Total attendance at this summer’s Women’s Euro in England is expected to comfortably exceed the levels at Euro 2017 in Holland, according to a new report.
Over 700,000 tickets are available for the finals and a pre-tournament impact report compiled by Ernst & Young projects a range between 435,000 and 525,000 will be sold.
Even the lowest of those figures would shatter the 2017 total of 240,055 fans.
The EY report also predicts £54million of economic activity across the nine host cities.
Legacy groups in those host cities are working to provide 500,000 new opportunities for women and girls to participate in grassroots football.
Football Association quarterly research from March of last year found 57 per cent of girls aged between five and 13 currently play football and that the vast majority of girls who did not would like to do so.
Sport England’s 2021 Active Lives survey found just 0.7 per cent of women aged 16 and over played some form of football regularly compared to 5.2 per cent of men, highlighting the potential for growth.
Baroness Sue Campbell, a Women’s Euro board member and director of women’s football at the FA, said: “With less than 50 days to go until the tournament gets under way, this report highlights what we can achieve with a continued focus on capitalising on the opportunities offered by the Women’s Euro and importantly how we can measure our success.
“Our aim is twofold – to deliver a record-breaking tournament and to leave a tangible legacy to grow the women’s game.
“By inspiring fans at home and abroad, and by committing to provide playing opportunities to girls in every school and club across the country, I am confident we can deliver on both aims.”
