Future growth of women’s football in UK: Populous/YouGov survey

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England’s triumph at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA – the governing body of football in Europe) Women’s EURO 2022 marked a step change in the visibility of women’s football in the United Kingdom.

‘POPULOUS/YouGov’ stated that in the season that followed the average Women’s Super League (WSL) attendance rose by 192 percent reaching 5,616 spectators per match.
 

Slow Growth Pace

Since then the pace of growth has slowed. In 2025-2026, the median attendance increased by 5.4 percent, from 3,070 to 3,236.

‘POPULOUS/YouGov’ further stated that the YouGov (an international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK) survey shows that even among the Established Fans – respondents who have attended a women’s football match in the past five years – the majority describe themselves as “casual fans” engaging more with the major international tournaments than the domestic competitions. Only 15 percent of the Established Fans attend matches at least monthly.

These findings highlight the challenge facing the women’s football clubs: How to convert high levels of interest in the game into regular, repeat attendance. This is what is called the experience gap.

For Populous, this raises a clear design question: What does matchday look like when it is intentionally shaped to close the experience gap?

Populous is a global architectural and design practice with regional headquarters in Kansas City (US), London (UK) and Brisbane (Australia) specializing in the sports facilities, the arenas and the convention centers as well as in the planning and design of the major special events.
 

The Attractors

The Attractors are three primary drivers of attendance in women’s football. They capture the fundamental motivations that draw the people to the matches and will remain relevant as the game continues to grow.
 

The Attractors Community

Women’s football is primarily a shared experience where a welcoming environment matters more to matchday enjoyment than what happens on the pitch.

Across both the genders the fans are most likely to attend with a partner, relative, or friends, highlighting the social nature of matchday attendance.

The notable differences emerge between the male and the female attendees. The women are considerably more likely to attend with a partner or relative (60 percent compared with 43 percent of men), while men are more than twice as likely to attend alone (28 percent compared with 12 percent of women). Attendance with children is also common, particularly among men (32 percent versus 24 percent of women).
 

The Attractors Entertainment

The stadium atmosphere and the fan zones offer two opportunities to enhance the women’s football matchday experience.

While the result on the pitch is outside the control of the stadium operators and the designers the experience of watching it is not. The sightlines, proximity to the action and the atmosphere within the Bowl all influence how the game is experienced – and, ultimately, how enjoyable it is to watch.

The fan zones provide another natural opportunity to add entertainment to women’s football matchday creating a dedicated setting for live sport, activities and other programming around the fixture. They can broaden the entertainment offer without competing with the football itself thus adding another layer to the occasion.
 

The Attractors Club

The next phase of growth in women’s football will be driven not by awareness of the sport but by attachment to the individual clubs.

The club fandom is built through identity, belonging and a sense of connection to something larger than the match itself.

Women’s football presents clubs with a unique opportunity to build these connections. Nearly half (48 percent) of Established Fans in the survey have not attended a Women’s Super League (WSL) match. Attendance in the second tier is lower still with four in five Established Fans having never attended a WSL2 match. At the same time, more than half have attended a women’s international fixture. This suggests that many supporters are already engaged with women’s football but may not yet have formed a strong attachment to a particular club.

Unlike the men’s game, where decades of established behaviors can be difficult to shift, women’s football offers a chance to shape new rituals and create lasting emotional bonds. The next challenge for the clubs is not simply to grow interest in the sport but to convert that interest into club allegiance.
 

The Fans Family Group

For these fans the matchday is an opportunity to spend quality time together with the experience shaped around the needs of the whole family.

Nearly a third of men (32 percent) and a quarter of women (24 percent) in the survey usually attend a women’s football match with children. This is reflected in the wider findings with the family-friendly experiences emerging as one of the strongest drivers of both attendance and enjoyment. Respondents rank “A welcoming, family-friendly environment” as the most important factor influencing their enjoyment of a women’s football match ahead of “The team’s success and quality of on-pitch performance”.

Potential Fans – The respondents who have not attended a women’s football match in the past five years but would consider doing so – rank the family-friendly seating areas within the Bowl as the number one feature they believe would create a positive viewing experience. They also rank family-friendly hospitality spaces third out of seven typical football hospitality products.

The family-focused design therefore has relevance beyond the families already attending women’s football. Its importance to Potential Fans highlights an opportunity to attract new audiences while creating an experience that encourages the existing supporters to return – making it an important consideration in the continued growth of the game.
 

The Fans Comfort Seeker

Comfort, convenience and ease of movement are central to creating a matchday experience that the fans want to return to.

Comfort matters in any stadium but research shows the particular importance women’s football audiences place on it. Both the Established Fans and the Potential Fans show a clear preference for comfort – even over proximity to the pitch.

