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Women's Euros euphoria: Blip or bump?

Stefan Nestler
December 21, 2022

This summer's Euros, in which Germany came second to hosts England, unleashed a wave of enthusiasm. But has this had a positive impact on interest in German club football? The answer appears to be a clear yes.

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Alexandra Popp
Wolfsburg's Alexandra Popp was a big part of Germany's run to the Euro 2022 finalImage: Michael Matthey/picture alliance/dpa

Though Argentina, led by the legendary Lionel Messi, were World Cup winners on the pitch, among German television viewers, they were only second-best in 2022. A total of 17.9 million viewers watched the women's European Championship final, which Germany lost 2-1 to England in Wembley at the end of July, while "just" 13.9 million tuned in to the men's World Cup final between Argentina and France on Sunday. 

This just goes to underscore the summer euphoria surrounding the performances of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's women's Germany team. 

"We're still getting a lot of feedback, even though we didn't win the German championship," the national team coach told the SID news agency. "And the most beautiful thing to see is that it is sustainable, that something has changed in the stadiums, at the clubs, but also in terms of perception." 

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg holds her hands apart in a gesture of applause
Germany coach Voss-Tecklenburg believes the upturn in women's football is sustainableImage: Robert Michael/dpa

Already a record-breaking season 

To speak of a boom in the women's game in Germany would be premature, but, still, things are certainly moving in the right direction. This is borne out by this season's attendance figures for the women's Bundesliga. 

A total of 183,506 tickets were sold for the first 10 matchdays, which works out to an average attendance of 3,058. This is well over three times the average of around 800 in the 2021-22 season. The total attendance for 2021-22 (108,483) was surpassed on Matchday 7, while it only took nine matchdays to better the all-time total season record of 156,355 set in 2013-14. 

Double winners Wolfsburg have made the biggest gain in attendances, drawing an average of 7,712 spectators — or more than six times their average last season. Others, like Eintracht Frankfurt (5,845) and Freiburg (2,918) have more than tripled their attendance figures. After 10 matchdays, only Bayer Leverkusen (890) have drawn an average attendance of less than 1,000. Last season, nine of the Bundesliga's 12 clubs drew an average of fewer than 1,000 spectators.

Moving to larger stadiums pays off

Moving to the men's Bundesliga stadiums for special events has paid dividends, with Eintracht Frankfurt's home opener against Bayern Munich drawing a Bundesliga record 23,200. Wolfsburg drew 21,287 for their match against Bayern, while 20,417 spectators turned out when Werder Bremen hosted Freiburg at the Weserstadion. 

Fans wave an Eintracht Frankfurt flag
Well over 20,000 fans watched Eintracht Frankfurt face Bayern Munich at Deutsche Bank ParkImage: Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Second-division side Nuremberg drew 17,302 fans for their cup tie against title holders Wolfsburg, a figure that was helped by the fact that the men's team's Ultras had thrown their support behind the women for this fixture. This was also in part due to the rejection of the winter World Cup in Qatar by many organized fans, who in turn encouraged their members to attend women's matches instead of following FIFA's showcase event on TV.  

Champions League success

"Of course, that's a factor at the moment — that many fans of the men's clubs have decided they don't want to watch the World Cup and prefer to watch our attractive football," Germany player Sara Doorsoun conceded.

"But, the Qatar boycott aside, I believe that we have earned — and deserve — this stage, due to the European Championship." 

Sara Doorsoun is on the field, kicking a soccer ball
Sara Doorsoun joined Frankfurt from Wolfsburg in last year's January transfer windowImage: Ulrich Scherba/IMAGO

Germany's women's teams are also doing well both on the pitch and off in the Champions League. Not only did a total of 24,000 fans turn out to the Allianz Arena to watch Bayern Munich beat Barcelona's star ensemble 3-1, but even before the final group-stage match, Bayern have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals as have Wolfsburg. 

'Creating through good performances' 

Voss-Tecklenburg sees two main reasons for the recent upturn in women's football: "On the one hand, society has changed, with issues such as diversity, equality and discrimination becoming much more prominent in public discourse. The other point is visibility. You have to arouse interest and stir emotions." 

 The next opportunity to do that will come next summer at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. 

"We want to keep competing for titles. We have laid the groundwork for that," Voss-Tecklenburg said. "It will be up to us to perform well at the World Cup, so as to unleash another wave of enthusiasm." 

This article was originally written in German.