National Women's Soccer League attendance

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is the top-tier professional women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2013, the 2019 season, the last before COVID-19, saw an average 7,337 spectators among the 9 teams, the highest average attendance in league history. Its overall attendance in 2019 was also its highest ever, with 792,409 total. The overall attendance record was broken in the 2022 season, the first since 2019 to be relatively unaffected by COVID-19, with a total of 1,042,063. However, the per-game record from 2019 remains intact; the league had 10 teams in 2019 but expanded to 12 for 2022. The NWSL has the highest average attendance per game among all women's professional sports leagues in the United States.

NWSL attendance has grown since the league's inaugural season in 2013. The per-game average attendance of 7,337 in 2019 was a 21.8% increase over the previous record of 6,024 set in 2018. The 2019 average was a 71.8% increase over the 4,270 average in the league's inaugural 2013 season, a growth rate of 9.4% per year. The total attendance in 2019 was a 111% increase over the 375,763 total in 2013, a growth rate of 13.2% per year.

Fans celebrating after a goal in Portland, Oregon.
The Portland Thorns' average regular-season attendance in 2019 was 20,098 fans.

Season averages
SeasonTotal GateGamesAverageChangeHigh avg.[lower-alpha 1]TeamLow avg.TeamRef.
2013375,763884,270—13,320Portland Thorns FC1,664Sky Blue FC[1]
2014446,8201084,137−3.1%13,362Portland Thorns FC1,640Sky Blue FC[2]
2015454,100905,04621.9%15,639Portland Thorns FC2,189Sky Blue FC[3]
2016555,7751005,55810.1%16,945Portland Thorns FC2,162Sky Blue FC[4]
2017609,9601205,083−8.5%17,653Portland Thorns FC1,788FC Kansas City[5]
2018650,5641086,02418.5%16,959Portland Thorns FC2,531Sky Blue FC[6]
2019792,4091087,33721.8%20,098Portland Thorns FC3,338Sky Blue FC[7]
2021592,074116[lower-alpha 2]5,528[8]−30.5%12,555Portland Thorns FC3,143Chicago Red Stars[9]
20221,042,0631327,89442.8%19,105Angel City FC4,385Orlando Pride[8]
  1. Green shading indicates record highs; red shading indicates record lows.
  2. Portland Thorns FC did not report two matches during a period of capacity restrictions related to COVID-19 pandemic safety policies: versus Louisville on June 5, and Kansas City on June 20. Two further matches (Washington at Portland on September 4, and OL Reign at Washington on September 12) were declared by the league to be forfeits against Washington due to violations of the league's COVID safety protocols and were not played.

By team
SeasonBOSCHIFCKCHOUKCCLALOUNCNJYORLPORRGNSDUTAWASWNY
2013[10]2,4271,7114,626—————1,666—13,3202,306——3,6254,485
2014[11]2,4372,9492,0184,650--——--1,656--13,3623,666——3,3353,177
2015[12]2,8634,2103,0916,413--——--2,189--15,6394,060——4,0872,860
2016[13]3,5703,0053,1625,696--——--2,1628,78516,9454,602—--3,7823,868
2017[5]2,8963,1961,7884,578--——4,3892,6136,18617,6534,037—--3,491--
2018[6]—4,368—3,896--——5,1292,5314,83716,9593,824—9,4663,892—
2019[7]—5,451—3,615--——5,8753,3385,56520,0985,213—10,7746,105—
2021[9]—3,143—3,3864,837—6,6104,9863,7934,22712,5555,240——4,130—
2022[8]—5,863—5,6447,65719,1056,0484,5454,4154,38515,5436,8448,729—5,955—

NWSL attendance vs. other leagues

Vs. other North American women's professional leagues

The following table compares the NWSL regular season average attendance against the regular season average attendance for other professional women's sports leagues in North America.

LeagueYear StartedSport# TeamsSeasonAverage
attendance		Average vs.
prior season		Total
Attendance		Ref
National Women's Soccer League2013Soccer1220227,894+42.8%1,042,063[8]
Women's National Basketball Association1996Basketball1220196,535−3.5%1,333,093[14]
National Pro Fastpitch2004Fastpitch520151,128+26%~135,360[15]
Premier Hockey Federation[lower-alpha 1]2015Ice hockey42016–17900[16]

Notes: Italics indicate statistics for the previous season; NPF had 6 teams for its 2016 & 2017 seasons, though attendance numbers for those are not available.

