Women’s Football Statistics 2024 - The Most Interesting Facts & Stats About Women's Football For 2024 (Including Male Vs Female Football Statistics)

Since the lifting of the Football Association’s ban on English women’s football in 1971, the game has grown in popularity and success. Now, the Women’s Super League has the most valuable women’s football broadcast deal in the world, and the USA’s Kristine Lilly is the most capped player across women’s and men’s football.

With this in mind, we have created the ultimate women’s football statistics page, including facts about the Women’s Super League, where we’ve broken down the most interesting global women’s football player and WSL statistics, and compared important data points such as attendance, salary, and market value to the equivalent men’s football statistics.

Top 10 women's football statistics

• Vivianne Miedema, Manchester City forward, has scored the most goals in the history of the Women’s Super League (80)
• Former Manchester United midfield Katie Zelem has more WSL tackles than any other player (50), with a success rate of 69.44%
• Former midfielder Fara Williams has the most caps in English women’s football history (172)
• The average age of the England women’s national team is 25.56-years-old
• Jordanian Maysa Jbarah has the greatest goal-per-cap average globally (1.04 goals-per-match)
• Former USA international Kristine Lilly is the most capped footballer in history (354), far surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo (212)
• The most expensive transfer in women’s football was 2024’s £685,000 fee for Racheal Kundananji (Madrid CFF to Bay FC), just 0.35% of the most expensive men’s transfer (£198 million for Neymar in 2017)
• The average attendance at Women’s Super League games increased by 37.44% to 7,407 per home game (2023/24)
• American striker Alex Morgan is the highest paid women’s footballer in the world ($7.1 million annually), but nets just 2.73% of the top earning men’s player, Cristiano Ronaldo ($260 million)
• The domestic broadcast deal for the WSL is worth £8 million, compared to the Premier League’s £1.632 billion, but remains the most expensive in women’s football

Women’s Super League stats

The Women’s Super League - the top division of women’s football in England - was launched in 2010 by the FA, and is contested by 12 professional teams. Below we look at some of the most interesting data related to the league, and women’s football more generally.

Women's football statistics - goals

Vivianne Miedema, a Dutch forward who has played for Arsenal and Manchester City, has scored more goals than any other player in the Women’s Super League. Miedema has scored 80 goals in total and, with 106 appearances, she has the third highest goals-per-appearance ratio (sitting at 0.75). Not far behind is Sam Kerr at 0.77, and Khadija Shaw at 0.88.

A breakdown of the top scoring players in the Women’s Super League (all time)

Tottenham captain Bethany England has scored the second-most goals in the WSL, with a total of 74 and with an average per appearance of 0.46.

No single team dominates the top 10 goals ranking, with Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal each placing two players.

Just one player in the top 10 is retired, Ellen White, who ranks sixth with 61 goals scored between 2011 and 2022. As all other players remain active, they are likely to increase their lead on and/or close their gap with Ellen White.

Women's football statistics - appearances

In the 14 years of the Women’s Super League, Sophie Ingle, midfielder for Chelsea, has played the most games, with 192 appearances.

A breakdown of the players with the most appearances in the Women’s Super League

Mary Earps is the only goalkeeper to rank for most appearances. With 189 appearances, Earps has the third most overall.

Defenders are the most featured players in the appearance rankings, placing five times, compared to midfielders who feature four times .

Three retired players feature in the rankings for most WSL caps, Kerys Harrop, Gilly Flaherty, and Steph Houghton. Harrop and Flaherty both played in the league from 2011 to 2023 and rank joint fourth (183 appearances ) and joint ninth (117 appearances ), respectively. Former England captain Houghton, who played for a year longer (2011-2024) ranks joint ninth alongside Flaherty, with 177 caps.

Women's football statistics - tackles

Katie Zelem, former Manchester United midfielder, holds the record for the most successful tackles in the Women’s Super League. With 72 attempts, Zelem has completed 50 tackles, giving her a 69.44% success rate.

A breakdown of the players with the most successful tackles in the Women’s Super League

Fellow Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton has the second highest number of successful tackles at 47. As Clinton has attempted fewer tackles than Zelem, she has a greater success rate, 79.66% versus Zelem’s 69.44%.

Ashleigh Neville, third for the most successful tackles, has attempted the same number as Zelem (72). However, as she has gained possession of the ball fewer times, her success rate is lower, at 61.11%.

