Meadow Lane makes shortlist for international football tournament

Women’s international football could be coming to Nottingham after Meadow Lane, the home of Notts County, made it onto the FA’s shortlist for its official bid to stage the UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 in England.

The FA’s decision to submit its bid follows England Women’s successful Euro 2017 campaign in the Netherlands which saw the Lionesses reach the semi-finals, generating a record peak audience of four million TV viewers in the UK.

The bid proposes a country-wide spread of host cities and stadia of varying capacities, with Wembley Stadium earmarked to stage the tournament’s final in July 2021, a year after hosting the equivalent final for the men’s tournament.

The proposed cities and stadia included in the bid are:

Brighton & Hove – AMEX Stadium

London – Wembley Stadium, connected by EE, and Brentford Community Stadium

Milton Keynes – Stadium MK

Manchester – Manchester City Academy Stadium

Nottingham – Meadow Lane

Peterborough – ABAX Stadium

Rotherham – AESSEAL New York Stadium

Sheffield – Bramall Lane

Notts County chairman and owner Alan Hardy said: “We are absolutely delighted that The FA see us a worthy host for this prestigious tournament.

“At Notts County we are staunchly supportive of the development of women’s football and have recently set up a girls’ academy and women’s team which will provide a sustainable, professional platform for player development.

“Should The FA’s bid be successful, this would be hugely exciting news for the city and we await the outcome with great anticipation.”

Nottingham City Council leader, councillor Jon Collins, added: “The UEFA Women’s European Championship is the most significant women’s national football team competition in Europe.

“We’re pleased that, alongside Notts County, we have secured Nottingham as a host city for 2021 in the event that The FA’s bid is successful.

“This would provide a good opportunity to shine a global spotlight on Nottingham as a great sporting and tourism destination.

“We could expect around 100,000 fans to attend the four matches which could be staged here, bringing a huge boost to the local economy, along with an estimated global TV audience of 165 million.

“It would be a chance for us to stage another top-class sporting event and to bring women’s football to a new family and young crowd, which would increase the opportunities for women and girls to play football.”