Durham WFC have drawn 3rd in Women’s super League Manchester City in the 4th round of the FA Cup.
Durham WFC, who play in the Women’s Championship, the second tier of women’s football qualified for round four on Sunday as their thrashed West Bromwich Albion 5 – 0 in their own stadium.
Manchester City, who play in the top tier of women’s football have previously won the Women’s FA Cup 3 times, most recently in 2020.
Durham WFC will be major underdog, but if they can get past Manchester City they will reach the 5th round of the Women’s FA Cup for the third time in a row,
Unlike most clubs in the upper divisions of women’s football, Durham WFC are not linked to a men’s team, with 9 out of 12 teams in the championship having an association with a women’s football team.
Their opposition in the cup however are of course linked to the current treble winners of the men’s game.
Therefore, there is a major difference in funding between the two clubs, as Durham WFC are backed by Durham University as opposed to Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour, who is strongly linked to the state of the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, Sunderland have drawn a home tie against Southampton, while Newcastle United face a tough away day at last seasons FA Cup finalist Manchester United.
Following the success of the women’s England National team at the Euros in 2022 and the World Cup this year, there has been a notable rise in the popularity of the sport.
Across the World Cup this summer, the BBC reported a 75% rise in the number of people streaming the Women’s World Cup.
As well as increase in viewership, we have seen an increase in representation of Wonen’s footballers in the media, notably Jill Scott winning the 2022 series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and many other women appearing as pundits/ commentators.
Jill Scott, who captained England to their Euro 2022 success was born and raised in Sunderland.
The North- East has played a crucial role in the recent history of the English national team, producing talents such as Steph Houghton and Lucy Bronze.
The further growth of the game is vastly evident in the North- East too. Despite none of the local teams currently playing in the Women’s Super League there have been records broken by many of the teams.
Durham WFC recorded their highest attendance in November in their league clash with Sunderland, with 1700 attending the game.
In November of 2022, third tier Newcastle United broke the record for highest attendance of a women’s FA Cup match excluding finals, with more than 28000 people attending their second round game at St James Park.
