Barcelona-Real Madrid Women’s Champions League Match Breaks Attendance World Record

Barcelona and Real Madrid set a new world record for a women’s match with 91,553 supporters in attendance for the second leg of Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal at Camp Nou.

The attendance number broke the previous record for a women’s game, which was set in 1999 when 90,185 fans descended upon the Rose Bowl to watch the World Cup final between the United States and China.

Some accounts suggest that 110,000 people attended Denmark’s win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City at in the 1971 World Cup final. However, that tournament was not officially sanctioned.

Wednesday’s El Clásico attendance did shatter the previous record for attendance at a women’s club game of 60,739 when Atlético Madrid hosted Barcelona in a league game at the Wanda Metropolitano in 2019. 

Barcelona usually plays its home games at the club’s 6,000-seat training ground, but this particular match was moved to Camp Nou to accommodate an increased demand for tickets. Wednesday’s match marked just the second time the women’s team played a competitive game at Camp Nou and the first time with fans.

Barcelona repaid its loyal supporters with an impressive output on the pitch with a 5–2 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday. The club advanced to the Champions League semifinals on 8–3 aggregate. 

The result kept Barça’s hopes of claiming another Champions League trophy alive after the club claimed last year’s title. The club has already won the Spanish Supercopa this season and clinched a third straight league title earlier this month. In the Primera Division, they have won all 25 of their matches, scoring 138 goals and conceding just seven.

Led by reigning Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, attention surrounding the team has continued to grow in recent seasons, culminating in Wednesday’s El Clásico attendance.

“This can be the start of a new era,” Putellas said in a news conference ahead of the game, per ESPN’s Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens. “This game is going to inspire a lot of people, especially girls. I didn’t imagine it [was possible] because I just saw men, which is why I say it can open many doors for many people.

“I knew I could play football, but it did not seem accessible on this scale. That’s why this match can mark a before and after because Barça are the biggest club in the world and they have a voice.”