Euro 2022 can move the needle but it deserves better stage

The FA should have shown more ambition when selecting the venues for Euro 2022. Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir’s criticism is understandable.

Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir hit the headlines this week with a pretty scathing assessment of the venue choices for Euro 2022.

The Iceland midfielder left no-one in any doubt concerning how she was feeling about her country turning out at the Academy Stadium during the group stages, branding the Manchester City Women’s stadium a “training ground” and calling it “embarrassing” to be playing at a venue with a capacity of just 4,700.

“It’s not the respect [we deserve],” Gunnarsdottir told podcast Their Pitch. “Watch women’s football today, they are filling out the stadiums. You see Barcelona and Madrid, 95,000 watching the game. [Euros organisers] are not prepared that we will sell more than 4,000 tickets.

“It’s disrespectful towards women’s football because it’s so much bigger than people think. You think women’s football is getting two steps ahead but then something comes up like that it’s just a step back.”

Iceland play their first two group fixtures at the Academy Stadium; both sold out within three weeks of going on general sale.

Here's the full Euro 2022 match schedule with venues and kick off times. pic.twitter.com/XzUF9tolE5

— Rich Laverty (@RichJLaverty) October 28, 2021

In defence of the Football Association, the decision over venues for Euro 2022 was made back in August 2018. Crucially, this was pre-2019 World Cup. The tournament was a watershed moment for women’s football in England, with millions tuning in to watch the Lionesses’ run to the semi-final (and predictable heartbreak). WSL sides subsequently rode on a wave of post-World Cup momentum, hosting fixtures in Premier League