Lia Walti Returns to WSL: A Journey of Value and Professionalism

Lia Walti did not leave Juventus for a bigger contract or a new city. She left because, in her words, she “missed the feeling of being valued as a footballer”.

After just one season in Italy, the Switzerland captain has come back to the Women's Super League, signing for Brighton and speaking with a bluntness that cuts through the usual politeness around the women’s game in Europe.

‘The standard is not comparable’

Walti spent seven years at Arsenal, becoming one of the WSL’s most reliable midfielders and lifting four major trophies, including the Champions League and league title. She lived the rise of English women’s football from the inside: better pitches, proper structures, packed grounds, real noise.

So when she moved to Juventus last summer in search of a fresh challenge, she knew what a high-performance environment looked like. That made the contrast hit even harder.

"It's such a huge difference. It's always hard to speak about it. I don't want to speak too negatively about the Italian league, that is not my aim," she told BBC Sport. "It's more that it's just the reality that football in England, in the WSL, has a standard which is not comparable with any other league."

The word she keeps coming back to is “professionalism”. Not in theory. In the day-to-day.

"It's a bit sad and disappointing to see a lot of girls abroad do not have the same opportunities or standards in terms of being in professional environments."

Empty stands, missing culture

Walti quickly realised that what she had grown used to in England – the crowds, the culture, the sense of occasion – was not a given elsewhere.

She missed it.

"I missed the feeling of being valued as a footballer, feeling like we're getting the full support we needed," she said.

"We have good structures, good fields where we can play our games. We had absolutely no fan culture - not just at Juve - in general in Italy.

"When you have been part of that growth in England, with the fan cultures, the full stadiums - even stadiums that are really small, they are exciting to play in.

"In Italy, it was just [empty]. Every game felt a bit like that. I missed the feeling I had before when I was playing football."

For a player who has captained her country, played more than 180 times for Arsenal and gone past 100 caps for Switzerland, those empty seats were not just a cosmetic problem. They cut to the core of why she plays.

‘You have to bring the game to the people’

Walti belongs to a generation that has pushed the women’s game forward in England and across Europe. She has seen what happens when a league is backed, marketed and treated as a serious product.

Her view is simple: if you want people to care, you have to put the game in front of them.

"I think you have to bring the game to the people. You kind of have to force people to watch it. I felt that that's how it maybe started in England," she said.

"In Italy, and in a lot of other countries, I think they have bad coverage. It's not shown [on TV] at all, or if it's shown, from where they film it, is really poor.

"It affects the way you watch a game. You don't really see the speed, the tactics or anything and you don't enjoy watching the game.

"In England, in the big stadiums, you can have great camera angles. I think people enjoy watching it more."

For her, poor broadcasts are not a side issue. They shape how the sport is perceived and whether new fans stick around.

The basics still missing

Coverage is only one part of a wider problem Walti sees across women’s football. The foundations, she argues, are still shaky in too many places.

"The biggest lacking starts with pitch quality. In a lot of countries, you play either on the worst artificial pitches or the worst natural grasses," she said.

"Even if a Premier League team were to play there, it would probably look rubbish because it's just not possible to play nice football on it.

"All of the other leagues, where do you even start? It's so hard. We have the same [issues] in Switzerland.

"You have to do the first step - invest money for all those things before you get something back. I think a lot of countries don't have that money or patience."

Walti speaks with the perspective of someone who remembers when things were far from glamorous in England too.

"We used to not have good conditions. It wasn't professional. Our first salaries were not enough to live from," she said.

"Now, seeing the growth in England and being with players who try to push the game in their own countries, it makes you feel frustrated to still see the reality.

"You forget sometimes, when you're in your own bubble, that this is not the norm. You're just one of the lucky ones who can experience it.

"A lot of talent in women's football gets lost because they are in bad environments where nobody sees them or they don't have the chance to reach their potential.

"I try to make an impact and I think that was really hard in Italy because I felt like when we spoke up, nothing happened, and that was frustrating."

Why Brighton?

When the time came to decide her future, with a year left on her Juventus deal, Walti knew what she wanted. Or perhaps more accurately, what she no longer wanted.

"After that experience in Italy, I knew a bit more about what I probably wanted, or didn't want," she said.

Brighton had already caught her eye while she was at Arsenal. She had watched from within the league as the south coast club quietly invested and built.

"I had a pretty big trust in Brighton before we had the conversations because I had been in the league and seen what the club was doing.

"I've heard from other players about the club investing a lot and I only heard really positive things. There is no better feedback than from other players.

"Once I started to have the first moments with the club, it proved to me that this is the right place - that cares about women's football, that invests in women's football, and who has the right people in place."

Brighton’s commitment is not just talk. In 2021, the women’s team moved into upgraded facilities at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre after an £8.5m investment. In April, the club unveiled plans for Europe’s first purpose-built women’s football stadium, a £75-80m project that would be a landmark for the game.

On the pitch, they reached the Women’s FA Cup final for the first time in May and, under head coach Dario Vidosic, have been open about their ambition to break into the WSL’s top three.

That is the environment Walti has chosen at 33, with her peak years of experience behind her and still enough in her legs to shape games.

A player who has lived both extremes of the professional spectrum has nailed her colours to a club that says it wants to be at the sharp end of the women’s game. The question now is whether the rest of Europe is willing – or able – to follow that lead.