The Barclays Women's Super League 2023/24 season is over and now is the time to look back on how the matches were attended. Chelsea were declared the winners after bagging 55 points from 22 games. Lauren James played a pivotal role in the run, scoring 13 goals, the second-highest in the division.
Most importantly, the Women's Super League has had their most successful season in 2023/24 thanks to the success of the Women's Euros in 2022, originally due to be hosted in 2021 but was moved due to the coronavirus pandemic. That tournament, hosted in England, broke records in almost every round with England taking home the trophy in front of a packed-out Wembley Stadium.
Women's football also found further success and more interest thanks to the Women's World Cup hosted in Australia and New Zealand in 2023. Thousands of fans flocked to fan parks and pubs in England and beyond to watch their country play. Spain went on to beat England in the final.
Much of the post-World Cup discussion was dominated by the fall-out of Luis Rubiales allegedly non-consensual ‘celebratory' kiss with Jenni Hermoso, and that continues to rumble on with significant consequences. Other off-pitch concerns continued to cloud matters, with Aston Villa's Castore kit under considerable criticism for its ‘wet look', which drew the ire of the club's women's side.
THE #BARCLAYSWSL CHAMPIONS 🏆@ChelseaFCW pic.twitter.com/btFWYn26Ep
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) May 18, 2024
The opening weekend of the Women's Super League season saw a real buzz with fans flocking to watch their local WSL team play.
Last year's runners-up Manchester United required an injury-time winner from veteran striker Rachel Williams, Liverpool shocked perennial title challengers Arsenal with a 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium and Leicester City and Brighton & Hove Albion managed away wins at Bristol City and Everton respectively.
All of Aston Villa, Arsenal and Chelsea hosted their matches at their clubs' primary stadiums: Villa Park, the Emirates and Stamford Bridge. So, were any big records set in this opening WSL weekend?
Arsenal break WSL attendance record at the Emirates
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Records broken? You bet. A record crowd of 60,160 official attendance at the Emirates Stadium broke the Women's Super League attendance record. The previous record attendance was also thanks to Arsenal as they saw 59,042 fans turn up at the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal beat London rivals Chelsea.
60,160 💫
Emirates Stadium sold out for the first time in @BarclaysWSL history.
Another league record. Another historic moment.
Thank you, Gooners ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kfnk65c6rM
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) February 17, 2024
It's little surprise. Eleven of the dozen WSL clubs broke a club or stadium attendance record last season, and that has regularly been the case over the last few years as the women's game has grown at such pace.
Arsenal's previous largest crowd was 47,367 for the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur last September.
Do all WSL clubs play at their club's primary stadium?
No, but most of them do. In the 2022/23 season, West Ham was the only club not to play at their club's primary stadium. Every other side did so, usually for one or two matches, but sometimes for more.
This season, most clubs have already announced a series of fixtures to be played at their primary stadium. Arsenal have confirmed that five of their 11 home games in the Women's Super League will be hosted at the Emirates Stadium, giving them at least another four attempts to break this new record.
The Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall believes it's a “realistic vision” for Arsenal Women to play all their home matches at the Emirates shortly.
“We're moving away from the idea that it's a one-off to sell out the big stadium,” Eidevall said.
“What we want for the sustainability and the growth of the game is to have consistency in selling out big stadiums. That's the next step for women's football. That's the next step for WSL.”
Which WSL clubs play every home match at their main stadium?
Leicester City (King Power Stadium) and Bristol City (Ashton Gate) have both made their primary, bigger stadiums the permanent homes of their women's teams.
What was the score at the record-breaking fixture?
Well, not for the first time, a record-breaking event at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium came with a surprise result.
Back in May 2023, the Gunners sold out the stadium for their UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final clash with German club Vfl Wolfsburg. A 60,063-strong crowd watched on as the visitors scored a 119th-minute winner in a dramatic and thrilling 3-2 victory.
It seemed unlikely at the time that Arsenal would see more than 60,063 fans attend a match at the Emirates Stadium for the Arsenal Women's side but, in February 2024, Arsenal hosted Manchester United with an official attendance of 60,160 fans turned up. The attendance beat the attendance that watched Arsenal beat Vfl Wolfsburg but also set a new WSL attendance record.
The Emirates Stadium is one of the biggest in England. The only other clubs with bigger capacities are Manchester United (Old Trafford, 74,310), Tottenham Hotspur (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 62,850) and West Ham United (London Stadium, 62,500). So, the challenge lies with them!
We absolutely outclassed them today!🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/FP7CYXgyQz
— Theo M-T (@Mason_T75) February 17, 2024
List of highest WSL attendances ever
- Arsenal vs Manchester United – February 2024 – The Emirates Stadium – 60,160
- Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur – March 2024 – The Emirates Stadium – 60,050
- Arsenal vs Chelsea – December 2023 – The Emirates Stadium – 59,042
- Arsenal vs Liverpool – October 2023 – The Emirates Stadium – 54,115
- Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur – September 2022 – The Emirates Stadium – 47,367
- Arsenal vs Chelsea – January 2023 – The Emirates Stadium – 46,881
- Manchester City vs Manchester United – December 2022 – The Etihad Stadium – 44,259
- Manchester United vs Manchester City – November 2023 – Old Trafford – 43,615
- Arsenal vs Manchester United – November 2022 – The Emirates Stadium – 40,604
- Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur – November 2022 – Stamford Bridge – 38,350
Women Super League – did the record attendance stats translate to results?
While Chelsea Women bagged the Women's Super League title, we note that their clash with Arsenal was one of the most attended, with a total of 59, 115 fans making it to the Emirates Stadium. It means both teams enjoyed massive support home and away.
Arsenal Women finished third on the log, behind Manchester City Women in second spot. Other well-attended matches were for Liverpool and Manchester United Women. And as can be seen in the Women's Super League top five of Chelsea Man City, Arsenal. Liverpool and Tottenham, attendance stats in the Women's Super League is reflective of the traditional top 6 sides in the Men's Premier League. In a nutshell, the attendance at home and away for these teams played significance in ensuring the finished above the rest.
FAQs
What is the seating capacity of Chelsea Women's Stadium?
Kingsmeadow Stadium has a capacity of 4, 850. However, given the record attendances witnessed in the 2023/24 WSL, Chelsea women sometimes played their matches at Stamford Bridge, the home ground to Chelsea FC, with a seating capacity of 4,850,
What is the capacity of the Manchester City Women's Stadium?
The venue has a capacity of 7,000, but only 5,000 fans can be seated during a football match.
Which club registered the lowest attendance in England in the 2023/24 WSL?
Everton averaged approximately 1250 attendance in the 2023/24 Women's Super League, registering one of their worst attendance on 10 December 2024 when they played away against West Ham United.
Which were the top five most-attended matches in the 2023/24 England Women's Super League?
The most attendance WSL matches were the Arsenal vs Manchester United Women's fixture played on Feb 17 which saw 60, 160 fans attend, Arsenal vs Tottenham Women on March 3 which saw a total of 60, 050 in attendance, Arsenal vs Chelsea Women on 10 December 2023 that had a record attendance of 59, 042. Other well-attended games in the 2023/24 WSL were Arsenal vs Liverpool on October 1 which saw 54, 111 fans attend the clash and Arsenal vs Leicester which saw 42, 820 at the match venue.