Women's football statistics - disciplinary

Two players take the undesirable crown of most yellow cards awarded in the Women’s Super League, Hawa Cissoko and Katie McCabe. Both players are defenders, at West Ham and Arsenal respectively, and have each received eight yellow cards.

A breakdown of the players with the most yellow cards awarded in the Women’s Super League

Defenders account for the most players featured in the top 10 for yellow cards, with five entries - Cissoko and McCabe (8), Bonner (7), Napier, who plays as defender and midfielder, (6), and Corsie (5).

Midfielders are narrowly behind with four entries - Holland, Losada, and Napier (6), and Green (5).

Two forwards, James and Lacasse, also feature, with five yellow cards each.

Women's football entertainment index

We have created an entertainment index to determine the entertainment value of the Women’s Super League and the men’s Premier League (all clubs), as well as ranking the top 10 most entertaining clubs across both leagues.

Variables such as the average percentage of the game the team is in possession of the ball and the number of saves, goals and successful tackles were averaged out per 90 minutes of play to give the leagues and teams the ultimate entertainment score.

A breakdown of the entertainment value of the Women’s Super League and the men’s Premier League

We can reveal that there is just 0.95 points between the leagues (6.31 vs 5.36), but, by this narrow margin, the men’s Premier League offers more entertainment value.

Metrics such as the average number of crosses made per 90 minutes of play (17.47 vs 15.66) and the number of shot creating actions (22.87 vs 20.70) enabled the Premier League to come out on top.

Teams in the Women’s Super League score better for several variables, indicating the WSL is more entertaining than the PL in these areas. The WSL has an average of 1.45 goals-per-90 minutes, compared to the PL’s 1.32, and they also score higher for the number of shots on target, number of goal creating actions, and the number of successful tackles.

Source: livefootballtickets via FBREF

Our index also ranked the top 10 most entertaining teams to watch across both leagues. Three WSL teams rank - Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City. All three teams have the highest number of goals-per-90 minutes across both leagues (2.83, 2.27, and 2.41, respectively).

While Manchester City men’s comes out on top (7.99), Chelsea women’s is the second most entertaining team overall, with a final score of 7.83, followed by Arsenal women’s in third with a score of 7.70.

Chelsea women’s has the highest number of expected goals-per-90 minutes of play (2.83), while Arsenal women’s and Manchester City women’s both rank highest for the number of corner kicks (7.76 and 7.44, respectively).

England women's football statistics

Most capped England women's footballers

Fara Williams, former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder, has amassed the most caps in the history of the England women’s national team. With 172 international appearances, Williams has a strong lead on the second position holder, Jill Scott (161).

A breakdown of the most capped footballers for the England National Team

Fara Williams, former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder, has amassed the most caps in the history of the England women’s national team. With 172 international appearances, Williams has a strong lead on the second position holder, Jill Scott (161).

A breakdown of the most capped footballers for the England National Team

Williams also has also scored the second-most goals of the top 10 capped players (40), just behind Kelly Smith on 46.

Three players whose careers began in the 20th century rank for the most caps. Rachel Yankey, active between 1997 and 2013 played in 130 international matches, alongside Gillian Coultard (1981-2000) with 119 caps, and Kelly Smith (1995-2014) with 117 caps.

Only one active player has managed to rank for the most international appearances. Lucy Bronze, right-back for Chelsea, has been playing for just 11 years, a shorter career than any other player in the top 10, but ranks seventh with 124 caps and 15 goals.

Average age of England women's national team

The current England women’s football team (as of July 2024) has an average age of 25.56 years (equivalent to almost 25 years and seven months), across 27 players.

In comparison, the average age of the current England men’s football team is 26.27 years, equivalent to around 26 years and three months. This makes the average age of the men’s squad around eight months older than that of the women’s.

A breakdown of the ages of the current England women’s national football team

The youngest player on the national squad is Khiara Keating. Currently playing as goalkeeper for Manchester City, Keating is just 20-years-old, meanwhile the youngest player on the men’s squad is Kobbie Mainoo, aged 19.

Keating’s eldest teammate is Lucy Bronze. Chelsea’s right-back, Bronze, who featured in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, is 12 years senior to Keating, at 32-years-old. Bronze is two years younger than the oldest player on the men’s team, Kyle Walker (aged 34).

The modal birth year of the national team is 2000, with Hannah Hampton, Esme Morgan, Jessica Naz, Lauren Hemp, and Lucy Thomas all born this year.

