THE FAI WILL conduct an internal review into the disappointing attendance drop-off at the Republic of Ireland’s 5-1 win over Albania at Tallaght Stadium last night.
The Uefa Women’s Nations League clash was advertised as ‘sold-out’ through the build-up, yet last night’s official attendance figure of 5,752 fell well short of that.
The earlier 5.45pm kick-off time on a Bank Holiday Friday certainly didn’t help, owing to TV coverage of Shamrock Rovers’ League of Ireland showdown against St Patrick’s Athletic.
A major incident on Dublin’s M50 also played a factor, with a huge number of fans arriving late to the game amidst road closures and rush-hour traffic. Others may have turned around, or avoided it completely.
The current capacity at Tallaght Stadium is up on 8,000, but that will increase to 10,000 next season when the new North Stand opens. The WNT’s record attendance at the venue is 7,632, from July’s World Cup send-off defeat to France.
The 42 understands that as with every game, the FAI will conduct an internal review into ticketing and identify the ticket holders who did not turn up.
In the past, WNT fixtures have been billed as sell-outs but no-shows have resulted in attendance figures falling well short of expectations.
With concerns aired by the public due to the awkward kick-off time and LOI clash, Gleeson had pleaded for fans to turn out and ensure that all tickets were used.
“That is a critical point,” she told The 42 at Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
“It is absolutely brilliant that it is sold out, but we need people to come out and sit in those seats because I can’t describe what that support means. It really does raise you up and we want to play for the fans, we want to thank people for coming out and we want to excite them and show what we were are about. I think it also really shows the progression for women’s football and I think that also drives the demand.
“The conversation now is about the Aviva, so we need people to come in here, to prove that there is that fanbase here, that’s it is tangible and we can action it. So, come out supporters, we promise to give you a good performance and come out of these games with six points.”
Ireland played at the Aviva Stadium for the first time last month, with 35,944 attending the showpiece win over Northern Ireland. They’re set for a return in 2024, but will continue to play in Tallaght too — akin to Katie McCabe’s Arsenal alternating between the Emirates Stadium and Meadow Park.
In his programme notes last night, FAI CEO Jonathan Hill wrote:
“Welcome back to Tallaght Stadium for another sold-out fixture that follows on from a truly historic day in the Aviva Stadium last month where over 35,000 fans cheered on this special Ireland Women’s National Team.
“While that was the first time that this team has played in our national stadium, I can happily confirm that it won’t be the last as we are already looking at options for 2024. And to be clear we also believe there is no problem alternating matches with Tallaght Stadium, a stadium which remains synonymous with the women’s team and which has served it and you the fans so incredibly well, as certain fixtures will be better suited to this stadium.
“The coaching team and players are all aware of the medium to long-term strategy here and are very comfortable with it, although everyone is obviously keen to see similar crowds — and indeed bigger ones — for the team in the future.”
Ireland’s final home Nations League clash against Hungary will be staged at Tallaght on 1 December.
Eileen Gleeson’s side play Albania away on Tuesday, and round out their Group B1 campaign against Northern Ireland in Belfast in the second game of the December double-header.
