With the season consigned to the record books, we take a look back on a record-breaking campaign and rank the top 25 attendances across Tiers 3 and 4.
The 2021/22 season proved to be a historic one in the Women’s National League as fans flocked to stadiums en masse to set new attendance records on three separate occasions.
Nottingham Forest set the standard as the first side to break the division record as 4,443 fans were on hand to watch the East Midlands derby at the City Ground in October.
However, the record wouldn’t last, and fell twice more during the season, with Southampton clinching the Southern Premier Division title against rivals Portsmouth at St Mary’s in front of 5,145 fans before Newcastle smashed every other attendance figure in 2021/22 at St. James Park.
Unsurprisingly, the draw of attending matches held at their male counterparts’ stadiums proved to be huge across the Women’s National League throughout the season, with showcase games occupying nine of the top 10 spots and featuring fifteen times in the list overall.
A total of 848 matches were played throughout 2021/22 – here’s how they stack up 1 through 25:
1-10
1. Newcastle United v Alnwick Town – 22,134*
2. Southampton FC v Portsmouth – 5,145*
3. Nottingham Forest v Derby County – 4,443*
4. Derby County v Nottingham Forest – 3,552*
5. Wolves v Brighouse Town – 2,447*
6. West Bromwich Albion v Derby County – 1,871*
7. AFC Bournemouth v Chesham United – 1,592*
8. Portsmouth v Southampton FC – 1,450*
9. Leeds United v Alnwick Town – 1,370*
10. Southampton FC v Ipswich Town – 932
11-25
11. Portsmouth v Southampton FC – 748*
12. Wolves v Sheffield FC – 667
13. Wolves v West Bromwich Albion – 652
14. Ipswich Town v Southampton FC – 638
15. Plymouth Argyle v Ipswich Town – 624*
16. Bradford City v Leeds United – 540*
17. Cambridge United v Norwich City – 527*
18. Derby County v Stoke City – 521
19. MK Dons v Keynsham Town – 517
20. Oxford United v Southampton FC – 505
21. Southampton FC v Cardiff City – 503
22. QPR v Norwich City – 501*
23. Doncaster Rovers Belles v Burton Albion – 485*
24. Wolves v Huddersfield Town – 471
25. Derby County v Sheffield FC – 463
*Hosted at men’s home stadium.
Source: FA Full-Time
