In the wake of the Women’s World Cup this summer, women’s football has crept into the cultural consciousness, and rightly so. With equality issues and double standards being more rife than ever, it’s great to welcome any form of good news, and Manchester City has today announced baby gear brand ‘Joie’ as the Official Stadium Naming Partner of the Academy Stadium – making it the first club in the Women’s Super League to secure a commercial agreement for its stadium naming rights.
The whole Manchester City Women’s team, including captain Steph Houghton, Chloe Kelly and Demi Stokes, marked this huge milestone as they cut a giant orange Joie bow that wrapped the newly-named stadium.
This marks the next phase of the multi-year partnership between Joie and Manchester City as, together, they pledge to introduce and improve family friendly services at the stadium, building on City’s commitment to delivering the best possible matchday experience for fans of all ages across all stadium facilities.
Opened in 2014 as part of the Club’s continued investment into East Manchester and the Etihad Campus, the 7,000 capacity stadium is the only purpose-built stadium in the Women’s Super League and is the home of Manchester City Women. In addition, many of City’s Elite Development Squad and youth team matches also take place in the stadium.
Gavin Makel, Managing Director of Manchester City Women, said: “Today is a really significant moment for Manchester City, as we welcome Joie as Official Stadium Naming Partner. Not only is this a huge moment for Manchester City Women but also for the wider club as the stadium changes name for the first time since its opening in 2014.
“It is a further reflection of the importance, growth and commercial appeal of Manchester City Women and the wider women’s game and we are excited to work together with Joie to maximise opportunities for families at our matches.”
Further internal and external branding featuring the Joie logo will appear across stadium assets, with Joie continuing to activate at every Women’s team fixture – here’s to many more naming partners in the women’s game.