Last season, Everton moved their women's team from Walton Hall Park to Goodison Park after the men's team vacated their famous home for the newly-built Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The club has had to adapt an existing men's ground for its female team and their fans, with Director of Women’s Football Operations, Catherine Wright, said: "It’s a longer-term project, but we identified some critical areas that we thought would be the most impactful for the first season. We really prioritised the player spaces and the branding around the stadiums. 

"In terms of branding, instantly when people walk in, it will look and felt different to what it had been before. We rebranded within the colour palette of the club using blue and pink with more prominence of the pink than you have with the men's branding.

"We also have ‘seat curls’ that cover some of the empty seats because we had to recognise where we were with attendances. We didn't want it to feel like we were playing in an empty stadium - that was important to the players.

"So the the lower tiers on three side are open and then the tiers above that and on the fourth side have been covered in branded seat curls.

"We also spoke with our players and asked what was important to them in the tunnel areas and the player spaces.

"One of the big things was having a space for their family and friends so we identified a lounge within Goodison and we changed that to be called 'the Mo Marley Lounge', so our player families have somewhere to go before the match and somewhere to wait after.

"In the tunnel areas and dressing room, we had some simple, quick wins - removing urinals for instance. We also got all new showers to make them a bit nicer.

"We put in additional storage so every seat unit has a name placard for each player so it feels more personal.

"We put in cupboards so they have places to store jewellery and phones and we moved hooks down because women are shorter than men generally.

"One of the key things for them too was mirrors because when they leave that dressing room, they're on a world stage and it's important for them to look their best.

"We also put baby changes in there so if there's any players with babies that might need to be in the tunnel area, for example if a player is still breastfeeding, a partner or whoever might bring the child and wait in that area for them.

"We had put in a new anti-doping section. In the men's game, we rarely used the two referee changing rooms so often, the second referee changing room was used for anti-doping.

"We didn't have that option because virtually every week, we've got mixed referees so both of those rooms are in use.

"Then the next phase will be more around fan areas and fan seating.

"Our attendances are growing, but they're still quite modest so we've got time to look at the wider changes around the stadium that will support that growth.

"We have done a lot of things already like our fan zone, for instance. We recognised that our fans are very different to the make-up of men's fans, so we've moved our fan zones into the concourses because they're bigger spaces where people can keep dry.

"That's quite important when you've got young children because you don't want them getting wet and then sat outside for an hour and a half.

"But increasing the numbers of baby changes and female toilet ratios are among the area we need to address."

On the pitch, Everton did not win at their new ground until February, beating Aston Villa 2-1, but did win their first home game at Goodison in the 2026/27 campaign against Charlton. Overall, they have warned 12 WSL points at the ground since the start of last season.

Everton have also had a change in manager - Scott Phelan replacing Brian Sorensen on an interim basis in February - which ironically came after that first home victory - before taking the role full time.

Reflecting on that, Toffees goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan said: "We were desperate to get our first win at Goodison because we know how amazing it is to be able to play at the stadium, but I don't think it's anything to do with being at Goodison. There’s other factors.

"We're coming into each game wanting to win and that took a little bit longer than we had anticipated or wanted. We want to make it our home and a fortress so it's nice to now have those wins under the belt and continue to look forward."

Brosnan also reflected on the changes made at Goodison Park to make it feel like home for the women's team.

She added: "At Walton Hall Park, the pitch was great but we didn't have as much room, so it's been amazing in terms of the space for our pre-match, in the changing room and the medical and physio facilities as well.

"That's been a big difference and makes the preparations for the game a lot easier.

"They were good with us in terms of asking us specifics of what we wanted in the changing room, even if it's something small like mirrors, it's just making us the most comfortable and confident going into the games. 

"We played a lot of the derbies at Goodison Park [before moving there] and few games throughout the season. It did already feel like home and you're used to the pitch and the things it has to offer. It definitely made the transition easier.

"It's also really cool when you're walking out and you can see all the banners [from the fans] because there's a lot more space. In terms of atmosphere, having fans behind both goals and on that one side as well, it's really exciting."