THE SOLO EDIT: A MAN CITY WOMEN'S GAME

I’m embarrassed to say that, despite the high volume of Man City men’s games I’ve been this season, the first 25/26 women’s game was also their last home game of the season. Oh Sam, that’s poor. I couldn’t not attend a game after they were on to win the league this year, so when a late release of tickets appeared, I snapped one up and took a front row seat to watch City beat Liverpool in the dying stages of the game.

What should have been an hour journey turned out to be over one and half thanks to road works that led me to walk all the way from home to the Joie stadium (RIP my feet), but oh boy was it worth it (in the end)! It’s been so long since I’ve been to the stadium, admittedly I joined the wrong queue at first to enter, but after a bit of a swift removal of myself from a couple of queues, I found the correct entrance and headed in, pumped to watch the girls play.

Seeing Laura Coombs on her final game and hearing the love for her? Priceless. Seeing City beat Liverpool and be within touching distance of securing the WSL title? Unforgettable. (In case you didn’t know, Man City have indeed won the league this season!)

There’s something so special about the final game of the season; pyrotechnics, flags, full volume and joy! 

If you’re thinking of heading to a football game alone for the first time, I’d highly recommend a women’s game, it feels far less intimidating because there’s lots of women, children and families and the vibe is far different than a men’s game. Trust me, my anxiety levels for my first solo men’s game entered space.

It was much easier this time around watching MCWFC, even I felt nervous the first time I saw them after being so used to the set up of the Etihad, and where to go, but with the stadium being smaller it’s so easy to navigate and to really feel a part of the atmosphere.

The one key thing to remember when going to a game is that you are all there for a same reason, no one will look at you if you don’t join in with the chants or vocally backing the team, just being there is enough until you’re comfortable with joining in (maybe you won’t ever be and that’s perfectly fine), just enjoy the experience, don’t overthink it, and feel so proud that you pushed yourself so far our of your comfort zone for something you love. That’s worth it all on its own.

What other solo things would you like to see me try?

S xo