FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Champions League - Semi Final - First Leg - Arsenal v Olympique Lyonnais - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - April 19, 2025 Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo
(Reuters) -Arsenal will play all 11 of next season's Women's Super League home matches at Emirates Stadium, and the club will offer season tickets for the first time, they said on Tuesday.
The newly crowned Champions League winners, who have recorded some of the largest crowds in women's football, made the Emirates their main stadium last season, averaging 34,110 fans in the nine WSL games they played there.
"For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," Arsenal coach Renee Slegers said.
Arsenal, who defeated Barcelona 1-0 last month to win their first Champions League title in 18 years, still plan to play at Meadow Park, Borehamwood -- which has a total capacity of 4,500 -- in the Women's Champions League league phase, as well as FA Cup and League Cup games.
If they qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, those matches would take place at the 60,704-capacity Emirates.
Arsenal recorded a 20% increase in ticket sales for the 2024-25 season over the previous year, selling more than 415,000 tickets.
WORLD CUP SPIKE
However, while Arsenal hosted Manchester United in front of a WSL record 60,160 fans at the Emirates in February 2024, WSL attendance peaked that season following the 2023 Women's World Cup, when England reaching the final for the first time.
Average attendance dropped by 10% this past campaign, with five WSL teams -- Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United -- experiencing declines, according to Opta Sports.
Aston Villa and Manchester United's attendances fell by 33% each, even after the former moved all their home matches to Villa Park.
Manchester United women averaged 4,562 fans at their home base in Leigh Sports Village, which is not easily accessible for fans compared with the men's team's home at Old Trafford, 15 miles away in central Manchester.
Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United and Chelsea all had attendance increases in 2024-25, with Liverpool boasting the highest growth at 54%, boosted by the three games played at Anfield.
It is hoped that next month's European Championship in Switzerland could lead to an increase in attendances next season, similar to the post-World Cup spike.
The large crowds at Arsenal, however, do not reflect the popularity of women's soccer globally, FIFA reported in March. Teams FIFA categorised as Tier 1 in their annual report on the women's game averaged 1,713 fans, while teams categorised as Tier 2 and 3 averaged only 480 and 380 fans.
Everton, who averaged 2,062 fans in 2024-25, are moving to Goodison Park next season, with the men shifting from their long-time home ground to the new Everton Stadium.
The WSL game at Goodison against Merseyside rivals Liverpool in November drew a season-high 9,823 crowd, while their lowest attendance was 754 against Crystal Palace at 2,200-capacity Walton Hall Park.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
