The club have joined forces with partner University of Greenwich to host two Her Game Too-themed matchdays at The Valley next week as part of a club objective to get more women and girls attending Charlton games.
On Sunday Charlton’s women’s first team host Southampton at The Valley in the Barclays Women’s Championship and next Saturday (March 11th), Charlton’s men’s first team take on Accrington Stanley in Sky Bet League One.
Currently just over 14% of men’s first team season ticket holders are female, while 25% of women’s first team season ticket holders are female.
The club have set up a Her Game Too working group with supporters and staff meeting every one-two months to look at opportunities to tackle sexist abuse in football, promote equality and make games at The Valley more attractive to women and girls.
Following the introduction of the working group the club now provides free sanitary products for supporters at The Valley, an increased drinks variety on matchdays and Her Game Too visuals can be seen on the club’s big screen and on posters around the stadium. The club and working group have also encouraged supporters to report sexist abuse with a number to text published on the big screen and on posters around the stadium.
As part of the themed-matchday activity throughout the week there will be increased visibility of the Her Game Too working group and their work across the club’s various promotional channels, as well as a variety of specific matchday activities. In addition, members of the Her Game Too working group will present to the men’s and women’s first teams to tell their stories and explain why the work is important.
Charlton CEO, Peter Storrie, said: “The percentage of female supporters that are season-ticket holders for both our men’s and women’s first teams highlight not only the work that needs to be done but also the potential opportunity for growth – which is why the club’s Her Game Too working group are focussed on increasing the amount of women attending games and looking at how to make matchdays more attractive and engaging for women and girls.”
Charlton’s Her Game Too ambassador, Natasha Everitt, said: "Her Game Too and Charlton's Her Game Too group are thrilled the club are dedicating these two match days to the campaign. HGT started back in 2021 with the dream of ensuring women feel as welcome as men do at football and to have a group to turn to for supporter should they be subject to sexist abuse. As a lifelong Charlton fan it's incredible to see our club commit to this cause and get involved."
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, Professor Jane Harrington, said: "We're really pleased to be supporting the upcoming Her Game Too matches. We're already a proud partner of Charlton and shirt-sponsor for the women's team. I wholeheartedly endorse the actions the Working Group are taking and we will continue to work with our partners to break down barriers and enable more women and girls to participate positively in sport."
Fans can support the clubs' Her Game Too group through the Charlton4Good campaign, by using the code C4GHGT when purchasing tickets to any Charlton game, 10% of the price you pay will be donated to the club's Her Game Too group.
Click here to purchase your ticket to Sunday's women's team game at The Valley against Southampton.
