A-League Women season sees record attendances on opening weekend

Driven by the Matildas’ successful World Cup campaign, the 2023/24 Liberty A-League Women’s season kicked off over the weekend with a series of record-breaking attendances.

Some 11,471 fans attended the Sydney derby at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, which overtook the record set during the 2022/23 Grand Final.

Earlier in the day, the match between Liberty A-League’s newest club Central Coast Mariners and the Newcastle Jets welcomed 5,735 fans, a regular season record that was beaten just hours later by the Sydney derby.

The 17,206 total broke a nine-year record, when 15,955 attended in 2014’s opening round, which included some double-headers.

It also beat the round record for standalone games of 11,595 set in round one of the 2022/23 season.

The previous standalone match record was set earlier this year in April, in the Liberty A-League Women Grand Final at CommBank Stadium, where 9,519 fans watched Sydney FC win against Western United.

Before that, the standalone record for a game in the normal season - not including finals - was set by Wellington Phoenix in November last year, with 5,215 fans.

Welcoming the strong start, A-Leagues Commissioner, Nick Garcia advised “our plan for the FIFA Women’s World Cup started more than two years ago and today, we have three new women’s teams in the league, a full home and away season of 22-rounds, and an unprecedented 198% growth in memberships across the league.

“Playing the opening round in mostly major stadia was part of a strategy to create new experiences and connect with more fans, and we are delighted to see the round record broken on day one, in just two matches.”

Attendance were boosted by the introduction of a free ticket scheme for children along with several big-name players being retained by or returning to clubs.

It was announced by Australian Professional Leagues (APL) in August that the opening round of the Liberty A-League would be played at larger stadiums, to capitalise on the growing interest in the game in the aftermath of the World Cup.

Lower image: Jada Whyman of Sydney FC reaches to catch the ball during the Liberty A-League Women's Round 1 fixture between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on Saturday. Credit: Shutterstock.