'We are allowing them to be stars' - FC Copenhagen Women make mark

FC Copenhagen whitethorn beryllium nan caller kids connected nan artifact successful women's football, but they person already made a large belief some connected and disconnected nan pitch.

One of Scandinavia's astir successful men's clubs launched their women's broadside earlier this year, entering a squad into Denmark's 3rd tier.

Four games into nan play they person won each 4 games, scored 16 goals and conceded conscionable once.

Their first location crippled of nan play attracted 5,165 fans, mounting a caller attendance grounds for a women's crippled successful Denmark by much than doubling nan erstwhile one.

"To beryllium honorable I americium very seldom moved by a match," said Copenhagen's main executive Jacob Lauesen.

"But this is simply a stadium pinch usually 100 people, location person not been 1,000 fans present for nan past 10 years.

"We needed to rent further toilet capacity and we had to unfastened nan backmost guidelines which hasn't been utilized for 20 years. We had to get a blacksmith to unfastened nan emergency exit because cipher knew wherever nan fastener was."

Copenhagen's women's squad has been launched successful nan aforesaid measurement their men's squad was backmost successful 1992 - by merging pinch different club.

Their hopes of entering a squad consecutive into Denmark's apical female section were rejected, truthful Copenhagen linked pinch section grassroots nine FC Damso and launched nan caller nine astatine tier 3 nether their licence.

The existent squad consists of players connected semi-professional aliases voluntary contracts, but nan nine want a full-time set-up arsenic soon arsenic imaginable and purpose to beryllium playing successful Europe wrong 5 years.

Much of that depends connected their commercialized occurrence disconnected nan pitch, which centres astir utilizing partners who are consenting to tailor their attack to nan women's team.

"Too galore teams astir Europe are trying to make a bad transcript of nan men's squad nether nan excuse of a one-club mentality," said Lauesen.

"We want to do things differently."

A section community-driven sportswear marque creates bespoke shirts for Copenhagen's women's team.

Their kit motorboat - held during Copenhagen Fashion Week - attracted a number of high-profile celebrities and influencers, including character Lily Collins, who attended nan arena successful nan aforesaid week arsenic nan merchandise of nan latest bid of her deed Netflix show Emily successful Paris.

"We had a gathering pinch fans nan time aft nan motorboat and they accused america of spending excessively overmuch money connected celebrities," said Lauesen.

"We only spent nan worth connected a shirt. Everyone came because they pulled into it, not because we are pushing it.

"That's nan cool point here. We spot that Copenhagen arsenic a metropolis attracts truthful galore world-famous ambassadors. We person created a organization wherever we person a batch of musicians and actors pursuing nan club.

"We person seen a tremendous commencement and group want to beryllium progressive pinch nan women's squad because it is cleanable successful its time. I for judge deliberation we tin create immoderate benignant of a movement."

The women's kits person proved hugely celebrated and Copenhagen's caput of women's football, Rebecca Steele, said nan support has been overwhelming.

"The clip for women's shot is now," she said. "We really consciousness we person nan full metropolis down us.

"When I saw a woman for nan first clip wearing nan women's garment connected nan thoroughfare of Copenhagen, that was a very typical moment. The awesome of nan women's squad each astir Copenhagen is very moving for america all.

"We are hoping for succeeding some connected and disconnected pitch. It's still a shot club, we still person to triumph nan games. But disconnected transportation we request to build a brand, we request to build nan business, we request to show each clubs overseas that women's shot tin beryllium a business successful itself."

It was Steele who spent a important magnitude of clip successful nan early days of nan task gathering pinch clubs astir nan Copenhagen area to find nan correct broadside to merge with.

"We had a batch of conversations and FC Damso was nan champion for america because we tin build it from nan bottom. It is not nan easiest measurement but it is nan champion measurement because we tin do it pinch respect for nan existing nine that we are building upon.

"We had a batch of conversations pinch them, we listened a batch to their wishes for this project. One subordinate said to me: 'This is not astir you and me, it's astir each nan girls astir Copenhagen and we request to do this for them.' That was very good said."

While Lauesen said now is not nan clip for nan women's squad to play astatine Parken Stadium, that is nan ambition 1 day.

FC Copenhagen person large plans to raise nan floor plan of their women's squad and if nan opening 4 weeks are thing to spell by, their early is group to beryllium incredibly bright.

"We are allowing these girls to beryllium stars, moreover though they are playing successful nan third-best league," Lauesen said.

"This is nan marque and nan dream that each woman and boy should beryllium capable to dream astir playing successful Parken and playing pinch nan lion connected nan chest. We wanted to make it typical for girls.

"They are taking it connected their enarthrosis that they are going to show group successful Copenhagen and group successful Denmark that this is an charismatic product, this is not thing to beryllium ashamed of, this is not a discarded of clip for illustration nan measurement shot fans person sometimes talked astir women's football."