NWSL Team Nearly Quadruples Quarterfinals Spectator Numbers in Just Three Years

Just a week after the NWSL announced record-breaking season attendance totals, all four quarterfinals games recorded incredible turnouts.

Alex Morgan and San Diego Wave FC fans / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

2024 has been a monumental year where women’s sports are concerned. And though it’s quickly coming to a close, women’s professional leagues are still seeing the incredible results of the increased attention on their respective sports.

Right now, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is in the midst of their season-ending tournament. Between Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, the top eight teams competed against each other for a spot in the semifinals next weekend. Of the four quarterfinals matchups, two (Washington Spirit versus Bay FC and Kansas City Current versus North Carolina Courage) were played in front of a sold out crowd. Gotham FC, meanwhile, set a club record for attendance in their hometown win over the Portland Thorns.

At each game, there were over 11,000 fans in attendance. The Washington Spirit alone have almost quadruped their attendance numbers since 2021. That year, the team recorded 5,379 fans in attendance. This year, they sold out Audi Field, bringing in 19,215 fans to watch their 2-1 win over Bay FC.

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The feat comes just one week after the NWSL announced record-breaking attendance numbers for the whole 2024 season. This year, total attendance at NWSL games was clocked at over 2 million spectators. It was a huge feat for the women’s soccer league, which has never in league history achieved those attendance numbers. In 2021, the total attendance for all games combined was 617,890. Now, just three years later, it is almost four times as high (much like attendance at the Spirit matchup).

It’s safe to say it’s been a big year for the NWSL. But they aren’t the only league reaping the benefits of this newfound fervor surrounding women’s sports. On the contrary, they are just one of the many. Like the NWSL, the WNBA achieved record-breaking attendance and spectator numbers during the 2024 season. Likewise, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team garnered a historic number of viewers during their team final performance at the Paris Olympics, notching more viewers than both the 2024 NBA Finals and the 2024 NFL Draft—two impressive feats.

Earlier this year, the media company TOGETHXR—co-founded by change-making athletes like Alex Morgan and Sue Bird among others—launched their popular “Everyone watches women’s sports” T-shirts. In the months since, the slogan has rung true. Women’s sports are finally beginning to garner the sort of attention that they have been working towards for years.