FA Cup final set to cap record-breaking year for women’s football

Chelsea will be hoping to claim a third successive Women’s FA Cup title in front of a sell-out WembleyWomen’s FA Cup Final – Chelsea v Manchester UnitedDate: Sunday, 14 May Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Kick-off: 14.30 BSTCoverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online. Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sounds & follow live text coverage on the BBC Sport website and app.Over the past 14 months, women’s football has witnessed huge changes across Europe.

A 23-year-old world record was finally broken, big stadiums have been selling out and attendance levels are continuing to grow.

The Women’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday is set to cap an extraordinary year for the women’s game in England, with the Football Association recently confirming the showpiece had sold out for the first time.

BBC Sport takes a look at the key moments for which supporters have flocked through the turnstiles to create history.

Barcelona at Nou Camp (March & April 2022)Over 72,000 fans were at the Nou Camp for Barcelona’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals in AprilUp until March last year, the official attendance record for a women’s football match was the 90,195 that turned out at the Rose Bowl for the World Cup final between the United States and China in 1999.

However, that record was broken twice within the space of a month by Barcelona last year.

First, there was the El Clasico Champions League quarter-final at the Nou Camp where Barcelona thrashed rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in front of 91,553 fans.

Then came Barcelona’s semi-final against Wolfsburg, with 91,648 supporters flocking to the iconic stadium to see the Spanish side progress to the final with a resounding 5-1 win.

Barca players celebrated with their raucous fans long after the final whistle to mark their history-making night.

FA Cup final (15 May 2022)Chelsea completed the domestic Double by winning last year’s Women’s FA Cup in front of 49,094 fansThis year’s FA Cup final is set to eclipse last year’s showpiece, where 49,094 fans watched Chelsea beat Manchester City to lift the trophy at Wembley.

It was a record high attendance for the competition, overtaking the 45,423 who saw Chelsea defeat Arsenal in the 2018 final, and at the time it was a record for a women’s club game in England.

Baroness Sue Campbell, the Football Association’s director of women’s football, called it a “special day” for the women’s game.

She said: “It’s exactly the sort of occasion we hoped for when we committed to hosting the final at Wembley Stadium every season.”

Euro 2022 final (31 July 2022)Thousands of fans turned out to Trafalgar Square to welcome the Lionesses after their Euro 2022 victoryThe European Championship last summer drew large crowds throughout, and by the time England lifted the trophy, 574,875 people had passed through turnstiles up and down the country.

It shattered the the previous tournament record of 240,055 supporters at Euro 2017 in the Netherlands.

As Sarina Wiegman and her side were crowned champions after beating Germany 2-1 in extra time, 87,192 fans – an all-time Uefa tournament record – belted out Sweet Caroline at a joyous Wembley Stadium.

“The legacy of this tournament is a change in society. We have brought people together, brought people to games. We want people at WSL games,” Lionesses captain Leah Williamson said.

Former England defender Alex Scott said: “Back in 2018, we were begging people to host the Euros games in their stadiums. So many people said no. I hope they’re looking at themselves and thinking they weren’t brave enough.

“I’m not standing up at corporate events begging for them to get involved in the women’s game. If you’re not involved, you’ve missed the boat. You’ve missed the train, it’s finally left the station, it’s gathering speed.”

Arsenal v Tottenham (24 September 2022)The north London derby has set the WSL attendance record twice consecutivelyThe momentum from the Euros carried through, with a number of WSL clubs reporting record ticket sales before the season had even kicked off.

The previous WSL attendance record was 38,262, at the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, And it was the north London derby that set the new record in September, with the Gunners’ 4-0
Source: BBC Sport | Read More