Chelsea Women’s opening Barclays Women’s Super League fixture in September is being held at Stamford Bridge, and Carly Telford wants to see as many people at the stadium as possible supporting the Blues.
Telford and 10 of her Chelsea team-mates starred in the Women’s World Cup this summer, and they are set to play newly promoted Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 8 September.
The free allocation of tickets is now sold out, but a waiting list for any returns is open.
‘It's going to be unbelievable,' Telford emphasised. ‘For us, it's the opportunity to play at one of the biggest stadiums in the world.’
Television figures hit new heights in the UK when a record-breaking 28.1 million people tuned in to watch the World Cup tournament, with the Lionesses’ semi-final loss the UK's highest live TV audience of 2019 so far with 11.7 million viewers. We as a club can continue the momentum that the World Cup has built for women’s football in England by showcasing our world-class players for the first time since their return, at the home of Chelsea Football Club free of charge.
‘We want to see as many people there as possible,' Telford said. ‘There is no worse feeling than when you walk out and see a lot of empty seats and there is not a lot of atmosphere.’
‘What we want, and what Chelsea have done with the free tickets, is to expose it to as many people as possible. All together, I think they are doing it the right way. I just hope that once we have had this free one, hopefully, next time we can charge a bit of money for the tickets and see if people are really interested in women's football,’ the 32-year-old added.