Arsenal are reportedly leading the move to bring women’s football to the men’s crowd by playing double-headers like we will see at the Emirates Cup this year.

There is no doubt that women’s football is on the rise and Arsenal have always been at the forefront of the game. It is, therefore, no surprise that they are now leading the charge to have Women’s Super League games played as double-headers with the men’s matches.

It makes sense. All too often they schedule women’s games at the same time as the men’s which is just ridiculous, forcing fans of both teams to pick which game they watch or attend with the women’s game usually losing out.

The Mirror write in an exclusive, “The “double-header” idea of playing women’s games before or after Premier League fixtures at clubs’ main stadiums is being discussed at the top of the game to capitalise on the growth in popularity that has come with England’s Lionesses reaching a second straight World Cup semi-final this summer.”

Arsenal Women’s manager Joe Montemurro said about the Emirates Cup this year: “We are proud and excited to be playing at Emirates Stadium in the Emirates Cup this month. It’s one of the first times that a club has incorporated the men and women’s sides into a tournament, which we are proud of.

“This game will showcase some of the highest quality within women’s football and by playing this at the Emirates it will enable more Arsenal supporters to see them in action. We hope that this brings plenty of fans to this game and then hopefully there will be potential for more double header games this season at the Emirates Stadium.”

There is also a call for more terrestrial TV coverage now that the powers that be have seen the women’s game actually does have an audience.

11.3 million people watched England v USA in the World Cup semi-final and those are the sorts of numbers companies like £££.