WSL targets average crowds of 6,000 by 2024
A perceived hesitancy among fans to return to sporting events following the pandemic and a rise in TV viewers have both been cited as reasons for low crowds in the Women’s Super League this season, as the Football Association sets a target of growing attendances to an average of 6,000 by 2024.
Kelly Simmons, the FA’S director of the women’s professional game, wants to “recreate the habit” of going to WSL matches, which were attended by an average of 2,282 fans in the first five rounds of fixtures this season, down from more than 3,000 in the curtailed 2019-20 campaign prior to the pandemic.
In living rooms, however, more eyes than ever have been on the WSL, since the start of the new shared broadcast deal with the BBC and Sky Sports. A WSL record 1.1million viewers watched October’s Manchester derby on BBC One, while Sky’s games have been averaging a peak of 318,400.
The BBC’S highlights show has had a 24 per cent increase in viewership to an average peak of 976,400.
At the launch of the FA’S new three-year strategy to further develop the women’s professional game, Simmons said: “Research we did around the Lionesses when we were selling tickets for Wembley [found that] there are still concerns among fans in terms of coming back to big live events and using public transport.”
Dawn Airey, chair of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship board, added: “Our observation is that people coming together en masse like they did pre-covid has not happened to the extent that we would have liked and, combined with extraordinary broadcast figures, is possibly why we aren’t quite getting the attendances at this moment. We are not worried by it at the moment.
“We know that it is not where we would like it to be, but like many businesses off the back of Covid, it’s about finding what the new normal is like.”