Record attendance growth in top four European Women’s leagues

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UEFA Women's football
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The 2023/24 season marked a milestone for European women’s soccer, with average attendance across the top four leagues rising by 24% compared to the previous year, according to data from sports marketing agency Two Circles. The growth highlights the increasing popularity of women’s soccer across Europe, with notable performances in England and France.

Record Attendance Growth in England and France

England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) recorded an impressive 41% year-over-year (YoY) increase in attendance, leading the charge among the four leagues. This surge was largely attributed to clubs hosting matches in larger venues.

Arsenal emerged as a standout, with an average attendance of 52,000 at the Emirates Stadium compared to just 3,595 at Meadow Park in Boreham Wood. The Gunners also achieved the highest average attendance per game across the leagues, drawing nearly 30,000 fans per match—almost triple the second-highest figure recorded by Manchester United (10,951).

France’s D1 Féminine also posted strong results, with a 38% YoY rise in attendance. This performance underscores the growing enthusiasm for women’s soccer in France, mirroring trends seen across Europe.

Modest Growth in Spain and Germany

Spain’s Liga F saw an 11% YoY increase, while Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga experienced a smaller 6% rise. Despite having the lowest growth rate, the Frauen-Bundesliga achieved significant progress in reducing low-attendance matches. The league saw a 10% decrease in games with fewer than 1,000 fans, complemented by an uptick in matches drawing between 1,000 and 5,000 spectators.

World Cup Impact and Sustained Growth

The impact of hosting major tournaments close to home on women’s soccer is undeniable. The UEFA Women’s Euros held in England not only attracted new commercial partners but also introduced fresh audiences to the sport, boosting the Women’s Super League (WSL).

Interestingly, the 2023/24 season saw slower crowd growth following the FIFA Women’s World Cup than after the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022. Two Circles attributed this to the World Cup’s location in Australia and New Zealand, which presented time zone challenges and geographical distance for European fans.

However, despite the slower rise in Europe, Australia’s A-League Women experienced a remarkable 92% increase in average attendance following the FIFA Women’s World Cup, showcasing the powerful influence of hosting a local tournament on fan engagement.

Visa’s Women’s Football Whitepaper, The Compound Effect in Women’s Football, highlights a key insight: in both England and Australia, the leading driver of new fan interest was simply the pride and excitement of hosting a major tournament. Fans recognised these events as historic milestones, further cementing their connection to the sport.

However, the season bucked trends from previous years by maintaining or increasing average attendance from the first to the second half of the campaign across all four leagues. This consistency stands in contrast to the 2022/23 season, which saw a mid-season drop in attendance for the WSL, Liga F, and Frauen-Bundesliga.

Growing Momentum for Women’s Soccer

The consistent rise in attendance across Europe’s top leagues demonstrates the growing appeal of women’s soccer, driven by a combination of strategic scheduling, larger venues, and increased investment in the sport.

Two Circles highlighted that a major factor driving the increase in attendance is clubs’ use of larger stadiums, often owned by their male counterparts.

However, it’s the investment in training facilities, academies and grassroots football that has made the biggest impact in its current surge of momentum.

With these developments, women’s soccer continues to build a strong foundation for sustained growth in the coming years.

Conclusion

Women’s soccer has a uniqueness to it that is started to become celebrated and enjoyed by the masses.

With the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 held in Switzerland, it gives women’s soccer another chance to grow the game in the host country and nearby regions, whilst also attracting a new casual audience.

If the past four years have told us anything it’s that women’s soccer is only going to grow, with increased broadcast rights, developed academies and CBA’s raising the minimum wage for players, it’s assumed that the quality on the pitch will coincide with its popularity surge.

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Western Strikers Nominated FSA Club of the Month for Equity Outcomes

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Image Credit: Football SA

Western Strikers SC has been nominated for Club of the Month after a period of deliberate structural investment in its female program that is already producing measurable outcomes, and offering a model for how community clubs can drive participation growth through equity-focused planning rather than passive goodwill.

