Attendances in the Women’s Super League are up 200 per cent from last year on the back of a memorable Euro 2022.
The Lionesses lifted the European Championship at Wembley last summer in one of the sporting moments of the year and it has led to more fans than ever before flocking to the domestic game. The WSL, the top division in the women's football pyramid has seen attendances skyrocket with a new generation of supporters wanting to see Leah Williamson, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead and England's other summer heroes in action, as well as international stars such as Sam Kerr, Ona Batlle and Vivianne Miedema.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have all played at their larger men's team stadiums this season to huge crowds. But the boom goes beyond the traditionally larger clubs, with attendances also up 85 per cent in England's second tier Women's Championship.
Kelly Simmons, the director of the women’s professional game, has hailed a record-breaking first half of the season ahead of this weekend’s final round of fixtures before the winter break.
“Coming into the 2022/23 season, we knew that we had an extraordinary opportunity to introduce the Barclays Women’s Super League and the Barclays Women’s Championship to new audiences,” said Simmons.
“The Lionesses’ victory propelled the women’s game in this country to new levels, and it was important for us to capture and capitalise on that momentum.
“It has often been said that a successful women’s England team will help generate interest in the domestic game. This is certainly true, and I have been really overwhelmed by the response we have seen from fans – new and old – in the first half of the season.
“I am delighted to reveal that since the season commenced, we have seen almost 300,000 spectators attend matches across the Barclays Women’s Super League. This just highlights how much appetite there is for world-class women’s league football.
“We are currently averaging almost 6,000 fans a week in the Barclays Women’s Super League as we go into the final league fixtures of 2022 – which is up over 200 per cent on this time last year.
“The Barclays Women’s Championship is also performing brilliantly, with the average attendance up over 85 per cent on this time last year.”
The highest attendance was an individual club record when Arsenal and Tottenham played in front of 47,367 fans at Emirates Stadium in September. The Gunners returned to the Emirates for a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United last month to a 40,064 crowd and are playing all Champions League group stage matches at the home of the club.
The average attendance for this season will get a further boost this weekend with more top flight matches in larger stadia. Sunday sees the Manchester derby, City against United, at The Etihad, as well as Aston Villa hosting Arsenal at Villa Park.
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