England women's top scorer

Although Ellen White, former forward, has scored the most goals for the England women’s team (52), she is surpassed by Beth Mead, forward for Arsenal, for the highest average goals-per-game. With 33 goals and 59 caps, Mead’s average per game is 0.56 goals, compared to White’s 0.46 (52 goals and 113 caps).

A breakdown of the England women’s national team players with the highest average goals-per-game

Mead is the only active player in the rankings.

Kerry Davis, former forward and England’s first black female international player, has the second highest average, with 0.54 per appearance (based on 44 goals and 82 caps).

Hope Powell, who went on to manage the national side, rounds out the top three, with 35 goals and 66 caps the former midfielder scored an average 0.53 goals-per-appearance.

Global women's football statistics

Best female footballers of all time - Ballon d'Or Féminin

The Ballon d'Or Féminin is awarded by France Football to the player the jury believes has performed best over the previous season. It was first awarded in 2018.

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d'Or Féminin twice in consecutive years (2021 and 2022). The Spanish midfielder and forward is the only player to have been awarded it twice.

A breakdown of Ballon d'Or Féminin winners

Note: No award was given in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

Source: 90MIN

Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg, American midfielder Megan Rapinoe, and Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmatí have each won once.

Best female footballers of all time - the Best FIFA Women's Player

The Best FIFA Women’s Player was first awarded in 2016, replacing the former award FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, to the player judged to have performed best.

Alongside her two Ballon d'Or Féminin awards, Alexia Putellas is also the only player to have won the Best FIFA Women’s Player twice, again in consecutive years (2021 and 2022).

A breakdown of the Best FIFA Women's Player winners

Source: Topend Sports

Six others have each won the award once - Carli Lloyd, Marta, Lucy Bronze, Lieke Martens, Megan Rapinoe, and Aitana Bonmatí.

England’s Lucy Bronze is the only defender to have won the award.

All time top goalscorers in international women's football

Christine Sinclair is the highest scoring player in the history of women’s international football, over a career spanning 2000-23. As of 2024, the Canadian forward is the only player to score 190 goals. With 328 caps, Sinclair has an average goal per cap ratio of 0.58.

A breakdown of the women’s football players with the most international goals, globally

The United States has the most top-scoring players, with five (four of whom are retired) ranking for the most goals scored in international competition.

Abby Wambach (2001-15) and Mia Hamm (1987-2004), both forwards for the US team, take second and third place, respectively. Wambach scored 184 goals over 255 appearances (an average of 0.72 goals-per-cap), while Hamm scored 158 goals across 276 matches (0.57 goals-per-cap).

Maysa Jbarah (2005 - ) is the only player to rank from outside the Americas and Europe. With 137 goals scored across 133 appearances, the Jordanian is the only player in the top 10 to have an average goals-per-cap ratio above 1 (1.04).

A breakdown of the highest average goals-per-international appearance across women's football

With her average goal per appearance ratio of 1.04, Jbarah is the top ranking player in women’s international football, and remains the only player to achieve a ratio over 1.

In second place is Italian Elisabetta Vignotto (1970-89). Though she does not rank in the top 10 for most international goals overall, her 107 goals scored over 110 appearances awards her a goal per cap ratio of 0.97.

Narrowly behind Vignotto is Julie Fleeting (1996-2011), who, though only tenth for the most goals, ranks third for the most goals-per-cap. The Scottish player scored 116 goals over 121 appearances, with a goals-per-cap ratio of 0.96.

The United States’ record for most goals-per-cap is weaker than its stronghold for most international goals overall. While the US has the most featured players again, just two players rank for the highest average goals-per-appearance (in fifth and sixth place), compared to five players ranking for the most international goals overall (second, third, fifth, sixth, and eighth place).

Instead, the rankings for women footballers with the most goals-per-cap are more evenly distributed across the world, with players from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas all ranking within the top 10.

Most appearances in women's football

Kristine Lilly, the former forward and midfielder from the United States, has made the most international appearances. With a career spanning 23 years (1987-2010), Lilly has 354 caps.

Lilly far surpasses the male player with the most caps, Cristiano Ronaldo who, with 212 appearances, has just 59.89% of Lilly’s total caps. Moreover, all women’s players in the top 10 ranking have more caps than Ronaldo.

A breakdown of the most capped women’s football players, globally

In second place is Christine Sinclair, Canadian forward for the Portland Thorns, who has achieved 331 caps, spanning 2000-2023.

