Super League ready for boom in crowds as interest grows

Women’s Super League matches could experience up to tenfold increases in average attendances today, with four games staged at major stadiums to seize upon the explosion of interest in the Lionesses since the World Cup.

Liverpool are understood to be hopeful of attracting a crowd of up to 20,000 against Everton at Anfield, while Tottenham are also predicted to land their highest attendance for a women’s match, against Arsenal.

The two giants, along with Reading and Brighton, who are also hosting games at the Madejski and Amex stadiums, told The Sunday Telegraph there was now business incentive to commit similar match-day budgets as would be expected for men’s senior games.

A WSL record of 31,213 when Manchester City hosted Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in September has already helped crowd averages grow from under 1,000 last season to 4,112.

However, the league is particularly keen to maintain momentum after 77,768 packed Wembley to watch England’s women defeated in a friendly by Germany last weekend. To put that in context, the men’s match against Montenegro on Thursday drew 77,277.

Liverpool said that “few tickets remain” in the areas allocated for today’s fixture, while Tottenham described this weekend as a “landmark moment”.

The growing popularity of the women’s game comes despite some mixed results from England since their World Cup semi-final defeat by the United States attracted a peak television audience of more than 11.7million.

Spurs and Liverpool are understood to be staging stewarding and security operations that could cost even more than for an average Premier League match.

In an attempt to maximise interest for newcomers, fans in north London can meet Ledley King, along with current Tottenham Hotspur Women players Jess Naz and Sophie Mclean, ahead of the match.

The LFC Foundation has offered tickets to schools and junior teams. Overall sales projections exceed 15,000. “Our crowds at Prenton Park for Liverpool Women this season have ranged from around 900 to 1,500 so obviously you can see the Anfield effect and the Merseyside derby effect,” a club source said. “About 1,800 attended our last derby at Prenton Park in May.”

Brighton, who take on Birmingham, offered multiple free tickets for seasonticket holders to maximise their opportunities for bumper crowds.