Arsenal has broken the Women’s Super League (WSL) attendance record during a 3-1 win over Manchester United.
The club announced that 60,160 tickets had been sold, smashing the previous record of 59,042, which was also recorded by Arsenal in a win over Chelsea at the Emirates on 10 December.
It was also announced that the match was a sellout, maximising capacity of Emirates, the home of Arsenal men’s team, which holds more than x15 the amount of supporters than the women’s usual home of Meadow Park, which has a capacity of 4,500.
The Gunners decided to stage six of their 11 home league matches during the 2023/24 campaign at the Emirates, after the team’s manager, Jonas Eidevall, said it was a “realistic vision” for the women’s team to play all of their home matches at the 60,000-plus capacity stadium in the near future, earlier this year.
Arsenal now holds four of the top five WSL attendance records. In addition, the team also recorded an attendance of 60,063 in a Champions League semi-final match against VfL Wolfsburg Ladies, a record crowd for a women’s club game in England, other than FA Cup finals.
However, the best-attended women’s football match in the UK remains the Euro 2022 final when 87,192 fans were in attendance at Wembley Stadium.
It has already been an exceptional year for women’s football, as the sport continues to grow around the world, leading to questions about the need for further investments in the sport.
Saudi Arabia announced it will host the 2024 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women’s Championship later this month, making history with the team’s first ever appearance in the competition and first-ever competitive game in the history of Saudi Arabian Women’s football.
Elsewhere, as part of its Money League report, Deloitte revealed a 61% year-on-year growth in women’s football revenue, which has caught the attention of several brands, leading to sponsorship opportunities such as West Ham United’s deal with WOW Hydrate.
