EXCLUSIVE: “This is about all girls”: Here’s all you need to know about how FC Copenhagen are developing their women’s team

The most successful club in Denmark has established a women’s team and is conducting it in a sustainable manner to ensure its long-term success.

Jacob Lauesen, the chief executive of FC Copenhagen, is slightly tardy for our morning interview. However, he has a valid reason for his tardiness: he was delayed in his return journey from Gothenburg, where he witnessed Rosengård’s 1-0 victory over Häcken in the Swedish women’s league.

“The CEO of Denmark’s most successful men’s club made the trip to watch a Damallsvenskan match simply to gain a glimpse of what that looks like,” Lauesen explains. Over the past 18 months, Lauesen and Rebecca Steele, Copenhagen’s head of women’s football, have engaged in extensive discussions and observations with clubs worldwide in anticipation of the launch of their own women’s team in July.

Copenhagen, which was unsuccessful in obtaining a fast-tracked entry into a top division, engaged in discussions with the local women’s team FC Damsø. This led to the establishment of a club known as FC Copenhagen, which operates under FC Damsø’s license in the third tier.

Copenhagen is not an ordinary club, which is why this sort of merger is not novel to the organisation. In 1992, two financially struggling clubs, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (continental Europe’s oldest club) and Boldklubben 1903, established them. The former served as the academy squad, while the latter operated as the primary team under the latter’s license.

Three years ago, a new strategy was developed, and the priority was to expand into women’s football. In the league debut on August 18, Copenhagen Women defeated B73 Slagelse 3-0 in front of an impressive 5,165 fans.

But why is women’s football being played now, and why at this particular time? To put it simply, they have encountered a space constraint, as 5,000 participants are required to share six pitches, which has hindered their progress. “We reside in the most densely populated region of Copenhagen,” Lauesen asserts. “That is one of the reasons we have not acted more quickly to establish a women’s team.” We initiated girls’ football seven years ago and are currently at the under-14 age level, progressing one year each year to implement it. Therefore, we resolved to seek out a parent club that was fundamentally distinct.

In the interim, the demographic of the audience at their men’s events is evolving. “We have observed a significant increase in the number of female spectators, from 15% to 25%, since Euro 2020, which took place in 2021,” Lauesen reports. “The waiting list for season tickets is experiencing a greater increase in demand due to the fact that they are currently unavailable.” Thus, the waiting list for the ultras is nearly evenly split between males and girls. He also mentions that it could take a generation to accommodate the increasing number of female supporters at men’s stadiums.

A business- and commercial-focused approach is essential for the introduction of their women’s team. “We are a club that is relatively new.” Despite the fact that one of our parent organisations is nearly 150 years old, we are only 32 years old. Our admirers comprehend that we have achieved this status not as a result of a rich history, but rather as a result of our commendable business acumen, as we are currently participating in the Champions League’s round of 16. We are not owned by Danish affluent individuals; however, we have established a sustainable business model and have earned our own money. Additionally, the supporters regard this as an essential principle.

“We do not even compare our media rights to those in the United Kingdom.” However, even when we compare the media rights in Holland, Belgium, Scotland, and Portugal, they are receiving two to three times the amount we are receiving. Nevertheless, we anticipate performing at the same level as teams like Celtic and PSV. Therefore, it is imperative that we are capable of utilising our business model at a faster pace than other organisations. That is not the reason we are forming a women’s team; rather, it is the method by which we intend to establish a women’s team.

This implies that Copenhagen is enquiring with their primary stakeholders about the feasibility of establishing a distinct commitment to women’s football. Simultaneously, they are not necessarily interested in uniformising the women’s team or offering identical merchandise; these items must align with the demographics of the players and supporters.

Lauesen asserts that a club cannot produce a women’s shirt that is identical to the men’s shirt, with a tyre company’s logo on the chest, for instance, and anticipate that a young adolescent girl will wear it the following day. “That is naive from a brand perspective.”

The strategy has proven to be highly effective: within two weeks of the women’s shirt’s release during Copenhagen fashion week, they had “sold more than the bottom team in the top-tier men’s league.”

Commercially, they possess an unblemished record; however, it is exceedingly challenging to assume a team and elevate them to the peak of the league. In the absence of an academy, certain players are participating in training sessions with Copenhagen’s boys’ teams to assist in the development pipeline.”We are committed to providing them with the highest quality football education possible, and we are optimistic that they will progress with the project. Consequently, we anticipate that in five years, we will have developed homegrown football players who have received the best possible education,” Steele states.

This is also benefiting their sons. “If you are a gifted boy, you attend school with the boys, have male teachers and trainers, and observe only males and females from the age of approximately 12.” At FC Copenhagen, we are committed to the development of the complete individual. I am of the firm conviction that this necessitates the boys’ exposure to female athletes and trainers.

The women’s team is comprised of a balanced combination of new players and Damsø players; however, the latter were not difficult to convince.

Steele acknowledges that there is certainly some anxiety regarding the club’s future. “Will we simply enter and cause havoc?” We engaged in numerous discussions regarding proper methods for accomplishing this. At the initial meeting with the players, they were, of course, all extremely anxious about the team that had been established over the course of several years. However, one player stood up and stated, “We must recognise that this is not about us; it is about all the girls in Copenhagen, and it is the future of football. This has a greater potential than just us.”

“I believe that was a very well-articulated statement, and it is also consistent with my experiences within the club since my arrival: that they are aware that the potential of this team is far greater than what is currently occurring on the pitch.”