The Women's Super League (WSL) saw two attendance records broken as more than 70,000 people turned out to watch six matches from England’s top-flight female soccer league on the Football Association's (FA) inaugural Women's Football Weekend.
Four out of six fixtures were played at men's Premier League and Championship grounds, with Arsenal's victory over north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur seen by a record 38,262 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Anfield, hosting its first-ever WSL match, notched a gate of 23,500 supporters for the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton.
At Kingsmeadow, Chelsea's home game against Manchester United scored a record crowd for a WSL game held at a non-Premier League stadium, with a sell-out 4,790 in attendance.
“This is the progression of women's football,” Tottenham co-head coach Karen Hills told the BBC. “If I'm honest, it shouldn't be a moment – it should be something that hopefully becomes the norm.”
The attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium surpassed the 31,213 that watched the Manchester derby on the season's opening weekend – and was more than seven times higher than the record of 5,265 which stood prior to this term.
Big attendances for games at Premier League stadia have seen WSL gates average 4,112 prior to the latest round of games, which is up from under 1,000 last term.
According to BBC Sport, even excluding matches held at the clubs' men's home grounds with this season's WSL crowds are 47 per cent higher than the last campaign. Ahead of Sunday’s games, this campaign's cumulative attendance of 119,248 had already surpassed 2018/19's overall total of 106,960, and that total is set to grow with 16 matchdays now remaining, although it should be noted that the division has gained an additional team.
The Women's Super League (WSL) saw two attendance records broken as more than 70,000 people turned out to watch six matches from England’s top-flight female soccer league on the Football Association's (FA) inaugural Women's Football Weekend.
Four out of six fixtures were played at men's Premier League and Championship grounds, with Arsenal's victory over north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur seen by a record 38,262 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Anfield, hosting its first-ever WSL match, notched a gate of 23,500 supporters for the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton.
At Kingsmeadow, Chelsea's home game against Manchester United scored a record crowd for a WSL game held at a non-Premier League stadium, with a sell-out 4,790 in attendance.
“This is the progression of women's football,” Tottenham co-head coach Karen Hills told the BBC. “If I'm honest, it shouldn't be a moment – it should be something that hopefully becomes the norm.”
The attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium surpassed the 31,213 that watched the Manchester derby on the season's opening weekend – and was more than seven times higher than the record of 5,265 which stood prior to this term.
Big attendances for games at Premier League stadia have seen WSL gates average 4,112 prior to the latest round of games, which is up from under 1,000 last term.
According to BBC Sport, even excluding matches held at the clubs' men's home grounds with this season's WSL crowds are 47 per cent higher than the last campaign. Ahead of Sunday’s games, this campaign's cumulative attendance of 119,248 had already surpassed 2018/19's overall total of 106,960, and that total is set to grow with 16 matchdays now remaining, although it should be noted that the division has gained an additional team.
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