  1. Known as the National Women's Hockey League before the 2021–22 season.

Vs. other North American professional soccer leagues

The following table compares the NWSL regular season average attendance against the regular season average attendance for other professional soccer leagues in North America. All attendance figures are from seasons in 2019 or earlier, the last completed seasons unaffected by COVID-19.

Today, two other professional man's leagues operate in northern North America, but neither has played a complete season unaffected by COVID-19. The National Independent Soccer Association started play in 2019, but initially played a fall-to-spring season, meaning that its first season was affected by the pandemic. It now uses the same spring-to-fall season used by most other U.S. soccer leagues. MLS Next Pro began play in 2022.

LeagueYear StartedDivision# TeamsSeasonAverage
attendance		Average vs.
prior season		Total
Attendance		Ref
Major League Soccer1996Men's DI24[lower-alpha 1]201921,305−2.6%8,694,584[17]
National Women's Soccer League2013Women's DI1220227,894+42.8%1,042,063[8]
North American Soccer League[lower-alpha 2]2011Men's DII820174,734−5.4%550,826[18]
USL Championship[lower-alpha 3]2011Men's DII36[lower-alpha 4]20194,476−9.1%2,734,599[19]
Canadian Premier League2019Men's DI (Canada)7[lower-alpha 5]20194,367—432,363[20]
USL League One2019Men's DIII10[lower-alpha 6]20191,911—267,555[21]
  1. MLS has 28 teams in 2022 and will have 29 in 2023.
  2. The NASL, embroiled in a legal dispute with U.S. Soccer, has not played since the 2017 season.
  3. Known as the United Soccer League before the 2019 season.
  4. The USLC has 27 teams in the 2022 season.
  5. The CPL has 8 teams in the 2022 season. One more team has a confirmed start date of 2023; two others have been announced without confirmed start dates.
  6. USL 1 has 11 teams in the 2022 season.

Vs. other worldwide women's top-division soccer leagues

The following table compares the NWSL regular season average attendance against the regular season average attendance for a selection other top-flight soccer leagues from around the world; this list is not exhaustive.

LeagueYear StartedNation# TeamsSeasonAverage
attendance		Average vs.
prior season		Total
Attendance		Ref
National Women's Soccer League2013United States920197,337+21.8%792,409[7]
FA WSL 12011England112019–203,072[22]
Liga MX Femenil2017Mexico162017 Apertura2,743NA~307,200[23]
W-League2008Australia92017–182,139116,290[24]
Frauen-Bundesliga1990Germany122016–17835−22.4%110,642[25]

Individual game highest attendance
See also: Record attendances in United States club soccer

Regular season
As of May 15, 2023
Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Venue Location Date Ref.
1San Diego Wave FC1–0Angel City FC32,000daggerSnapdragon StadiumSan Diego, CaliforniaSeptember 17, 2022 (2022-09-17)[26]
2San Diego Wave FC3–2Chicago Red Stars30,854Snapdragon StadiumSan Diego, CaliforniaMarch 25, 2023 (2023-03-25)[27]
2OL Reign2–1Portland Thorns FC27,278*Lumen FieldSeattle, WashingtonAugust 29, 2021 (2021-08-29)[28][29]
3Portland Thorns FC2–1North Carolina Courage25,218daggerProvidence ParkPortland, OregonAugust 11, 2019 (2019-08-11)[30]
4Portland Thorns FC0–0Washington Spirit24,521Providence ParkPortland, OregonOctober 12, 2019 (2019-10-12)[31]
5Chicago Red Stars0–1San Diego Wave FC23,951*Soldier FieldChicago, IllinoisJuly 30, 2022 (2022-07-30)[32][33]
6Orlando Pride3–1Houston Dash23,403Citrus BowlOrlando, FloridaApril 23, 2016 (2016-04-23)[34][35]
7Portland Thorns FC5–0Houston Dash22,329Providence ParkPortland, OregonJuly 24, 2019 (2019-07-24)[36]
8Angel City FC2–1North Carolina Courage22,000daggerBanc of California StadiumLos Angeles, CaliforniaApril 29, 2022 (2022-04-29)[37]
Angel City FC2–1San Diego Wave FC22,000daggerBanc of California StadiumLos Angeles, CaliforniaJuly 9, 2022 (2022-07-09)[37]
Angel City FC2–3OL Reign22,000daggerBanc of California StadiumLos Angeles, CaliforniaJuly 30, 2022 (2022-07-30)[37]
Angel City FC1–3Racing Louisville FC22,000daggerBanc of California StadiumLos Angeles, CaliforniaSeptember 25, 2022 (2022-09-25)[38]
Angel City FC1–2NJ/NY Gotham FC22,000daggerBMO StadiumLos Angeles, CaliforniaMarch 26, 2023 (2023-03-26)[39]
Angel City FC0–2San Diego Wave FC22,000daggerBMO StadiumLos Angeles, CaliforniaApril 23, 2023 (2023-04-23)[40]

