England beat Germany in the final of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 at a packed Wembley Stadium, which boasted a bumper crowd of 87,192.
The attendance set a record across the men’s and women’s edition of the tournament, and continued to have a positive impact on attendances across women’s sport.
Kelly Simmons, the director of the women’s professional game, also noted that average attendances in the Women’s Champions had also increased by 85%.
Simmons was speaking to the BBC ahead of the upcoming final round of WSL fixtures before the winter break, and said: “The Lionesses’ victory propelled the women’s game in this country to new levels. It was important for us to capture and capitalise on that momentum.”
She added: “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% on this time last year.”
Over 30,000 fans recently packed out Old Trafford to watch Manchester United Women take on Aston Villa Women, a record for the club.
The current record attendance for a WSL match was set at Emirates Stadium, where 47,367 watched Arsenal beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 in September.