Boreham Wood and Arsenal announce partnership extension

Boreham Wood Football Club have announced a long-term extension to their partnership with Arsenal Women FC and Arsenal FC that will see both the Women’s and development sides continue to play regular matches at the Mangata Pay UK Stadium Meadow Park, including all of next season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League Group Stage fixtures, as Arsenal Women start their defence of the competition they famously won in Lisbon last month.

The growth of the Women’s game has been apparent for all to see, particularly over the last five years, with Arsenal Women who are arguably the biggest and certainly the most successful club in British Women’s footballing history, whilst being front and centre of the women’s games nationwide wide growth.

As a result BWFC and AWFC agreed to engage in good faith discussions to explore a staging agreement for more Women’s matches to be played at Emirates Stadium, whilst recognising Meadow Park still has an important role to play, as the Arsenal Women’s side’s spiritual home for over three decades.

BWFC are rightly very proud of the part we have quietly played in the rightful and timely growth of the Women’s game, which has in truth been extraordinary since the Lionesses won the Euros. While their association with Arsenal’s and their Development and Youth sides have also been equally rewarding with an explosion of international talent graduating from Hale End to Emirates Stadium via Meadow Park.

In recent years the partnership has seen the likes of Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Emile Smith-Rowe, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, amongst many others, frequently run out at Meadow Park on their way to becoming bona-fide senior Arsenal players and internationals, with Boreham Wood and their supporters taking immense pride in the small part they have played in the development of Arsenal’s world-renowned home-grown talents.

The extension to the partnership comes at a time when Meadow Park will once again undergo’s further facility improvements this summer in order to meet UEFA minimum requirements next season, which will allow all UEFA Women’s Champions League Group Stage matches to return to Meadow Park from the 2025/26 season onwards.

Stadium improvements include the movement and enlargement of the stadium pitch, relocation of the dugouts into the West Stand, improvements to East Stand spectator facilities and sight lines, installation of stadium CCTV and control room and substantial upgrades to existing stadium floodlights from 500 to 800 lux, as well as the development of a new supporter fan zone area in the south-east corner to improve away fan experience at the south end of the stadium.

This announcement comes in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal Women’s famous Champions League final victory over then-holders Barcelona at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon just over a fortnight ago.

Wood Chairman Danny Hunter commented, “To be just a small part of the Arsenal Women’s growth has been an honour and our partnership with Arsenal has created friendships, memories and in truth brought huge success to the girls over so many years. Amazingly our partnership and friendships continue to go from strength-to-strength and we look forward to working closely with our friends at Arsenal to provide a first-class facility at their second home, for their players, staff, directors and supporters alike at an ever-improving Meadow Park.”