Sixty-three percent of Established Fans and 72 percent of Potential Fans say they would rather sit further from the pitch with more legroom and easier access to their seats than sit as close to the action as possible with tighter seating rows and steeper tiers. This preference extends beyond the seating Bowl. Comfortable seating and dining areas are ranked as the most desirable fan zone feature by both Established Fans (47 percent) and Potential Fans (55 percent) while the sheltered areas are also a priority for 41 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

The Potential Fans also place a strong emphasis on ease and convenience throughout the matchday journey. They rank stadium navigation as the second most important feature of a stadium app ahead of ordering food, drink and merchandise remotely and accessing community or club articles and video content. Across several measures, the Potential Fans place even greater emphasis on comfort and convenience than the Established Fans. This suggests these qualities are not only important to the experience of the existing supporters but also play an important role in attracting new fans and encouraging them to return.
 

Day-out Fan

For these fans the matchday is a leisure occasion with the quality of the wider offer shaping the value of the day out.

For the Day-out Fan the match sits within a broader leisure experience. The football may be the reason for attending but where they eat, drink and spend time around the match can be equally important to the quality of the occasion.

Food and drink are an important part of that experience and the survey suggests there is an appetite for greater choice and quality. Fifty-eight percent of the Established Fans are either neutral or not satisfied with the food and drink available at the ground they currently attend while 46 percent say they would be willing to pay more for a better offering.

As the women’s game grows there is an opportunity to approach catering as part of the wider leisure experience rather than simply a matchday necessity. The traditional stadium favorites still have a place but greater choice, better quality and a more considered food and drink offer can add to the overall value of the day out. For the Day-out Fan getting these elements right can strengthen the appeal of the overall occasion and help turn an initial visit into a repeat one.
 

The Wavemakers

The Wavemakers are the cultural forces shaping the future of the fan ecosystem. Informed by the broader trend analysis they reveal the shifts already changing behavior, influencing the existing fans and growing women’s football audiences.
 

The Wavemakers Glimmers

The fans are increasingly seeking a more bespoke approach to premium hospitality built around smaller, more flexible upgrades that make matchday feel special.

A different spending pattern is emerging shaped by both economic pressure and the changing consumer priorities.

Increasingly, the consumers are seeking emotionally rewarding experiences in everyday life – smaller indulgences that feel meaningful without the commitment of a major purchase. This provides an interesting lens through which to consider changing attitudes towards premium experiences in women’s football.

Rather than committing to the traditional premium packages the fans express a preference for occasional, selective upgrades. In the survey, 77 percent of fans say they would consider upgrading to a premium experience a few times a season or for special matches. The younger fans (18-34) are the most willing to upgrade with 48 percent saying they would consider doing so multiple times a season compared with an average of 30 percent among those aged 35 and over. This points to a different model of premium: Modular, occasion-led and designed to let the fans build their matchday experience over time rather than committing to it all at once.
 

The Wavemakers Third Place

As more of everyday life moves online the places that create opportunities for in-person connection are taking on renewed importance.

The ways we socialize, communicate and spend our free time are increasingly shaped by the digital experiences, changing opportunities for informal, in-person interaction. At the same time, some traditional gathering places, such as the pubs, the youth centers and the community centers, are becoming less prevalent. Sometimes described as ‘third places’ – spaces outside home and work where people gather informally – these environments provide valuable opportunities for everyday face-to-face connection.

Against this backdrop, women’s football clubs investing in new and improved infrastructure have an opportunity to think more broadly about how their venues are used. The community cafés, the multipurpose rooms, the family spaces, and the outdoor plazas that operate independently of the stadium Bowl can create opportunities for a wide range of community activity throughout the week.

These spaces need not be grand or expensive. When architecture and programming are considered together the women’s football venues can support a wider range of uses beyond the fixture calendar thus creating more active places with stronger connections to the communities around them.
 

The Wavemakers

 

IYKYK Fandom

Exclusivity is being redefined around access and insider knowledge rather than status or spend.

For years, the brands have competed for visibility, designing experiences to reach and be shared by the widest possible audience. Increasingly, some of the most culturally interesting experiences are taking the opposite approach. The invite-only events, the hidden spaces and the limited-access moments derive part of their appeal from the fact that not everyone knows about them or can take part. It is the idea behind ‘IYKYK’ – ‘if you know, you know’ – where the insider knowledge and discovery become part of what makes an experience feel special. Access may come through a private invitation, an Easter egg, or simply knowing where to be.

For the women’s football fans the IYKYK fandom can make exclusivity less about status and more about access to something unexpected. Experiences need not be expensive or traditionally premium to feel special, their value can come from proximity to the club and the sense of experiencing something that is not available every time.

This sense of exclusivity can add another layer to the fan experience thus giving the supporters more of the club and matchday to discover and creating moments that can deepen fandom and inspire superfan levels of engagement.

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