When I was growing up, my dad tried (and failed) to persuade me to go to a Chelsea men’s game with him at Stamford Bridge. No matter how many times he tried to bribe me with promises of half-time chips and sing-alongs with fellow supporters, I had already internalised the idea that football belonged to men and I was doubtful that a football match was a place I would enjoy spending my time.

But flash forward 20 years and I’m no longer being asked to come along to the football – I’m the one doing the asking. Nowadays, you’ll regularly find me rocking up to a stadium for a Saturday afternoon kick-off.

But it wasn’t the Chelsea men’s team that finally did it for me (sorry, dad). Instead, it was Arsenal women and the sense of community and joy that I got from being a women’s football fan.

This shift didn’t happen overnight. I’ve followed women’s football on and off for around five years, but it wasn’t until the Lionesses won the Euros back in 2022 that I, like many others, became completely hooked. Suddenly, I found myself searching for Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL) matches to watch at the weekend and talking to whoever would listen about the state of the title race or my Fantasy WSL line-up.

At first, I had no club affiliation, but there was something about the mutual respect and admiration between the Arsenal players and fans that made the club unique – and I instantly wanted to be a part of it. Before long, my social media feeds were full of Arsenal fans discussing the latest games and transfer rumours, and the more time I invested in the league, the more I felt a part of the community.

The main reason I love attending BWSL games is because of the talent on display on the pitch, but the atmosphere has to be a close second. If you asked me to draw a ‘women’s football fan’, the crowd at these games would make that task impossible: on your average BWSL game day, you’ll see people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, sexualities and backgrounds coming together to support their team.

The sense of excitement and sheer fun that radiates from the crowds is something you have to witness to appreciate, so I love nothing more than taking my football novice friends to their first game. So, when my friend Shahed said she’d be keen to join me at the recent North London Derby, I was more than a little excited.

I took my best friend to her first Barclays Women's Super League game – here’s why she fell in love with it, and why there’s never been a better time to be a fan