BARCELONA (Reuters) – The Women’s Champions League quarter-final clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou later on Wednesday is on track to set an attendance record for a women’s match.
With all 99,354 tickets sold out, the match is set to eclipse the record of 60,739 fans for a women’s club game, set in 2019 at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium, where the hosts beat Barca 2-0 in a league match.
But Wednesday’s match could also beat the overall attendance record for a women’s game set at the 1999 World Cup final between the United States and China, when 90,195 fans were in attendance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
“To get 91,000 is an aggressive objective but we accepted the challenge and want to break the record,” club president Joan Laporta told Barcelona-based radio RAC1.
Barca captain Alexia Putellas told a news conference on Tuesday that the match may mark the “beginning of a new era”.
“It will inspire a lot of girls who will come here or who will see us on television. It can open many doors,” she added.
“I didn’t imagine playing here because I only saw men. That now you see women competing here will surely bear fruit.
“Many girls will dream of being Sandra Paños, Patri Guijarro or Jenni Hermoso tomorrow … It will be the beginning of something very beautiful.”
Barcelona, who won the first leg of the quarter-final 3-1 normally play at the more modest Johan Cruyff stadium at the club’s training facilities. They have the best attendance in the league with an average of 2,938 fans per game.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