Three active players make the rankings for most caps. Christine Sinclair (331), Caroline Seger, Swedish midfielder for FC Rosengård, (240), and Sherida Spitse, Dutch midfielder for Ajax, (235).

Women's football transfer statistics

The most expensive women’s football transfer in history occurred in 2024, when Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji was transferred from Madrid CFF to Bay FC for £685,000. This is just 0.35% of the value of the most expensive men’s transfer (£198 million for Neymar in 2017).

A breakdown of the most expensive women’s football transfers

The second and third most expensive women’s transfer transfers also occurred in 2024 and involved forwards.

Zambian forward Barbra Banda was traded from Shanghai Shengli to Orlando Pride for £582,000, while Colombian forward Mayra Ramírez’s transfer fee of £426,000 was paid by Chelsea to Levante.

The only transfer to make the most expensive rankings not from 2023 or 2024, was Keira Walsh’s transfer in 2022. The English midfielder was traded for £400,000 from Manchester City to Barcelona.

A breakdown of the most expensive men’s football transfers

Comparatively, the most expensive transfer in men’s football history occurred in 2017, when Brazilian midfielder Neymar was traded from Barcelona to Paris-Saint Germain for a world-record-breaking £198 million.

Male vs female football statistics can reveal that the average fee across the top 10 most expensive men’s transfers is £119.02 million, a staggering 287.14 times higher than the average of £414,500 across women’s transfers.

Women’s football transfer vs men’s football transfer statistics

Adjusted for inflation, the average market value of players in the Women’s Super League has steadily increased, at an average year on year increase of 8.53%.

A breakdown of the average market value of players in the Women’s Super League and the men’s Premier League.

Source: livefootballtickets via soccerdonna, Transfermarkt, ONS

Although the average market value of male Premier League players suffered a slight dip between 2022/23 and 2023/24 (-2.46%), the average year on year increase is nevertheless 13.05%.

Despite the WSL’s average market value increasing by 20.05% in 2023/24 while the PL’s dipped by -2.46%, the market value nevertheless remains staggeringly higher for men than women. At €72,929 versus €14,562,772, the average market value of WSL players is just 0.50% of the average value of the men’s players.

For the 2024/25 season, the average market value of WSL players increased just 4.03% year on year, while the PL’s market value soared at 35.38%.

Male vs female football statistics show that, as of 2024, the average market value of Women’s Super League players is just 0.39% of that of Premier League players. While the average market value of female footballers is €75,866, male footballers are valued at an average of €19,700,000, a whopping 259.67 times higher than that of female players.

Women's football popularity statistics

Women's sports viewing figures

The UK viewership of women’s sport has increased by an impressive 620.69% between 2012 and 2024.

However, viewership has not consistently trended upwards, facing drops in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2021. Therefore, the average increase year-on-year is 40.54%.

A breakdown of the UK viewing figures of women’s sport

Viewership reached a high in 2019 (14,200,000), but this dropped to 9,200,000 (-35.21%), likely as a result of the COVID pandemic. Figures did not recover again until 2022, when the year-on-year increase was +142.31%. This is likely because the team won the UEFA European Women's Championship in 2022, and went on to reach the final of the World Cup in 2023.

As of 2024, the average UK viewership of women’s sport is 20,900,000.

Women's football average attendance vs men's

For the 2023/24 season of the Women’s Super League, the average attendance at games was 7,404, an increase of 37.44% from the previous season. The average attendance for the men’s Premier League in 2023/24 was 38,559 (420.79% higher than the WSL).

A breakdown of the average attendance at Women’s Super League matches and the men’s Premier League

While the Premier League was able to maintain its attendance post-pandemic (rising 0.53%), the Women’s Super League suffered greatly. Before the pandemic, the average attendance for home games was 3,401, but when open matches returned in 2021/22 this figure had dropped to 1,924, a huge blow of -43.43%.

Interestingly, average attendance at Premier League home games dropped -4.15% between 2022/23 and 2023/24, from 40,230 to 38,559. This could perhaps be attributed to fans skipping home matches in order to save money to travel to watch the 2024 Euros in Germany.

Women's football average attendance

The Arsenal women’s team has the highest average attendance of all teams in the WSL, with nearly 30,000 (29,999).

