THIS season’s current cumulative attendance total for all Barclays Women’s Championship fixtures is a new record.
It’s still only March, and history is being made in the second tier of English women’s football.
A total of 140,676 spectators have attended games across the competition so far, proving that appeal for live matches is extending beyond the Women’s Super League.
This season has seen the visual side of the women’s game improve with more teams competing in their club’s main stadium.
The WSL also now streams select matches for free on YouTube, making it easier for fans to still watch those long away-day games, and in keeping an eye across the league.
A new trial was introduced this season to allow alcohol in the bowl at Championship games – Southampton FC’s St. Mary’s Stadium being one of the selected participating venues.
The WSL and Championship are now overseen by regulating body, the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited.
Speaking in October 2024, WPLL Chief Executive Nikki Doucet said at the Leaders Week London event: “We are going to test it in a couple of teams in the Championship this season and we will see what we will learn from that.”
She also touched on how the fan base of the Women’s Championship is different and that there is space to allow fans to be responsible for making safe decisions.
The competitiveness of the league has also considerably improved this season.
Newly-promoted Portsmouth have struggled for the majority of the season, and also lost club captain and starting goalkeeper Hannah Haughton through injury.
However, the Blues have steadily been making a comeback after picking up back-to-back wins against Sheffield United and Sunderland, pushing them out of the relegation zone and into ninth.
This weekend, Pompey will travel to St. Mary’s for their third south-coast derby of the season (they also hosted Southampton in the Group Stage of the Subway League Cup).
After a club record attendance in January against Sunderland, Saints are pushing for another history-making home crowd.
Elsewhere, a tight game can be expected in East London, as third-place Charlton Athletic will host table leaders Birmingham City.
