A record-breaking crowd of 77,390 were at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Sunday to see the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United.
Smashing the previous attendance record of 49,094 at last year’s Final, the 2023 edition went even further with tickets for the clash between the current top two in the Barclays WSL being sold-out well in advance of the game.
And there was a bumper turnout on the day, with Wembley packed to set the new record of highest crowd to watch a women's domestic club fixture anywhere in the world.
"To break the world record is a massive statement and a wonderful marker as to where the women's game has come in this country," said Baroness Sue Campbell, FA director of women’s football.
"A lot of credit goes to all of the players and the clubs in the Barclays Women’s Super League, the Barclays Women’s Championship and below that, but also credit to everybody that's worked at the FA to make sure this is a reality.
"I've said before that we've come a long way, but we’ve still got an incredibly long way to go and we know that.
"But it's another marker in the sand that the game in this country is now alive and well, flourishing and growing."
It was a target to sell-out the Women’s FA Cup Final in the FA’s current four-year strategy for women’s football, Inspiring Positive Change, which was set out in October 2020.
And after previously seeing another of those targets of England winning a major tournament secured last summer, Baroness Campbell is now looking to go even further.
"When we set out in our strategy to sell out the Women's FA Cup Final back in 2020, I didn’t expect it would happen so soon and it’s pretty special to break the world record," she admits.
"I do think this is all part of the continued EURO bounce. What happened when people came to the games, not just the England games but anywhere in the country, they just enjoyed the vibe and the environment so much.
"Everyone had such an incredibly good time and they realised that what they were watching was world-class football and world-class sport.
"That bounce has just continued and I think people love the experience of coming to Wembley.
"And the players have done an amazing job in terms of their performance so the level of the game now is just increasing year-on-year.
"It speaks volumes on where our competitions leagues have got to. We have to remind ourselves that we only became a full-time professional league in 2018.
"This is still very early days for the professionalisation of the women's game, but it speaks volumes of what's happened and how well the leagues and clubs are doing and the sort of following that the players are starting to get as individuals.”
“In the Barclays Women's Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship games, even in Tier 3 and 4 and our Women's National League, we've seen much bigger numbers such as Newcastle getting over 22,000 to a game in Tier 4.
“There’s a real interest in the women's game and I'm delighted and thrilled to be filling Wembley Stadium for the Cup Final - it's terrific."
