The Biggest NWSL Match Ever

When San Diego Wave FC hosts Angel City FC on Sept. 17, history will be made.

The NWSL’s two newest clubs will not only draw the largest attendance ever for one of the league’s games, but also play in front of a sold-out crowd for the very first NWSL game at Snapdragon Stadium.

• The club sold 32,000 tickets to the game — all of them 17 days before kickoff.
• The previous NWSL record of 25,218 attendees was set by the Portland Thorns in 2019.

The $310 million Snapdragon Stadium is owned by San Diego State University. The San Diego Wave previously played at the 6,000-capacity Torero Stadium on the University of San Diego’s campus.

“We’ve sold all of our inventory, it’s incredible,” Wave president Jill Ellis said. “We should celebrate this, but we should now expect it, big crowds for women’s professional sports.”

Angel City FC was valued at more than $100 million in April 2021.

Wave of Women’s Soccer

Ellis is right — the sold-out game isn’t the only one breaking women’s soccer attendance records.

The Women’s Euro 2022 was the best attended in the tournament’s history, with an aggregated attendance of 574,875.

Shortly after the Euro, England’s international friendly against the United States in October sold out general admission tickets, with a record 65,000 tickets sold in one day.