Everton Women: Willie Kirk delights in ‘absolutely incredible’ WSL progress
Goodison News editor Elliott Cuff reporting from Friday’s pre-match press conference…
Everton Women manager Willie Kirk believes the Women’s Super League still has so much to offer as it reaches its ten year anniversary.
The inaugural season of the WSL kicked off on 13 April 2011 and plenty has changed since then.
Everton haven’t been in the top flight for every season since the 2011 rebranding, and they have yet to win a league title, but they’ve seen notably progress under Kirk this season.
Goodison News attended Kirk’s pre-match press conference, where the manager couldn’t believe just how much the WSL has improved since its inception.
When asked about the league’s anniversary, Kirk said: “Just incredible, absolutely incredible.
“I’ve been down here [in England] six years myself and it has gone so quick, but the growth is unbelievable. I turned up at Bristol and they were training three evenings a week, and that was six years ago. The growth in those six years is hard to believe.
“This is just the start though, we’re nowhere near the peak of it so there’s going to be more growth in the next ten years.
“It’s a really exciting place to be and I think everybody is looking forward to playing a part in that continued growth.”
Kirk has every right to be excited by the progress of the Women’s Super League because the women’s game keeps growing at an exponential rate.
It really is amazing looking back over the years to see just how much women’s football has improved, in terms of popularity, recognition and quality.
The WSL boasts some of the best players in world football among its ranks and it is impressive that a competition so young can continue to attract talent of such high esteem from around the globe.
With additional playing talent and more widespread recognition, the game will only continue to grow, encouraging more young women to pursue becoming professional footballers as a viable career.
Of course, there is still some way to go before the women’s game could be comparable to the men’s, but with every passing season we see marked improvement, and it is brilliant to see the WSL spearheading that change.
In other Everton news, an ‘outstanding’ star is keen on signing for Everton as Marcel Brands is given price to seal big deal.
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