English soccer’s Women’s Super League (WSL) top-tier competition has reached a new cumulative attendance record despite six rounds of matches from the 2023-24 season still yet to be played.

A total of 717,721 fans have attended a WSL match so far this season, with the previous record of 689,297 having been set in 2022-23, covering a fully completed season.

The new record has been set in just 96 matches, compared to 2022-23’s 132-game full season.

The landmark was reached on the weekend of March 15, as Chelsea also had a club-record attendance of 32,970 at Stamford Bridge for their win over rivals Arsenal.

Each of the WSL’s four highest attendances have been at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, home of its men’s team, with Arsenal Women traditionally playing their matches at the 4,500-capacity Meadow Park. The club is scheduled to play six of its 11 home games at the Emirates this season.

Earlier this month, Arsenal Women also sold over 60,000 tickets in back-to-back fixtures, which followed their WSL record attendance of 60,160 against Manchester United on February 17, resulting in the team’s average crowd attendance numbers surpassing 35,000 this season.

This news comes as the WSL has recorded the largest growth globally in internet searches for sports leagues and competitions in 2023, registering a 258% increase, according to Redtorch’s SportOnSearch report, which measured people’s searches for sporting leagues.           

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