What's going on with falling WSL attendances?

Average attendances successful nan Women's Super League dropped by 10% past play compared pinch nan erstwhile campaign.

According to Deloitte's Sports Business Group, which highlighted nan driblet successful a study released connected Monday, "this has been put down to a deficiency of world shot drafting attraction to nan home game".

BBC investigation recovered nan 12 WSL clubs successful full averaged 7,366 successful 2023-24, compared pinch 6,662 successful 2024-25 - an mean alteration of 704.

So which clubs person been affected nan most, which clubs are bucking nan inclination and what other mightiness beryllium down nan numbers? BBC Sport takes a person look.

One of nan main reasons down nan autumn successful attendances past play was nan relegation of Bristol City successful 2023-24.

Despite losing each their homes games arsenic they made an contiguous return to nan Championship, they were backed by an awesome location support astatine Ashton Gate, which they shared pinch nan men's team.

They had nan fifth-highest mean location attendance successful nan WSL - 6,974 - down nan large 4 of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United.

A crowd of 8,749 watched their relegation-confirming nonaccomplishment to Manchester City, while a bumper 14,138 attendance saw a 2-0 conclusion by Manchester United successful November.

Bristol City were replaced successful 2024-25 by top-flight newcomers Crystal Palace, who averaged 1,779 crossed nan play - 5,195 less than nan nine they replaced.

Palace played nan mostly of their games astatine nan VBS Community Stadium, which they shared pinch men's National League nine Sutton United.

They played 2 matches astatine Selhurst Park, location of nan men's team, and had a season-high attendance of 5,003 for their opening location crippled pinch Chelsea, which they mislaid 7-0. Their lowest fig of nan run was 502 for nan 1-1 tie pinch Everton successful November.

Of nan 11 remaining WSL clubs, 5 had their mean attendance driblet betwixt 2023-24 and 2024-25 - Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United, which includes 3 of nan apical four.

Aston Villa and Manchester United had by acold nan biggest drop-offs, pinch some clubs' attendances falling by 33%.

For Villa, nan move to playing each their WSL games astatine Villa Park - compared pinch only 5 nan play earlier - does not look to person paid off, though they besides spent nan mostly of nan caller run successful a relegation battle.

Manchester United played nan aforesaid number of WSL games astatine Old Trafford successful some seasons - 2 - and successful 2023-24 those games attracted attendances of 43,615 and 28,737. In 2024-25 it was 8,761 and 31,465, pinch nan erstwhile successful their opening crippled against West Ham.

However, they besides had a autumn successful attendances astatine their main stadium, Leigh Sports Village, pinch an mean of 4,562 past play compared pinch 5,353 nan play before.

Manchester City had nan adjacent biggest alteration of 8% - contempt going from 1 to 3 matches astatine their bigger Etihad Stadium - followed by Everton astatine 5.5% and Arsenal astatine 4%.

Arsenal, considered a occurrence communicative successful nan convention for nan measurement they person managed to pull grounds numbers to Emirates Stadium, played 9 of their 11 location games location past play compared pinch six nan erstwhile one.

Yet while they did not deed nan heights of nan erstwhile run erstwhile they broke nan WSL attendance record and had 2 sell-outs astatine nan Emirates, nan figures were still impressive, pinch 5 matches attracting much than 35,000.

All but 1 of their matches surpassed 20,000 - that was nan 5,539 who turned retired for their midweek lucifer pinch Leicester successful April, which was rescheduled for an evening kick-off astatine short announcement because of their Champions League involvement.

Liverpool showed singular maturation from nan erstwhile season, pinch their attendance expanding by 54%, boosted by holding 3 games astatine Anfield compared pinch 1 nan erstwhile year.

Building connected their awesome fourth-place WSL decorativeness successful 2023-24, their mean gross grew from 4,550 to 7,023 past season, pinch a season-high 17,484 turning retired for their lucifer pinch Manchester City successful October.

The only different nine to deed double figures for percent maturation were Tottenham, who contempt finishing 2nd from bottommost past season, had their mean attendance summation by 24% - from 4,317 to 5,332. They took their tally of matches astatine Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from 2 to three.

The different clubs to spot maturation were Leicester (6%), who played each their games astatine King Power Stadium which they stock pinch nan men's team, Brighton (3%), West Ham (1%) and WSL winners Chelsea (1%).

All WSL clubs knowledgeable a important attendance boost successful 2022-23 disconnected nan backmost of Euro 2022, wherever England lifted their first awesome women's trophy successful beforehand of grounds crowds.

The mostly of clubs besides had increases successful 2023-24, which followed England's tally to nan Women's World Cup last successful Australia.

But, aft Great Britain grounded to suffice for nan 2024 Olympics, past play was nan first clip successful 3 years that nan WSL run did not use from pursuing an world tourney wherever location had been location success.

Yet it is besides important to look astatine nan competitiveness of nan league. Chelsea were odds-on title favourites successful 2024-25 from an early shape - aft it went down to nan ligament successful 2023-24 - which mightiness person affected nan appetite of fans from different top-four clubs, who each faced their ain struggles during nan campaign.

Speaking astir attendances connected Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast past month, WSL Football main executive Nikki Doucet said: "I deliberation a batch of times it depends connected kick-off times. A batch of times it depends connected are we successful a men's world break and really are we maximising those moments aliases not?

"It depends which clubs are really building that community, and immoderate are connected a further travel than others.

"Each club, and their fanbase, is benignant of unsocial and I deliberation everyone's testing different things and seeing what works, what doesn't."