Arsenal broke the Super League Women’s attendance record on Saturday. A reported total of 47,367 fans packed the Emirates Stadium to watch the Gunners take on bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The attendance record was 20% higher than the previous record set in 2019 and also involved the two North London teams.
Arsenal breaks Super League Women’s attendance record
The Gunners had been hoping to break this record for some time. Three weeks ago, Arsenal announced that 38,000 tickets had already been sold for the match. This number alone would have broken the previous record. However, Arsenal sold nearly 10,000 more tickets. The team’s coach, Joan Eidevall, was excited by the news.
“It’s been amazing to see the demand for tickets to the North London Derby,” said Eidevall. “You can really feel the excitement around the game right now, so it’s amazing to see that translate into record attendance. Now it’s our job to return that excitement with a strong performance in this pivotal matchup for our fans.”
Perform they did. Arsenal thrashed Spurs in front of the Emirates crowd on the day 4-0. Star forwards Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema combined for three goals, while Brazil’s Rafaelle Souza finished off the unlucky Spurs team.
Center back Leah Williamson previously asked fans to support more WSL games this summer. The England international helped bring home the Euro 2022 trophy in July. This tournament also set multiple attendance records throughout the month. “We’ve got everyone together,” Williamson proclaimed. “We have people at the games. We want them to come to the Women’s Super League; the legacy of this team will be the beginning of the journey.”
Arsenal triumph in the derby
Arsenal commercial director Juliet Slot fully agreed with Williamson’s message. “We have followed Leah’s example,” Slot said. “We thought: ‘OK, come on, we too, as a club, have to tell people that we want them to come.'”
BETH MEAD ON THE BIG STAGE! ???? pic.twitter.com/I43nzs83GU
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) September 24, 2022
“Part of the reason they brought me to Arsenal is that I’m used to selling tickets,” Slot continued. “We’ve invested in those other areas and the final piece of the puzzle was I was going back and forth: ‘This is how we can market it.’ Because ultimately, we want it to be sustainable. We want our women’s teams to make a profit and fill the stadiums.”
Slot strategies seem to be working. Attendance at the team’s opening game against Chelsea last season was reportedly 8,705.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/Nicolas Cesar