A breakdown of the average attendance per Women’s Super League match (2023/24)

Though Manchester United takes second place, its average attendance is just 36.52% of that of Arsenal, at 10,957.

Arsenal and Manchester United are the only teams in the Women’s Super League to surpass 10,000 average attendees.

Gender popularity gap in football - male vs female football statistics

There is a clear discrepancy in the online popularity of England men’s and women’s football players, with the top five most followed men all surpassing 10 million, while the top five women only surpass 500,000.

A breakdown of the players with the most Instagram followers in the Women’s Super League and men’s Premier League

Source: evoluted

The most followed player in the Women’s Super League is Lucy Bronze. The Chelsea right-back has 568,000 followers on Instagram.

Meanwhile, the most followed player in the Premier League is Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who has amassed a whopping 16.2 million followers.

Women's football participation statistics

Number of women's football academies in the UK

In a bid to increase women’s participation in football and nurture the next generation of talent, there are 30 accredited Women’s Football Regional Talent Clubs across England.

These offer weekly coaching and local fixtures for ‘excellent’ girls from aged 7-17-years-old.

The tiers assigned to these clubs reflect each organisation’s level of individual growth and infrastructure.

A breakdown of the locations of Women’s Football Regional Talent Clubs

Twelve clubs have been allocated Tier 1 (highest) status, and the majority of these are located to the north of England. Chelsea talent club is the only London-based Tier 1 provider, with Manchester represented twice (United and City Women), and Yorkshire represented by Leeds United and York City.

Tier 2 represents the most talent clubs, with 13 providers included. Geographically, these are located all across England, with Bristol, the Midlands, and the North all represented.

Just five clubs are in Tier 3, with one London club (Charlton Athletic), three Midlands-based clubs (Nottingham Forest, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolves), and one located in South Yorkshire (Doncaster Rovers Belles).

Women's football salary statistics

Highest women's football salary

In 2024, the highest earning women’s footballer globally is Alex Morgan. The American captains San Diego Wave FC, and plays as a striker for the American national team. Kerr’s salary is estimated as $7.10 million per year, with $0.8 million earned on-field, and $6.3 million earned off-field.

A breakdown of the highest paid female football players, globally (2024)

In 2017 Morgan signed up to the Common Goal pledge, a movement which encourages football players to donate at least 1% of their salary to a fund which supports football charities around the world. Only fellow American Megan Rapinoe from the highest earners is alleged to have also joined this pledge.

Megan Rapinoe is the only other player to earn over $4 million annually. With a salary of $7 million, Rapinoe is estimated to earn $0.7 million from play, and $6.3 million off the field.

Alexia Putellas, Trinity Rodman, and Crystal Dunn each earn $4 million or below.

A breakdown of the highest paid male football players, globally (2024)

Meanwhile, male vs female football statistics show that the annual earnings for male football players are drastically different, with the top five earning players all netting over $106 million.

Interestingly, while the majority of female players’ income comes from off the pitch, all male players (excluding Messi), make most of their income on the field.

Cristiano Ronaldo, captain and forward for Saudi Club Al Nassr and the Portuguese national team, is estimated to earn $260 million a year. This is approximately 36.62 times higher than that of the highest earning female player, Alex Morgan.

Women's football sponsorship statistics

The domestic broadcast deal for the English Women’s Super League is worth £8 million per season, the most expensive broadcast deal of any professional women’s team in the world.

In comparison, the domestic broadcast deal for the men’s Premier League is worth a staggering £1.632 billion and is the most valuable broadcast deal in football.

Women's football prize money statistics

At the most recent FIFA Women’s World Cup, the winners, the Royal Spanish Football Federation, were awarded $4.29 million in prize money.

A breakdown of total prize money at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

The winning players were paid $6.21 million.

Comparatively, national soccer associations of teams who made it to the group stage were paid $1.56 million in prize money, and their players were awarded $0.69 million ($690,000).

While the total prize money allotted to the winners of the Women’s World Cup amounted to $10.5 million, the winners at the men’s FIFA World Cup in 2022 received $42 million altogether. This means, in terms of male vs female football statistics, that the global female champions receive just 25% of the prize pool awarded to the men’s champions.

Meanwhile, men’s players in the group stage took home $9 million, approximately 5.52 times more than women’s players ($1,629,000).

The history of women’s football

Women have likely been playing football informally for as long as men. Accounts from the late 18th century document the annual matches of fisherwomen in East Lothian.

When did women’s football start in the UK?

