Talk to Continental Tyres (main sponsors of the FA Women's Super League) about what makes a great family day out - £200 Love2shop voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

For the past few years, Continental Tyres have been an Official Sponsor of The FA Women's Super League (WSL). To promote the WSL as a great family day out this summer they've asked us to find out what Mumsnetters believe make the best family days out.

Here's what they say: "With the summer holidays now in full swing it is always hard to think of what to do that will engage the whole family. At a WSL match there are loads of family friendly activities around the matches making it a great day out at the weekend or after school activity on a week day for the entire family. At selected matches across England, there are free interactive fan zones run in association with Continental Tyres allowing everyone to enjoy family friendly activities from testing their skills on a speed goal to face painting and meeting the stars of the WSL for themselves. Entry to matches is also well below what you'd expect to pay to see top class football - with many matches being £6 for adults and £3 for concessions."

Have you and your family ever been to watch a WSL or women's football match? If so, please tell us all about it. Did your DCs enjoy it? Did you take part in any of the family friendly activities?

If not, please share your thoughts on great family days out. Would you go to a Women's Super League Match with your family? Why? Why not? What activities would you like to see at these match days? How do you keep the LOs entertained on day trips out?

Please share your thoughts on this thread. Everyone who adds a comment to the thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

[bumps2babies]

I have never been to a WSL or women's football match but I would go to one especially as my partner is a keen football fan and supports/enjoys women's football. I love the sound of the free interactive fan zones and I know my son would love the face painting and my other half would love to test his skills on a speed goal. I also like the sound of the prices to see these matches are a lots less than top class football and very affordable for families.

[nextphase]

I remember being taken to a (1st division) football match one boxing day. It was cold and noisy. Can't imagine taking a 2 and 4 year old there.
Wouldn't know where to look for womens football - and only see it on the TV at Olympic time.

Think mine are too small to sit through 90 mins of football. If you wanted to encourage smaller kids, think you'd need a series of mini matches.

Good days out - space to run around, not too far away, not too much "Mummy can I do XYZ" that involves £££ - so once your in, its all included except food and drink.

Worth thinking about when they are older.

[Greensmurf1]

We enjoyed the women's football finals at the Olympics but I dont know anything about wsl. Now that we have a dd less than 1 year old, family days out are strolls in the park or historic sites.

[Twilly84]

I have only ever been to male football matches and would love to take my family to a WSL match, my eldest daughter especially would love it :) I can imagine she would find it inspiring. I have never thought about it as a family day out before.
Our favourite days out don't involve too much travel and have to be truly family friendly! We are a fairly large bunch of happy and loud free spirits!!

[KateOxford]

I haven't seen any women's football matches advertised but if this was local to me I would definitely consider it. Good days out for us are places with plenty of outside space for 3 year old son to run around, good cafe with plenty of space between tables for buggy for baby, healthy and reasonably priced fruit/ picnic areas, easy parking, toilets and baby changing. We often go to national trust places as they are very family friendly.

[strandednomore]

We took my two daughters to the England vs Cameroon match at the Olympics in Cardiff last year. They were 4 and 6 at the time. We also took my parents, who used to live in Cameroon so had divided loyalties.

Although I was sceptical, I am so glad we went. Apart from the fact it was the only Olympic tickets we could get, it was such a fun event. And, above everything else, the girls now believe that football is a game for women as well as men - my older daughter took it up at after-school club with huge gusto last year and can beat all the boys in her class at dribbling.

However, I realise that this won't last. Every time I turn on the sports news it is dominated by men's sport, usually football. I realise the Women's world cup was on recently, but relegated to BBC Three and barely mentioned amongst the male foaming at the mouth excitement about transfers and change of managers.

I would also add that although we enjoyed our day at the Olympics, it certainly wasn't a very family friendly facility. It is obviously geared towards male rugby matches and things like trying to buy reasonably priced, child-friendly food was nigh on impossible.

So! A good day out should be affordable, fun, have somewhere to buy cheap, healthy(ish) child-friendly food, not too crowded, perhaps the chance to try something new. For our family, something active is also good and definitely something we can do as a family and all enjoy. Kayaking down a river or something similar comes to mind.

