Maddy Cusack urges fans of all clubs to support Sheffield United on Women's Football Weekend and beyond

Four months later, an attendance of 11,137- a club record for a women’s game - cheered Sheffield United on in an FA Women’s Championship fixture against London City.

Maddy Cusack was there for both; in the stands in a working and spectating capacity for the Lionesses game and then on the pitch as a player for the Blades’ match.

She will be back at the Lane on Sunday when United host Lewes in a key Championship fixture in the battle to avoid relegation to the third tier.

The game forms part of the women’s football weekend, the latest instalment of the Football Association’s nationwide initiative to boost interest in the women’s game that was given the ultimate springboard of the Lionesses success at last summer’s European Championships.

Capturing that national pride and redistributing it through the women’s pyramid is an ongoing challenge for the whole of the game and one that the likes of Cusack, a 27-year-old midfielder who recently made her 100th appearance for the Blades, is embracing.

“Domestic to international football is really different,” says Cusack, who as a member of the marketing team at Sheffield United worked as a liaison between the club and UEFA during the four European Championship games held at S2.

“The buzz around England and winning the tournament was huge, and to sell out Bramall Lane for that semi-final and get large crowds for the other games, was brilliant.

“It was really great to see the interest, people going to see women’s football that maybe hadn’t before and their opinions changing.

“There’s definitely been plenty of fans who went to those games now coming to watch us.

“Sheffield United are now getting crowds of over 1,000 each time, our record attendance of 11,000 at the beginning of the season was fantastic building on the back of the Euros, but there’s always room for improvement.

“The attendances probably aren’t anywhere near what the FA want them to be, but they’ve increased a lot over the years, so hopefully they can continue on that upward trajectory.”

To do that, Cusack points to the fact that following women’s football is not as tribal as its men’s counterpart.

There are games at Sheffield FC, Leeds United in a national plate final, Barnsley and York City in the top four divisions this Sunday, but nowhere near as many options as there would be on a day when there is no international break in the men’s calendar.

So Sunday is a chance to get out and support women’s football, regardless of the colour of the shirts.

“There’s not many other Women’s Championship clubs around here, so we’re a big attraction for football fans who want to come and see the women’s game at this level,” says Cusack.

“I was speaking to some of the young lads who came to watch a game recently and some of them were Wednesday fans, so the rivalry goes out of the window, it’s something a little different to the men’s game.

“Hopefully whatever club they support on the men’s side, it’d be nice to think we can attract fans of all clubs in South Yorkshire to come and watch. Women’s football weekend is important, we’re in the international break so it gives fans the chance who maybe watch United on the Saturday, with no game this weekend, to come and support us on the Sunday.

“The last international window was when we got our record attendance, so it’ll be nice to see a few more faces come down to the game and hopefully get a good attendance.”

Sunday’s game will be the 104th of Cusack’s Sheffield United career, one that began four years ago upon a transfer from Leicester City, and has encompassed full-time jobs in the marketing departments of the community foundation and for the last year, the men’s team.

“It’s crazy really,” says Cusack of her 100th appearance for the club, the majority coming in a second tier that gets more professional with each passing year.

“It was a really proud moment for me to reach that landmark for this club. I really love playing and working here.

"I never envisaged I’d get to 100 games. As a player you’re thinking about the next game, you don’t think too far into the future, hopefully now I’ve got over that 100 there’s more to come.”

She added: “I got a little presentation at our last home game, which I wasn’t expecting. I thought I was being pulled over to have my picture taken with one of the mascots, and then I got presented with a shirt with ‘100’ on it. It was a nice moment in front of the home fans.”

Hopefully there’ll be a few more to support Cusack and her Sheffield United team-mates on Sunday.