The WSL has been well hyped this year as the Euros buzz continues and the league looks to capitalize not only on the success of the England national team, but also on the viewing figures and attendance records set throughout the tournament.
In the final, in which England beat Germany 2–1 after extra time, a record crowd of 87,192 fans filled Wembley Stadium, bringing the tournament total to 574,875, an average per game of 18,544.
At home, 17.4 million people watched the Lionesses win on television, making it the most watched women’s football game on UK television.
So there were high hopes for the WSL this year, especially with so many of our Lionesses playing in our league.
However, it came as a blow when the first weekend was postponed following the Queen’s passing, as several teams were due to play in the men’s stadiums which would have seen much higher attendance.
The delay in the start of the season meant a loss of momentum for most clubs and although average attendance figures were up from last season, it was not the big boost that many had hoped for.
The largest crowd was at Aston Villa vs Manchester City, which was played at Villa Park, where 6,785 fans attended. Their average attendance last season was 1,639, but since the game was held in the largest stadium, some reporters had predicted a much higher attendance than they got.
There were 5,315 fans at Leigh Sports Village to see Manchester United beat Reading 4–0 with three open stands instead of the usual two. This was a record for United at this ground and significantly higher than their average last season of 3567, the highest in the league.
Ticket sales for the game were over 7,000, so the club had planned for a slightly higher turnout and put in place the infrastructures to manage it well, showing that the WSL is equipped and well poised for the growth it so desperately desires.
At Prenton Park, newly promoted Liverpool hosted champions Chelsea and defeated them in perhaps the biggest shock of the weekend and was watched by 3,006 fans, the highest attendance ever at Prenton Park.
Elsewhere, however, attendance was low for West Ham vs Everton with just 1,118 in attendance, more than 300 below their average.
These are early days in the WSL and only time will tell over the course of the season just how big of a wave the European Championship has created. But early indications suggest that some teams have benefited greatly from the European Championship effect, most notably United, while others have seen little or no improvement in attendance following the success of the European Championship.
The trick for teams like United, who have welcomed their record crowd, and Liverpool, who have seen a boost, will be finding a way to retain these new fans.
Every year clubs play a game in their men’s stadiums and we see a boost to that game, for example United hosted 20,000 fans at Old Trafford when they beat Everton, but the following game week less than 2,000 returned to Leigh.
The WSL needs to crack the secret of how to bring fans back to their hometowns and we’re waiting to see if the European Championship is the big event the league needed to boost numbers and wake up people in the world of women’s football. .
