Women’s Super League in England managed to pull a total of 63,000 live spectators across its opening six games. Does this mean better times are coming for female soccer worldwide?
After the World Cup, the Super League Builds on Solid Viewership
Women soccer is in an upswing and the Women’s Super League season has managed to attract a total of 63,000 fans across all six games in England. That was a big year-over-year increase and a first in the history of the competition, following the Fifa Women’s World Cup which gathered momentum in 2019.
To put the numbers in perspective, the jump in viewership constituted a 12-fold increase year-over-year, when only 5,165 fans turned up to watch the games. In anticipation of a higher interest, the Women’s Super League has added another team, rounding up the total roster to 12 squads.
Chelsea and Manchester City landed the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge to raise the profiles of the games and help build the momentum around women’s soccer. Manchester City played Manchester United on Sunday, defeating the Red Devils’ female squad with 1-0.
Chelsea managed to distribute 40,000 tickets for the Tottenham Hotspur game on Sunday and 24,564 actually turned up, which was a good overall viewership. Chelsea’s manager Emma Hayes had this to say, commenting on the significant increase in interest for soccer:
”We’ve won a lot today, not just three points, in people’s consciousness women’s football will continue to grow and I’m so proud of this football club. I doubt I’ll ever work at a place that has pushed and pushed for women to progress like this place has.”
Even though there were small games, such as West Ham playing against Arsenal with 1,795 people watching at Boreham Wood Stadium in North London, the momentum from the World Cup has been palpable in women soccer.
A Fad or a Lasting Trend?
The English Football Association (EFA) has been keeping a close eye on the dramatic increase in overall numbers. However, some have suggested that this was still a result from the euphoria from the Women’s World Cup where U.S. soccer players Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe became famous for championing better pay for female athletes.
In Major League Soccer, female soccer players are still underpaid. In fact, the U.S. National Women’s Soccer team has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The issue has been divisive on many levels.
On the one hand, many female soccer players, including in the United States, and all-male clubs from the MLS have expressed their solidarity and said that women should get better pay. Then again, critics have argued that women soccer generates a fraction of the viewing time and revenue that male soccer does.
In effect, it would be grossly unfair to male counterparts, the argument ran. Interestingly enough, female soccer was played in England as early as 1860s, but the mores of the times led to its suspension.
If there is lack of interest and viewership around women soccer, that’s only because it’s a fairly modern invention, with the chunk of revenue, investment and on-air time going clearly in the direction of male counterparts.
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