This past weekend, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) hit a new record for attendance in a single season. For the first time in the 11-year history of the league, total match attendance surpassed 1.5 million people. Impressively, the league still has ample time left in the 2024 season. Each team has only played out of its 26 matches, meaning there are still 49 games to bring that total up.

NWSL sides hit this benchmark during the Chicago Red Stars game against the Orlando Pride at SeatGeek Stadium. The previous record for one season in the NWSL was 1,424,208. The Red Stars were also involved in the game that beat that record against Angel City. That new record came last weekend on Sep. 1. This is not an anomaly of strong attendance. The NWSL has continued to grow its in-game audience year after year. This is the third year in a row the league has surpassed 1 million in attendance at games.

Yet, the expansion of the league with the addition of further teams has given more fans increased opportunities to watch top-flight women’s soccer. Bay FC and the Utah Royals joined the NWSL this season to bring the total number of teams up to 14. Regardless, the individuals, teams and storylines this year have worked wonders for the league’s success. For example, Alex Morgan’s retirement and final game, which was this past weekend with the San Diego Wave, drew 26,516 out to SnapDragon Stadium. That was a larger audience than when Manchester United played at the stadium in a preseason friendly.

The league fully expects to surpass 2 million in total attendance by the end of the year. The current average attendance per game is 11,500. Should the NWSL follow that mark through the end of the campaign, it will surpass 2 million in attendance for the first time. Then, the playoffs will put the final touches on a massive successful season. Like the regular season, there are more games in the playoffs with an expanded quarterfinal round. That starts Nov. 8-10.

NWSL attendance shows continued success in recent seasons

Attendance is an easy way to show how well the league is doing. Based on the league’s growth, the NWSL was always going to break its attendance record. The number of games and teams that the league now has simply make it more available. It remains an impressive statistic to pull 1.5 million fans to games given where the league is at in the season.

That, combined with the TV and streaming rights deal that the NWSL has started this season, shows the league is in a great place. Competition is coming with the USL Super League, a new division one women’s soccer league in the United States. The USL Super League only started up recently. It remains unclear how the two leagues will do sharing the market. However, the NWSL will rightly tout its strong audiences throughout the 2024 season as it enters the closing stages ahead of the NWSL Playoffs this fall.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.