[Shnook]

I've never been to a women's football match but it definitely sounds a good idea as my 3yr old DD goes to football club and loves it.

Most important thing for a good day out - reasonably priced; decent food for the whole family - no chicken nuggets, choc bars and crisps thanks; nice, clean toilet facilities - nothing worse than taking your little ones into a smelly, dirty toilet.

Although I think my DD might enjoy a football match, two halves of 45mins would be quite a long time in terms of her attention span - how about some kind of sticker book (toddlers LOVE stickers!) to complete during the match every time a goal is scored/flag goes up/whistle is blown etc?

[Athers]

We are at football a lot but haven't been to a women's match. We have watched them on telly though my 7 year old son is sports mad. A good day out for use needs to be well priced and were my kids both very lively and noisy can run about.

[Boaty]

I play ladies football and I'm a middle aged woman!!!!! I've been playing less than 2 years. There weren't the teams when I was young so I joined a team aged 45 and I play in the local league for my team and have been made welcome by coaches and fellow players alike! I'm having a brilliant time!!
I haven't been to a WSL match yet but would love to.
I would love to see the profile of womens' football to increase!

[chrismse]

I have never been to a womens football game but would like to. My teenage neice is in a county ladies foootball team and loves it. Sport is an excellent way for teenage girls to forget about being too thin and concentrate on being healthy.

[katiewalters]

i would go to a womens super league match, as never been before and i like to try out new things. activities would be fun things for the kids like face painting, bouncing castles, etc. when we got on daytrips, it will be places where there are lots of things to do, to keep the kids entertained for a while.

[VirtuallyThere]

I've never been to a womans football match, only a male one, and I would only take my DS (6) when older.

For a good day out something to see and a nice cafe selling fresh quality food that isn't too pricey.

[FannyPriceless]

Never been to a football match, and I think my 3 and 5 year old are simply too young to sit through something like this, even if we were interested.

A good day out has a lot to do with logistics when your kids are this age. Long walks to and from car parks (Blenheim Palace, I'm looking at you!) can really ruin a day, no matter how good the attraction. An ideal day out has space to run around and see exciting new things, nice places to sit and have a picnic / cafe, easy parking and short distances or a shuttle, and lots of easy access loos.

[lottietiger]

Have you and your family ever been to watch a WSL or women's football match? No we have never been and to be honest i wouldnt know where to start looking. I have not seen any advertised locally but this has prompted me to have a look.
Would you go to a Women's Super League Match with your family? Yes, i would love to go, we are a sporty family and yet i would be reticent to take my son to a large london match until he is older, the WSL would be a great start to live matches.
What activities would you like to see at these match days? It would be great if they could have a mini match at half time for toddlers and prizes to be a mascot.
How do you keep the LOs entertained on day trips out? mainly keeping active, doing & seeing things wether it be walking or visiting zos etc. Keeping my son inteested is easy if we dont sit down too long!

[Letitsnow9]

I've never been to a football match but think the most important thing for a good day out is PMA-positive mental attitude, if you all go out expecting a good time then you will have fun no matter what you do

[janekirk]

My daughter plays football, but she isn't interested in watching WSL. Let's be honest it just isn't as exciting as watching a mens or mixed game.

[KnottedAnchorChief]

Have you and your family ever been to watch a WSL or women's football match?
No I've never been to one and dont know of any in my area.

If not, please share your thoughts on great family days out. Would you go to a Women's Super League Match with your family? Why? Why not? What activities would you like to see at these match days? How do you keep the LOs entertained on day trips out?

At the moment I wouldn't as my preschool children probably would be too young just now. We tend to do lots of outdoor activities where they can be free to burn off energy by running about with as little 'structure' as possible, ie beach or park. Entertainment tends to be wide open space, bucket and spade or ball or den making, on all but the most foul weather days! However my eldest is very sporty and is showing signs of being very interested in team sports so its very likely we will encourage him to watch and participate in the future in anything that interests either of them.

I'm not a huge fan of some of the 'football culture' that I see on a regular basis where we live (very near a championship league club ground) and so probably wouldn't want to steer my DC's towards this. It is a shame as i see lots of families going with young children but I dont see it as being a very child friendly or family friendly event any more for a number of reasons. I would definitely attend a WSL event or match if the atmosphere was good, the price of tickets not out of my budget and if it was welcoming to families with young children.

