Attendances in the Women’s Super League have not experienced the hoped-for surge following England’s extraordinary win in the European Championship.
Average attendances are up by just under 3% to 6,878, while the median attendance has seen an increase of 3.7% to 3,238. It means the WSL is the fourth most popular football league in the country in terms of average attendance per game, attracting more fans per game than League Two, but fewer than League One.
The trend is in contrast to 2022, when attendances increased by more than 180% after England lifted the trophy at Wembley. However, the league was in a far less popular position prior to that win with an average attendance of just 1,922 in 2021-22.
Despite the overall figures showing little change, there has been quite a wide range of movement for individual teams in the league.
Everton have been the big winners, following their permanent move to Goodison Park from Walton Hall Park. Their attendances are up by 300%, from an average of 1,956 last season to 7,996 this season. That average was boosted by hosting a match against Manchester United at the club’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium, which attracted more than 18,000 fans.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have also experienced increases in attendance at their regular grounds – Leigh Sports Village and Brisbane Road respectively – although their overall average is down because neither team has hosted a match at their main stadium in the league yet.
Despite the awkward location of Leigh Sports Village, United’s attendance there is up 18% to 5,382. Tottenham’s decision to host the North London derby at Brisbane Road, due to the boxing match between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, has helped push their average attendance at the ground up by more than 50% to 2,651.
The overall average is being heavily boosted by Arsenal, who are for the first time playing all 11 of their WSL matches at the Emirates. Despite seeing a decline of 3.5% at the ground this season, the average attendance of 36,682 is still bigger than eight Premier League clubs. The club continue to be global leaders for attendances in the women’s game and without their fans, the league average would be considerably lower.
Chelsea have been particularly disappointing, with their WSL Stamford Bridge audiences halving. So far they have played matches against Manchester City and London City Lionesses at the ground, but have been unable to capitalise on England stars playing for them. They are yet to break 15,000 at Stamford Bridge this season. Chelsea have long struggled to keep up with Arsenal’s excellent ticket sales despite their dominance of the league in terms of footballing success, but the significant decline for their showpiece fixtures is an issue.
There has been concern that this season’s use of Sunday lunchtime kick-offs is affecting attendances. The average attendance for Sunday midday is 3,707, far below the overall average.
The slot has been identified by Sky Sports for its coverage with some teams having all their home games this season played at that time, including Brighton, Aston Villa and London City Lionesses.
However, television audiences have been poor, with Arsenal’s recent match against Chelsea, normally one of the most popular of the season, attracting only 71,000 viewers on Sky. The game was played at Saturday lunchtime and clashed with a Tottenham men’s game against Manchester United, which also raised safety concerns for fans. The equivalent fixture last season was watched by almost three-quarters of a million fans, but it was broadcast on the BBC during a men’s international break.
It has been hard for the WSL to find a kick-off time that works for match-going fans and television audiences. The 6.45pm Sunday slot has been scrapped this season due to its unpopularity with fans but it was extremely successful for Sky figures.
The league is continuing to explore the possibility of whether the 3pm blackout could be lifted for women’s football.
Photograph by Naomi Baker – WSL/WSL Football via Getty Images