England’s Euro 2025 triumph is a big deal for the new WSL seasonShareThere has long been a direct link between the Lionesses performing well at major tournaments and growth in the popularity of the domestic women’s game in England.By Jamie SpencerEngland’s Lionesses are a massive draw. Last weekend’s Euro 2025 final was the biggest TV event of the year in the UK, attracting a peak audience over 16 million across BBC and ITV and platforms.Two days after Chloe Kelly, Hannah Hampton and co. defeated world champions Spain in the tense penalty shootout in Basel, 65,000 fans lined The Mall in central London on a Tuesday lunchtime to witness the squad parade the trophy down to a stage in front of Buckingham Palace.The success of England at international tournaments over the last decade, reaching the semi-finals or better at five consecutive World Cups and European Championships since 2015 – and winning the last two continental titles, has proven a huge catalyst for the wider women’s game.In 2014, the average WSL attendance was 719. A year later, the Lionesses won a World Cup knockout game for the first time. They eventually finished third and it was a driving factor behind the substantial growth to 1,128 by 2016.England got to the last four again at Euro 2017, and then at the 2019 World Cup, too. The latter felt like a watershed moment, with global views surpassing one billion. In the UK alone, a cumulative audience of 28.1 million tuned into BBC coverage of the tournament and an 11.8 m peak for England’s semi-final against the United States placed third in the year’s TV rankings.The impact on the WSL was immediately clear as 25,564 watched Chelsea beat Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, and 31,213 at the Etihad Stadium witnessed the division’s first ever Manchester derby, both on the opening weekend. A few weeks later, 38,262 watched the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But all the momentum was halted by Covid-19, the abandonment of the 2019/20 season and then a full campaign played behind closed doors.Attendances weren’t the same when fans could return in the autumn of 2021. The biggest crowd of 2021/22 barely topped 20,000 – as Manchester United hosted Everton at Old Trafford – and was little over half the league record set in 2019. But then the Lionesses captured the hearts of the nation by winning Euro 2022 on home soil and, once the tournament was over, more fans than ever before were desperate to keep watching those new-found heroes at club level.The 2022/23 season was also the first time that TV rights for the WSL had been commercially sold within the UK, with Sky Sports and the BBC paying a combined £24m over three years, pumping money into the clubs and making games more accessible to a wider home-based audience – crucially going far beyond the limitations of the invaluable but clunky FA Player platform launched in 2019.Two months after the Euro 2022 final, Arsenal more than three-quarters filled the Emirates Stadium for a WSL north London derby for a new league record. The Gunners upped that record three more times the following season, off the back of England reaching the 2023 World Cup final, culminating in a 60,160 sellout against Manchester United in February 2024.Yet in 2024/25, average attendance in the WSL unexpectedly fell by 10% from the previous season. Manchester City only drew half their record crowd for an Etihad stadium derby, Manchester United pulled fewer than 9,000 for their opener at Old Trafford, and Chelsea only half-filled Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season when the trophy was presented. Even the FA Cup final at Wembley recorded its lowest attendance since before Euro 2022. Plenty of variables influence WSL attendances, but the lack of an international tournament leading in was a factor. England hadn’t secured a place for Great Britain at the Olympics and the hype of 2022 and 2023 was lacking.Women’s football has always had its dedicated hardcore fans, the number of which has grown considerably over the past 10 years. But Euro 2025 has served as a much-needed reminder to the more casual supporters, and England’s success changes things dramatically. The buzz is back.WSL opening round fixturesIf you want to keep watching Chloe Kelly, whose Instagram following has swelled to 1.3m in the wake of the tournament, it’s Arsenal you have to follow. If it’s more Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze you want, Chelsea games are the one, or Manchester United for Ella Toone.The fixture list helps. The opening night of the season on Friday 5 September sees Chelsea host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium against the intriguing London City Lionesses a day later, and the Sunday delivering a Merseyside derby at Anfield.Manchester United face Arsenal and Liverpool on matchdays three and four respectively, while matchday five sees Arsenal at Manchester City and Chelsea at Manchester United.The WSL, now backed by a new £65m broadcast deal to 2030, has come so far, but this summer’s Euros success was another timely the shot in the arm to boost that growth yet again.