‘Historic day for women’s football’ – but was Champions Cup a success?

On Sunday, Arsenal became the first team to lift Fifa’s Women’s Champions Cup.

The event brought together teams from six continents, with the Gunners qualifying through their Champions League success last summer.

In beating South American heavyweights Corinthians 3-2 in a thrilling final, they added another piece of silverware to their bulging trophy cabinet.

But was this “a historic day for women’s football”, as Fifa president Gianni Infantino declared afterwards.

Arsenal’s historic dominance of the domestic game may have been overhauled by Chelsea, but last season they succeeded where their London rivals have fallen short to become the first English side to taste European success.

That earned them their spot in this tournament alongside the champions of North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia.

Before it started, boss Renee Slegers believed the tournament could only be positive for the women’s game.

“It’s very good that there are different competitions,” she said. “If you look at how quickly women’s football has grown and the legacy that’s already there, it’s fantastic.

“I’m really excited about the Champions Cup and I think that adds an extra layer.”

With a record prize pot for a women’s football tournament of £1.7m on the line, Arsenal also received a bye into the semi-finals where they played AS FAR Rabat of Morocco – and duly thrashed them 6-0.

While Slegers made six changes for that game, Sunday’s selection bore only one difference from the XI that beat Chelsea in the Women’s Super League last weekend – the return of £1m forward Olivia Smith from suspension.

Silverware was on the line and Arsenal were hungry.

That was borne out in their display and Slegers needed every inch of her stacked subs bench to see off opponents that gave as good as they got.

In the torrential rain, no-one could doubt the players’ appetite for this competition, which was reflected by their reaction on social media.

“World champions – what an incredible feeling,” wrote goalscorer Smith on Instagram. “A moment I’ll never forget.”

It was a strange quirk that Arsenal could crown themselves world champions only a few hours after Manchester City established an 11-point lead at the top of the WSL.

Such is the modern football calendar, but after Andree Jeglertz’s side dismantled six-time champions Chelsea 5-1 at Etihad Stadium, it was hard to argue City are not currently English football’s best side.

Arsenal can eat into that gap when they host them on Sunday, but the nature of the league leaders’ advantage does question the legitimacy of any ‘world champions’ tag.

Similarly, the scheduling of the Women’s Champions Cup has certainly favoured Arsenal.

First of all, Slegers’ side are in the middle of their domestic season, sharp and battle-ready. Contrast that with opponents Corinthians, whose only competitive game since September was last Wednesday’s semi-final against Gotham.

With the tournament held in London, Arsenal also had no travel logistics to combat, could still use their own training facilities and play the final in their own stadium.

Then there was the problem of defining a global winner from a tournament that featured only six teams – and three of them sailing straight into the semi-finals.

The semi-finals were played at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium before finals day at Emirates Stadium hosted the third-placed play-off and showpiece event.

In total, more than 46,000 supporters took in the four games, with a crowd of 25,031 watching Arsenal in the final.

That was about 11,000 down on the Gunners’ average attendance, albeit the unusual kick-off time of 18:00 should be considered.

It was also comfortably more than any other club has achieved this season, bar Chelsea who had 30,545 through the gate for the Arsenal game 10 days ago.

The Champions Cup final figure was bolstered by the tremendous travelling support for Corinthians, who lit up Emirates Stadium with their noise and enthusiasm.

Passion in Brazil for this tournament can be highlighted – Fifa figures show more than one million tuned in from South America to their live stream, even at the same time as Corinthians’ male team were playing Flamengo.

Contributors to BBC Sport were mixed in their reflections, with many praising Arsenal’s achievement while others questioned its legitimacy:

Perhaps the biggest achievement was bringing together teams from across the world, showcasing the breadth of the women’s game and giving a stage to celebrate its growth.

Whatever the success or otherwise, fans better get used to it.