Women’s football comes of age as gate numbers swell and TV coverage grows

Women’s football has come of age with the EURO 2022 tournament proving a sell-out as gate numbers swell, TV coverage and advertising revenues jump.

EUFA said on its website on Saturday, July 23 that the women’s tournament had proven to be a major success, with records tumbling on and off the pitch.

On the pitch, numerous records have fallen with England the first to score 14 goals in all its group stages, an all-time competition record. Add to that hosts’ Beth Mead who is the first player to score five goals in a group stage, and Germany’s Alexandra Popp, is the first woman to score in all three group matches.

But it’s not just the youngsters with Northern Ireland’s Julie Nelson becoming the oldest player to score at a Women’s EURO, registering against Norway aged 37 years and 33 days.

Success off the pitch has also been outstanding with more than 500,000 tickets sold ahead of the tournament.

A gate record of 68,871 was set for the opening game when England beat Austria 1-0, a number that is likely to be smashed when the final takes place at the end of the month.

Attendance at all matches has averaged over 15,000 whilst 90,000 attended for Fan Parties ahead of matches at the finals. More than 100,000 clap banners have been handed out at stadiums and more than 10,000 fans have taken part in colourful Fan Walks to the stadiums ahead of games.

Local authorities have also benefitted with Sheffield reporting city centre footfall up by 22 per cent on July 9, the day that the Netherlands met Sweden at Bramall Lane.

Online the numbers have jumped as well with the official UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 website and mobile app having become No1 destinations for fans and media alike, receiving over 5.25 million visits and almost 20 million page views during the tournament so far.

Traffic on the EURO 2022 social media sites has also risen by 400 per cent over the previous tournament with video views up ten times.

Nadine Kessler, UEFA Chief of Women’s Football said: “This Women’s EURO is what we were all aiming and hoping for.

“It is record-breaking from start to finish and raises the bar to a new level never seen before in every aspect, whether it’s on a sporting or organisational level.

“A lot of work and dedication has gone into preparations for this tournament and to see it all come to fruition is fantastic. We have invested more than ever, and the players, teams, fans in the stadiums and at home as well as our partners can see and feel this. We are coming to the business end of things; we will see even more records broken. I am very excited about the knockout rounds, with some fantastic matches coming up, and we are all set to leave an amazing legacy behind when the trophy is handed over to winners at Wembley on 31 July.”

Women’s football has definitely come of age and can only grow from here as interest and support for the game rises daily.

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