(Cover image from IMAGO)For all the best coverage we have on women’s football and all the top games to follow on FotMob each month, please subscribe to our free newsletter – here.England’s Euro 2025 triumph is a big deal for the new WSL seasonThere has long been a direct link between the Lionesses performing well at major tournaments and growth in the popularity of the domestic women’s game in England.By Jamie SpencerEngland’s Lionesses are a massive draw. Last weekend’s Euro 2025 final was the biggest TV event of the year in the UK, attracting a peak audience over 16 million across BBC and ITV and platforms.Two days after Chloe Kelly, Hannah Hampton and co. defeated world champions Spain in the tense penalty shootout in Basel, 65,000 fans lined The Mall in central London on a Tuesday lunchtime to witness the squad parade the trophy down to a stage in front of Buckingham Palace.The success of England at international tournaments over the last decade, reaching the semi-finals or better at five consecutive World Cups and European Championships since 2015 – and winning the last two continental titles, has proven a huge catalyst for the wider women’s game.In 2014, the average WSL attendance was 719. A year later, the Lionesses won a World Cup knockout game for the first time. They eventually finished third and it was a driving factor behind the substantial growth to 1,128 by 2016.England got to the last four again at Euro 2017, and then at the 2019 World Cup, too. The latter felt like a watershed moment, with global views surpassing one billion. In the UK alone, a cumulative audience of 28.1 million tuned into BBC coverage of the tournament and an 11.8 m peak for England’s semi-final against the United States placed third in the year’s TV rankings.The impact on the WSL was immediately clear as 25,564 watched Chelsea beat Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, and 31,213 at the Etihad Stadium witnessed the division’s first ever Manchester derby, both on the opening weekend. A few weeks later, 38,262 watched the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But all the momentum was halted by Covid-19, the abandonment of the 2019/20 season and then a full campaign played behind closed doors.Attendances weren’t the same when fans could return in the autumn of 2021. The biggest crowd of 2021/22 barely topped 20,000 – as Manchester United hosted Everton at Old Trafford – and was little over half the league record set in 2019. But then the Lionesses captured the hearts of the nation by winning Euro 2022 on home soil and, once the tournament was over, more fans than ever before were desperate to keep watching those new-found heroes at club level.The 2022/23 season was also the first time that TV rights for the WSL had been commercially sold within the UK, with Sky Sports and the BBC paying a combined £24m over three years, pumping money into the clubs and making games more accessible to a wider home-based audience – crucially going far beyond the limitations of the invaluable but clunky FA Player platform launched in 2019.Two months after the Euro 2022 final, Arsenal more than three-quarters filled the Emirates Stadium for a WSL north London derby for a new league record. The Gunners upped that record three more times the following season, off the back of England reaching the 2023 World Cup final, culminating in a 60,160 sellout against Manchester United in February 2024.Yet in 2024/25, average attendance in the WSL unexpectedly fell by 10% from the previous season. Manchester City only drew half their record crowd for an Etihad stadium derby, Manchester United pulled fewer than 9,000 for their opener at Old Trafford, and Chelsea only half-filled Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season when the trophy was presented. Even the FA Cup final at Wembley recorded its lowest attendance since before Euro 2022. Plenty of variables influence WSL attendances, but the lack of an international tournament leading in was a factor. England hadn’t secured a place for Great Britain at the Olympics and the hype of 2022 and 2023 was lacking.Women’s football has always had its dedicated hardcore fans, the number of which has grown considerably over the past 10 years. But Euro 2025 has served as a much-needed reminder to the more casual supporters, and England’s success changes things dramatically. The buzz is back.WSL opening round fixturesIf you want to keep watching Chloe Kelly, whose Instagram following has swelled to 1.3m in the wake of the tournament, it’s Arsenal you have to follow. If it’s more Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze you want, Chelsea games are the one, or Manchester United for Ella Toone.The fixture list helps. The opening night of the season on Friday 5 September sees Chelsea host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium against the intriguing London City Lionesses a day later, and the Sunday delivering a Merseyside derby at Anfield.Manchester United face Arsenal and Liverpool on matchdays three and four respectively, while matchday five sees Arsenal at Manchester City and Chelsea at Manchester United.The WSL, now backed by a new £65m broadcast deal to 2030, has come so far, but this summer’s Euros success was another timely the shot in the arm to boost that growth yet again.(Cover image from IMAGO)For all the best coverage we have on women’s football and all the top games to follow on FotMob each month, please subscribe to our free newsletter – here.