* indicates part of a doubleheader with other teams
dagger Sellout

Playoffs
As of October 30, 2022
Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Venue Date Stage Ref.
1San Diego Wave FC2–1 (a.e.t.)Chicago Red Stars26,215Snapdragon StadiumOctober 16, 2022 (2022-10-16)Quarterfinal[41]
2Portland Thorns FC2–1San Diego Wave FC22,035Providence ParkOctober 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)Semifinal[42]
3OL Reign0–2Kansas City Current21,491Lumen FieldOctober 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)Semifinal[43]
4Houston Dash1–2Kansas City Current21,284daggerPNC StadiumOctober 16, 2022 (2022-10-16)Quarterfinal[41]
5Portland Thorns FC*0–3North Carolina Courage21,144daggerProvidence ParkSeptember 22, 2018 (2018-09-22)Final[44][45]
6Portland Thorns FC3–4Western New York Flash20,086Providence ParkOctober 2, 2016 (2016-10-02)Semifinal[46]
7Portland Thorns FC4–1Orlando Pride18,193Providence ParkOctober 7, 2017 (2017-10-07)Semifinal[47]
8Portland Thorns FC*2–0Kansas City Current17,624Audi FieldOctober 29, 2022 (2022-10-29)Final[48]
9Portland Thorns FC0–2Chicago Red Stars15,832Providence ParkNovember 14, 2021 (2021-11-14)Semifinal[49]
10Portland Thorns FC2–1Seattle Reign FC14,179Providence ParkSeptember 15, 2018 (2018-09-15)Semifinal[50]

* indicates "home" team in predetermined venue for championship final
dagger Sellout

See also

References
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  2. Gerhke, Sarah (September 30, 2014). "NWSL: Breaking down 2014 attendance numbers, part I". Soccerwire. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  3. Goldberg, Jamie (September 11, 2015). "National Women's Soccer League sees record attendance numbers in third season". The Oregonian. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  4. Goldberg, Jamie (November 16, 2016). "National Women's Soccer League once again saw rising attendance numbers in 2016". The Oregonian. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. "2017 NWSL Attendance". Soccer Stadium Digest. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  6. "2018 NWSL Attendance". Soccer Stadium Digest. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  7. "2019 NWSL Attendance". Soccer Stadium Digest. October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  8. "2022 NWSL Attendance". Soccer Stadium Digest. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
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  12. "2015 NWSL Statistics". Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  13. "2016 NWSL Statistics". Retrieved November 27, 2016.
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  25. de:Fußball-Bundesliga 2016/17 (Frauen)
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  31. Levine, Matthew (October 12, 2019). "Portland Thorns FC and Washington Spirit play to a 0–0 draw". National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
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  33. Sandalow, Brian (July 30, 2022). "Saturday's doubleheader only part of Fire-Red Stars relationship". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
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  35. Stejskal, Sam (April 25, 2016). "Orlando Pride set new NWSL attendance record in inaugural home match". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
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  40. "San Diego turns tide against Angel City in shutout win". National Women's Soccer League. April 23, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
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  45. Yang, Meg Linehan and Steph. "This week in NWSL chaos: Current, Wave make it a good day for water in the quarterfinals". The Athletic.
  46. "Flash beat Thorns FC, 4–3, in extra time". National Women's Soccer League. October 2, 2016. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
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  48. FC, Portland Thorns. "First team to three stars". Portland Thorns FC.
  49. Sepich, Scott (November 14, 2021). "Portland Thorns can't break through as Chicago Red Stars win 2–0, advance to NWSL championship". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
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