February 17 – Supporters of OL Lyonnes and Paris Saint-Germain Women have announced plans to boycott their Women’s League Cup final following the decision to stage the match in Abidjan on March 14.
The complaint was published on Monday, with fans voicing their anger at the relocation of the newly created competition’s showpiece event outside France, at the 33,000-seater Félix-Houphouët-Boigny stadium in Côte d’Ivoire’s capital. Both clubs have booked their place in the final, but they are now set to do so without organised supporter backing in the stands.
In a statement, the OL Ang’Elles supporters’ group made their position clear.
“We strongly oppose any relocation, a practice that seems to us contrary to the spirit of popular football and the local anchorage that is the strength of our sport […] If this competition were to continue, we hope that the next editions would offer all the conditions to guarantee a total mobilisation of supporters in the stands,” the group wrote, confirming that talks with the club had failed to yield a solution.
The move echoes previous controversies in European football. The relocation of the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia in a ‘Final Four’ format sparked similar backlash, with many fans arguing that financial incentives were being prioritised over tradition and community roots.
The authorities behind such decisions often defend them on economic grounds, citing revenue streams deemed vital to club development. Supporters, however, view them differently – as a fracture in the social fabric that binds clubs to their local base. This feels particularly evident in women’s football, where tourism is less of a factor than in the men’s game and fan groups feel particularly tight-knit.
For Lyon, accustomed to high-profile fixtures on the international stage, the debate strikes at the heart of a wider question: how do clubs find the balance between expanding their global footprint without losing the identity and atmosphere that define them at home?
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]