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You probably had to be there to fully understand the energy of being in a record-breaking, history-making crowd for women’s football. As I texted Sophie Downey – my newsletter co-writer – when the game ended: “How do you top that?”
The truth is that the night of 30 March 2022 is going to be known as a turning point for the women’s game. There were 91,553 loud people at the Camp Nou as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-2. And I am not only talking about that game. Paris St-Germain also broke their attendance record at Parc des Princes with more than 27,000 fans. Thousands of supporters also attended the other six legs of the Champions League quarter-finals. And while that was happening, tickets for the Euro final in July sold out.
The Champions League broadcaster Dazn said there was “unprecedented growth” for the quarter-finals. That includes more than 2.6 million live views worldwide for the broadcaster (including their YouTube channel, where it is free to watch) only for the clásico. The week before, they had already broken audience records as 1.3 million people watched the first leg live. Overall, on YouTube, there were more than 11 million views for the quarter-finals. During the group stage, the figure was 14 million in total.
This wasn’t just something that “happened” to women’s sports: it is a result of decades of fighting. But why was it Barcelona of all clubs that took it to the next level? We asked Lucy Mills, who is the programme manager at the FC Barcelona Foundation. She lists four main reasons:
1) I believe that Barça fans and Barcelona citizens are incredibly proud of the women’s team; people love the players’ style of play as much as they do the personalities. They’re down-to-earth, likeable and personable characters. Perhaps during the rockier spells of the men’s team the women’s team provided another outlet of pride for Socios/Socias and fans.
2) The match was advertised EVERYWHERE. Billboards, TV, news, etc. It was hard to not know that the game was happening.
3) Match tickets were priced at between €9 and €15, a price point that was accessible for a broad range of people. Experiencing Camp Nou is a once in a lifetime experience and this was an affordable opportunity to do so, especially for those otherwise priced out of usual match ticket prices.
4) The changing tide towards equality in football and greater support of women’s football chimes well with Barcelona citizens. It’s a progressive and open-minded city. The government is active in its support for refugees, for LGBTQI+ rights, for women’s rights and for sustainability. It’s no surprise that its citizens come out in their thousands to get behind the women’s team.
On Tuesday the tickets for their home semi-final against Wolfsburg sold out too. That is fantastic but it is important to remember that women’s football is growing everywhere. I am from Brazil and although we won’t easily fill every stadium with a national championship that is only 10 years old, we are working and evolving. Seeing these numbers is extremely helpful to know that we can dream of having that historic day too. We can have a 30/03/2022 of our own, and so can other countries.
Talking points
An international flavour
Friendlies and World Cup qualifiers take centre stage over the next week. We’ll have 2023 World Cup hosts Australia and New Zealand facing each other twice. Brazil play Spain and then Hungary. Argentina and Chile also play twice. Meanwhile, the European qualifiers group phase has Sweden, Netherlands, England, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and France currently leading their groups and trying to clinch a spot for the 2023 World Cup. A friendly that raised my eyebrows? USA v Uzbekistan.
Time for change
Having qualified for the World Cup for the first time, the Philippines national team said they do not want people to use the nickname “the Malditas” anymore. The nickname, as a Portuguese native speaker, was always dubious for me, as it can mean something like “cursed”. They do not want this double meaning – it can be interpreted as “feisty” or the B-word (bratty, as you probably imagined). Some fans were upset by the decision to be called “Filipinas” instead of a catchy nickname but, playing on the world stage, they decided to be known for who they are.
Inside information
This week Sweden launched their kit for the 2022 Women’s Euros – and it was an eye-catching one. On their kit there are instructions for the other teams of how to beat them, written by Anders Eriksson, their lead match analyst. There is also a full guide online.
Quote of the week
“I’m almost speechless, honestly. This has been utterly magical. When the match finished, the fans simply didn’t want to go home […] There was such a connection between them and us while we celebrated. To hear them singing that they want to go to Turin was superb” – Alexia Putellas after Barcelona v Real Madrid.
Recommended viewing
Real Madrid played their part in the game at the Camp Nou and Claudia Zornoza’s goal was a long-range beauty. Away from that game, Alex Morgan did the business in the NWSL with a sweet volley.
Still want more?
Leah Williamson has said it is “the biggest honour” to be named England captain for this summer’s Euros.
There were wins again for Chelsea and Arsenal in the Women’s Super League, meaning that the title race continues at a breathtaking speed. Here are this week’s WSL talking points.
Did a team called the British Independent Ladies really play in front of 100,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico in 1971? Find out here.
Question time
Got a question for our writers – or want to suggest a topic we should cover? Get in touch by hitting reply or emailing moving.goalposts@theguardian.com
