Lotte Wubben-Moy saves the day with juice and pints after pitches freeze
The Bow-born Arsenal Women defender paid for travelling fans’ drinks after their game against Brighton was cancelled and called for improvements to women’s football.
Wubben-Moy, who started a first-ever girls team at Olga Primary School in Bow as a pupil, tweeted on January 22: ‘To anyone at the New Moon Pub in Crawley I have put some money behind the bar for you all. Get some cranberry juice and crisps on me.
‘Enjoy the men’s game. Sorry about our postponed game. Changes need to be made. They will be made. In the meantime, stay hydrated.’
Fans flocked to the New Moon to enjoy Arsenal men’s 3-2 victory over Manchester United, but the Women’s Super League (WSL) call-off was a reminder that despite the Lionesses’s Euro 2022 triumph, a wide gap remains.
Arsenal men’s play at The Emirates Stadium in north London which has all-weather facilities, while Crawley Town’s Broadfield Stadium was not equipped to deal with four-degree temperatures.
For a top-flight game, this was not good enough according to punters. One fan tweeted, ‘What a great response Lotte, we travelled to the game to be told when we got there it was off, WSL needs to sort this out for you all. Same treatment for women’s games as the men’s game.’
Katie McCabe, fellow Arsenal footballer and Republic of Ireland captain, joked, ‘That doesn’t look like cranberry juice!’ after many fans opted for pints.
Chelsea’s game against Liverpool in the WSL was also stopped that day after the pitch was deemed too dangerous and compared to an ice rink.
This has bolstered calls for proper undersoil heating to be installed for all women’s pitches. Women’s football has more than delivered entertainment-wise, but fixable technological issues continue to hamper progress.
Wubben-Moy, who grew up on Zealand Road in Bow East, became a cult hero for many local girls after the Lionesses’s victory. The Euro final against Germany was seen by 17.4 million people on BBC One, making it the most-watched women’s game in UK television history.
Alessia Russo, Wubben-Moy’s England teammate, was recently nominated for the prestigious Puskas Award for the greatest goal of the year. Russo is being considered alongside France international Kylian Mbappe, widely regarded as the game’s best player.
With such developments, Wubben-Moy, her fans and all who love the sport will hope for improvements so women’s football can enjoy the commercial success it deserves.
For more about women’s sport in our local area read about the Vicky Park Rangers.
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