LUTON TOWN’S KENILWORTH ROAD ANNOUNCED AS VENUE FOR THE FA WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE CUP FINAL 2024
February 2024: The FA Women’s National League (WNL) has today announced that the League Cup Final will be taking place at Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road. The 11,500-capacity seater will be the first Premier League venue to date to host the competition’s Final, which will be fought out between two of Newcastle United, Hashtag United, Portsmouth and Halifax, who take part in the Semi-Finals this weekend.
The FA Women’s National League Cup is an annual competition open to the 72 teams in the WNL and works in a knockout process through the rounds. The Final was held last year at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium where Nottingham Forest beat Watford 3-2 after extra time. This year, the current champions have been knocked out, and none of the remaining teams have previously won the competition, meaning there will be a new name on the trophy.
The Final will be played on Women’s Football Weekend, which is an initiative to encourage fans to attend a women’s football game over the weekend. The WNL Cup Final will celebrate the best of the Women’s National League with a trophy at stake.
The year’s event at Kenilworth Road also marks the 40th anniversary of the first ever Women’s European Championship, which was held at the Luton ground in 1984. The Lionesses reached the Final but lost on penalties to Sweden in a two-legged tie. As part of this year’s game, The FA plan to celebrate the occasion by inviting all players from the squad to attend the Final.
The club secretary of the Luton Town Ladies team, David Baker said “Luton Town Ladies Football Club are so thrilled to be involved in the Women’s National League Final this year. As part of the WNL, Luton Ladies know how exciting this competition is and want to get as much of the local community involved as possible.”
Sue Hough, Chair of the FA Women’s National League Board added: “Recent years have been really exciting for the FA WNL, with accelerated growth supported by the Premier League through our strategy ‘Empowering For Success’. Having the opportunity to play the FA WNL Cup Final at a Premier League stadium really embodies this progress. We are very excited for the Final to be hosted at Kenilworth Road and thank Luton Town FC for all their help in making this possible.”
Gary Sweet, Luton Town CEO further commented: “The women’s game has rightly grown to new heights in so many ways in recent seasons and we’re truly seeing a new era for women’s football.
“That’s why we are delighted to have the backing of the Football Association to provide Kenilworth Road as the host stadium for this hugely respected and exciting national competition, a fitting venue that the two finalists will deserve for such a big occasion.
“The success of our own women’s team this season has added to the already growing interest in the women’s game locally. And with Kenilworth Rd set to be recognised by UEFA for the 40th anniversary of hosting the first Women’s European Championship, we are looking forward to opening the our doors and arms to thousands of fans who feel similarly inspired.”
The Semi-Finals this weekend between Halifax vs Hashtag United and Newcastle United vs Portsmouth will decide the finalists. Tickets for the Final will be going on sale once the Semi-Finals have taken place.