[MJennieJ]

My youngest daughter really enjoys playing girls football in Scotland and it is an exciting and growing sport here. We went to see 2 womens football matches at the Olympics and found them family friendly and very enjoyable.

Good days out
freedom and fun in the countryside
a good cafe
loos
easy parking

[claireuk83]

I actually play women's football and my daughter has seen me play, but I am not of the standard of WSL! Have played with a few players that are. Having said that, I've never taken her to see a WSL match - probably as she does not have a massive interest in football so I want to make sure that interest grows, rather than her being bored of it at 5 years old. The activities in addition to the football would be popular (I didn't realise they did this). She loved it when we went to 'family day' at Watford FC cos the mascot was near her and being stupid the whole way through the match!! :)

[pussinwellyboots]

Have you and your family ever been to watch a WSL or women's football match? If so, please tell us all about it. Did your DCs enjoy it? Did you take part in any of the family friendly activities?

No, none of us have.

If not, please share your thoughts on great family days out. Would you go to a Women's Super League Match with your family? Why? Why not? What activities would you like to see at these match days? How do you keep the LOs entertained on day trips out?

At the moment or 2 boys (3 and 5) are too young to sit still for any length of time, so somewhere with lots of open space to run around and some play equipment together with somewhere nice to eat a picnic and good loos. As the boys get older and are more able to sit still, football matches, cinema etc will become more possible. Some of the activities at WSL matches sound good - but would not by themselves draw us to a match.

[DoubleMum]

I've never been to a football match and we aren't football fans here so a match would not be an obvious family day out for us. We like somewhere interesting to look around, with space for the DCs to run around and perhaps a decent playground, some shelter if the weather is bad, decent toilets, somewhere to picnic and a decent cafe wouldn't go amiss. Without paying a fortune.

[zipzap]

I haven't been to a football match ever - male or female - and I can't see a reason to go really, sorry. I find big crowds of people unpleasant and find standing watching sport boring, especially football. I have noticed our local football team - they have a big stadium near the shops and run a very good local education service including football after school clubs, holiday sessions and so on that ds1 has enjoyed. However I haven't ever spotted any reference to any women's football locally.

DH and ds have been to see a rugby match and are planning to go to another one to the team they support but I really didn't fancy joining them. They are more likely to go and see women's rugby as I have a relative that plays for a good team and hopefully they will go to see her play when her team plays within a reasonable distance.

Things that are important for these sort of days out are being able to park easily, cheaply and safely with a safe walking route to the stadium/pitch, decent food at a reasonable price (always amazed by the push for 'healthy' and 'sporty' etc on the pitch and yet the food available always seems to be grim greasy stodge of undeterminable origin), seating that means that a child can see if they have an adult sitting in front of them - too often it seems that the way the seating has been put in, the rise in height between the rows isn't big enough for somebody small to see over somebody tall sitting in front of them. Also events, food and activities afterwards - not for hours but an hour say, so that there isn't a stampede to get out of the grounds but a more gentle flow of people.

If an event is attracting lots of families then there needs to be a very visible presence of safety staff and well rehearsed procedures of what to do if a child gets separated from their parents or if they can't cope watching the match or if they need a quiet area away from all the hullaballoo.

Finally, if you really are serious about attracting lots of women and kids then there needs to be decent provision of loos for women - so that the queuing time for women is the same as the queuing time for men, rather than having the same number of loos for each. Plus the men's loos need to be family friendly so they can take kids to the loo too - if only the women can take them then that makes the queues even longer at the female loos!

[BooMeowson]

I've never seen a female football match but I think I would like to once to support women's football. Although no football interests me or my DH really!

My idea of a great day out is the local Shopping Centre (The Trafford Centre). Lots of food and things to do, very comfortable to walk around and lots of options for food and just relaxing. They also have breastfeeding rooms which I really love!

[MichelleMumsnet]

Thanks everyone who has added their thoughts to the thread. The thread is now closed and I'm happy to announce ninilegsintheair as the winner, congratulations! We'll be in touch shortly.

[ninilegsintheair]

So chuffed, I never win anything! Thanks again MN and Continental Tyres!