What Rachel Zegler and Millie Bright have in common | OneFootball

A happy West Ham fan (Photo: Paul Gregory for The FA)

What does a Golden Globe-winning actress have in common with Women’s Super League stars?

Very little, one might think. But Rachel Zegler spent the summer starring in the musical Evita in the West End, drawing throngs of fans to the stage door after every performance. They weren’t satisfied with a glimpse of her – or indeed seeing and hearing her sing the iconic song ‘Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina’ on the balcony of the London Palladium. They also wanted selfies, autographs, a conversation – and on one clip that went viral, Zegler’s bodyguard had to step in to protect her, much to fans’ disgust.

“Hey, I love you so much, but Danny is just doing his job, he’s just protecting me. He works here and he’s helping me because crowds are very, very intimidating,” Zegler told the fan.

Chelsea’s Millie Bright echoed a similar sentiment recently on her Daly Brightness podcast calling out people who were rude and demanding. She said on the show that signing autographs and taking photographs with fans were an individual’s choice, adding: “You don’t own players, you don’t own their time.”

Her best friend and co-host Rachel Daly replied: “Just because you buy a ticket in a stadium, doesn’t guarantee you a god-given right to receive an autograph or receive a photo.”

And yet it isn’t unusual to read social media posts in which players are criticised for not spending more time signing autographs; the sense of expectation and entitlement that fans have has kicked up a notch with the proliferation of signs begging players for their shirt or boots.

So it isn’t surprising that this season, just as Danny protected Zegler during her West End run, WSL teams are taking steps to limit the access fans have to players.

“The landscape has changed”

No longer will there be a free-for-all as fans push to the front of the stand and wave pens and shirts and phones in players’ faces as soon as the full-time whistle blows. Arsenal and West Ham have both introduced a lottery for a post-match meet-and-greet; Manchester City have long operated an Autograph Alley, with fans randomly given tickets to access this VIP area.

It’s a far cry from the WSL launch in 2011, when player accessibility was a major pillar of the league’s marketing, with teams nominating an individual to act as their digital ambassador and leading on communicating with fans on social media.

Helen Ward was a player when the WSL launched, and remembers the positive impact social media interaction had – but thinks that has now changed.

Izzy Christiansen of Manchester City signs autographs for supporters in 2018 (Photo: Jon Super for FA)

“Social media has changed quite a lot, particularly when you look at Twitter, or X – for me, it’s quite horrible going on there,” she tells SheKicks.net. “Now, I’d be reluctant to engage with anyone on that platform for the most part, which is really sad, because I think it was a place where women’s football had a lot of growth, it was a really useful platform, but I think that landscape changed.”

“It’s a lot of pressure on them”

Gemma Avery, founder of fan experience company Fanfare Sport, says that with so many people following women’s football now, some things do have to change. She points to possible personal concerns for players that mean that fan interactions have to be managed more carefully.

“When you see the level that it has got to, you have got to think, a, is it sustainable, but b, is it also like, safe and fair on the players? Are all the players comfortable and trained for those interactions as well?” she says to SheKicks.net.

“I think clubs and organisations have got responsibilities to make sure those players are really comfortable and confident in those interactions.”

Pointing to the celebrity of leading Lionesses such as Alessia Russo and Leah Williamson, and drawing a parallel with rugby superstar Ilona Maher, Avery says they are shouldering a heavy burden of promoting an entire sport – and they need to be supported properly.

Leah Williamson signs autographs in 2018 (Balint Hamvas for The FA)

“You generally don’t know where the [fan] intensity could get to and the safety has to be first and foremost, but it’s a lot of pressure on them,” she says.

“The girls manage it themselves”

However, this is only something that’s shifting at the top level. Below the WSL, teams continue to emphasise player accessibility as part of their efforts to engage with fans, particularly younger ones.

“We don’t have thousands of people at the ground for a start,” says Ward, now general manager at tier three Watford. “It’s not a big rush at the end of the game. Our girls really manage it themselves. They quite like interaction at the end of the game. We’re in quite a nice position: a position that probably Arsenal and Chelsea were in maybe five, six, seven, ten years ago, where it’s quite calm, it’s quite chilled, and it doesn’t really need much managing.”

“Further down the pyramid, it’s still a real fundamental part of the experience,” agrees Gemma Avery, “but I’d still encourage [WSL] clubs, and I still do encourage clubs, to think of different ways to do it.”

That’s a development fans will be seeing in the WSL this season – although it remains to be seen how they will respond.

Women’s football has always been a safe and welcoming environment for fans – it just needs to make sure it’s equally safe and welcoming for its players.