to go before the game fulfils its potential.

"Only in the last 12 months have we been able to schedule fixtures with any consistency and have broadcasting slots," she says.

In Emma's 10 years at Chelsea, the club has won five Women's Super League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups

Clubs are enjoying record ticket sales as the WSL prepares to kick off, with more and more sides playing at least some matches at main stadiums used by their male counterparts.

Arsenal are set to break their attendance record after shifting 40,000 tickets for their north London derby later this month.

For the opening games this weekend, the season kicks off tonight at a sold-out Meadow Park where more than 2,700 fans will attend Arsenal's home game against Brighton.

The fixtures also include Aston Villa and Leicester playing at the grounds used by their men's teams - Villa Park and the King Power Stadium - on Sunday afternoon.

It will "be fantastic" to have sell-out games, Emma says, but it's not just about one-offs.

"It's about how many of those [will] be returning fans again and again."

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Emma feels there will be highs and lows throughout the season, but the "peaks will be bigger than last year's and the lows will still be higher".

She believes more change is need for the women's game to progress further, as many clubs are still "under-resourced".

Investing in their infrastructure and "levelling up across the game is going to take a period of time", she says.

"I've always been an advocate of leaving the FA and into a separate entity, because I believe we could take the expertise from somewhere like the Premier League to help clubs build on their models.

"It will happen, it's just when."

While Emma's passion is to grow the women's game more widely, in her day job she's been at the top for 10 years, winning multiple trophies.

As a manager who has achieved so much, Emma says she'll look back at all of her success "with a little more fondness as I age".

She describes lifting trophies as "fabulous but such a relief".

"The highs and lows within that winning, believe it or not, isn't as memorable to me, because it's the journey that I think most coaches enjoy anyway."

Emma is firmly a fan favourite at Chelsea

The secret to lasting 10 years in the job is "multifaceted" but Emma says her strength is the ability to "evolve really well".

"I'm not someone who gets stuck. I accept change, embrace change, and try and move with it.

"I'll switch off. I know that I need that for my own mental health. I don't stress too much."

And what does she see in her future?

To start with, "winning at the weekend" in the opening game and more titles this year.

"Staying healthy, being the best mum, paying the bills because there is real-life stuff," she says.

"And we have to keep growing the game in the best way I possibly can."

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