The nomination recognises a program that has moved beyond surface-level commitment to women’s football and into the kind of structural change that determines whether female players actually stay. Improved lighting across training and match pitches, equitable scheduling, extended training hours and dedicated pitch allocation have addressed the practical barriers that clubs often overlook. It’s conditions that tell players, implicitly or otherwise, whether the game was built for them.

 

Leadership as Infrastructure

Central to Western Strikers’ approach is a leadership structure that takes female football seriously as a technical and administrative priority. Women’s Coordinator Michelle Loprete and Technical Director Georgia Iannella, a former Matilda, provide the program with both organisational direction and the kind of visible role modelling that shapes whether younger players can picture themselves progressing through the game.

The presence of a former international player in a technical leadership role at a community level isn’t incidental. It signals to junior players that the pathway from their Friday night training session to elite football is real and navigable, and it gives the club’s coaching staff access to experience and credibility that most community programs cannot offer.

That pipeline is already functioning. Western Strikers’ Under-13 to Under-16 girls teams all qualified for finals in the Youth Premier League this season. Under-15 goalkeeper Sian Schopfer made her debut in the Women’s State League team which is a direct product of a club environment designed to move players upward.

 

The Friday-night model

One of the more quietly significant initiatives at Western Strikers is the scheduling of Friday night women’s matches, with junior girls training beforehand encouraged to stay and watch senior football. The structure is straightforward but its implications are meaningful. Aspiration in sport is not abstract. It’s built through proximity, through watching players a few years older doing what you want to do, in the same kit, at the same club.

The absence of that experience is one of the more consistent reasons girls disengage from football in their mid-teens. When junior female players cannot see where the game goes after their age group, the logical conclusion is that it goes nowhere. Western Strikers’ scheduling decision addresses that directly, at minimal cost, and whose effects are starting to manifest.

 

The Club Changer framework

The club’s participation in Football South Australia’s Club Changer Program has provided a structured framework for identifying and addressing barriers that might otherwise go unexamined. Pitch allocation, training structures and safety conditions are the kinds of issues that accumulate quietly in club environments; not because of deliberate exclusion but because the default systems were built around male participation and have never been comprehensively reviewed.

The Club Changer Program creates accountability for that review. Western Strikers’ ability to project an additional 146 female players over the next three years is a product of planning rather than optimism.

 

Industry implications

Western Strikers’ model matters beyond its own membership. At a time when women’s football in Australia is navigating the challenge of converting a participation surge into sustainable long-term growth, the question of what community clubs actually do with increased interest is among the most consequential in the sport.

Record crowds at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and sustained national visibility have opened the door. Whether players walk through it and stay depends on whether the club on the other side looks anything like Western Strikers

Football Victoria recognised in Pride in Sport Index 2026

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The Silver Status shows Football Victoria‘s commitment to providing Victorians with a safe, inclusive landscape for all to enjoy the beautiful game.

Everyone’s game

Earlier this month, the Australian Pride in Sport Awards recognised several organisations and individuals across the nation who continue to champion inclusive spaces in the world of sport.

Among the nominees was Football Victoria, who received the Silver Status. FV Executive Manager Equity, Programs and Government Relations, Karen Pearce, expressed her pride at the achievement.

“Achieving Silver Status in the Pride in Sport Index is an important reflection of the work being done across Football Victoria to ensure LGBTQ+ people feel safe, welcomed and included in our game,” Pearce said via official press release.

“We remain committed to embedding inclusive practices across all levels of football, and continuing to create environments where everyone can belong, participate and thrive.”

 

Inclusion matters

While recognition is always a positive reflection of successful work behind the scenes, it is important to remember what the work intends to achieve.

Football – and sport in general – is a unique opportunity to bring diverse communities together, and to compete, spectate and enjoy the game on an equal playing field.

Furthermore, as custodians of ‘the world’s game’, governing bodies, fans and players around the world all share the responsibility to empower marginalised groups to feel included.

Two months ago, The Premier League introduced their own initiative – Premier League With Pride – reflecting their own commitment to ensuring football grounds, schools and academies remain welcoming.

 

Final thoughts

There is no place for hate or abuse in football, whether on a grassroots field or professional stadium.

Football Victoria will continue its journey and commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community – at all levels of the game – for many seasons to come.

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