A world record crowd of 91,553 for a women’s sporting event at Camp Nou in Barcelona showed the value of ambition, marketing and investment as football fans were urged to show up in numbers for Saturday’s historic AFLW preliminary final between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions at the MCG.
It will be the first time an AFLW match has been staged at the ’G, and while industry sources suggested a crowd of 10-15,000 would be a success, prominent football figures believe it will be a turning point for the women’s game.
At Camp Nou on Wednesday night, Melbourne time, Barcelona beat bitter rivals Real Madrid 5-2 to reach the Champions League semi-finals in front of a crowd that surpassed both the previous club mark of 60,739 in 2019 at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium, and the official attendance record for a women’s game.
That was set at the 1999 World Cup final between the United States and China, when 90,195 fans were in attendance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
AFLW premiership coach Bec Goddard, who will take the reins when Hawthorn enters the competition, said the turnout showed what was possible and made a powerful statement about gender equality.
“I get goosebumps talking about it [the record crowd]. We saw how many people turned up for the cricket [T20] world cup final,” said Goddard, referring to the crowd of 86,174 that saw Meg Lanning’s Australians defeat India in the final in March 2020. “It’s not like there’s no appetite, you’ve just got to create the opportunity.”
She said AFLW expansion, the likely move to start the season in August and playing in bigger stadiums were steps towards equality.
“It’s an opportunity for our women to feel valued and to show there are no gender barriers to playing on the big stage. What a statement a big game at a big venue makes,” she said, urging football fans of all stripes to show up.
“They’ll see a great show; the big names of women’s football doing their thing, and it will be incredible to watch.”
The record attendance for an AFLW match is the 53,034 who turned up at Adelaide Oval for the 2019 grand final. Saturday’s Demons-Lions preliminary final will be played at 12.40pm, with the Collingwood-Geelong men’s match at the same venue that night. Adelaide will host Fremantle at Adelaide Oval in the other prelim at 2.10pm Adelaide time, and entry for both matches is free.
‘I get goosebumps’: World record Barca crowd inspires AFLW to dream big
Source: Philippines Alive