Association football developed in England in the 19th century, providing a standardised system of rules to avoid disagreements between players. However, as this form of football grew in popularity among men, who formed teams and set up leagues, so too did the resistance against women participating in the sport.

The first team

The first formal women’s football team has been credited as Mrs Graham’s XI, set up (under pseudonym) by Helen Graham Matthews in Scotland in 1881. The team’s first documented match was on the ninth of May 1981, but, at a match a week later, a protest against women’s football led to a violent pitch invasion. These invasions continued, interfering with the team’s ability to play, and so this first attempt at women’s league football was called off.

The second team

In 1894, Alfred Hewitt Smith formed the British Ladies Football Club, with Nettie Honeyball (another pseudonym) as captain. Helen Graham Matthews, of Mrs Graham’s XI, also joined. The BLFC played their first public match in 1895, but public outrage centred around the charging of an entry fee. Despite 10,000 spectators attending, with more turned away, press coverage was disparaging, and without continued support the team eventually faded away.

Football during the First World War

During the First World War, women in factories began taking up football as a breaktime activity, going on to form teams. This was particularly prevalent in towns across Northern England and Scotland.

In 1915, the FA suspended the men’s football league as millions of men went off to war. In their absence, women’s football reached new heights of popularity, and the FA went on to allow women’s teams to use league facilities, as a means of fundraising for the war effort.

On boxing day 1920, 53,000 fans flocked to Goodison Park to watch the Dick, Kerr Ladies side take on St. Helen’s Ladies, making it the most attended game of football that day.

The ban

Following the war, women’s teams began to be seen as a threat, with matches drawing far greater numbers of spectators and more press coverage than the men’s teams. There was also uproar over the possibility of women’s players being paid, as this was seen as professionalising the sport.

The FA went on to ban women from playing and using league facilities in December 1921, a ban which was not lifted for fifty years, until 1971.

When did the women's football world cup start?

The FIFA Women’s World Cup was founded in 1991, 20 years after the ban on women’s football was lifted, and 61 years after the men’s tournament was founded.

Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is held one year after the men’s, and has been hosted in eight countries.

The US team has been crowned champion four times, followed by Germany twice, and Japan, Norway, and Spain once each.

The 2023 tournament was won by Spain, 1-0 against England.

FAQs

When was women's football banned?

The Football Association banned women from playing and using league facilities in December 1921. This ban was not lifted for fifty years, until 1971.

Why was women's football banned?

The FA justified its ban on women’s football by claiming financial impropriety - rumours were spreading that women’s teams were taking money raised for charity and using it to pay for players’ appearances.

However, the sexist sentiment against women participating in the sport was clearly evident in the decision-making, with part of the resolution stating “Council feel impelled to express their strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged.

Are women's football goals smaller?

The goalpost dimensions are the same for men’s and women’s football, at eight-foot-high by 24-foot-wide.

This topic is widely debated, as some players and spectators have called for the goals to be made smaller, in a similar move to sports such as women’s netball, where a shorter net is used, and women’s basketball, where the ball is smaller.

Emma Hayes, while manager of Chelsea women’s, penned a column for The Times asking whether goals and pitches should be made smaller to account for the smaller average height of women. Comparatively, former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain dubbed the discussion “ridiculous,” instead calling for dedicated goalkeeper training.

How long is a women's football match?

Women’s football matches are the same length as men’s, at 90 minutes with a 15 minute half-time period.

Who is the best women's football team?

In England, Chelsea have won the most Women’s Super League tournaments, with 7 wins, most recently in the 2023/24 season. The next most successful team is Arsenal who have won three tournaments.

In the Women’s Champions League, which features the leading clubs sides in Europe, Lyon lead the way with 8 triumphs. Barcelona are currently the team to beat, having won the competition in 2023 and 2024.

On a global scale, the United States have won the most Women’s World Cups, with four wins (most recently in 2019), and scored the most goals in its history (142).

Who won the last women's football world cup?

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was won by Spain. Held across Australia and New Zealand, Spain defeated England 1-0 in the final, taking home their first women’s title.

When does the women's world cup start?

The next FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held in Brazil in 2027. Held across 10 Brazilian cities, this is the first time that the Women’s World Cup will be held in South America.

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• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388828/womens-soccer-highest-paid-players/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/266636/best-paid-soccer-players-in-the-2009-2010-season/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1389853/womens-world-cup-prize-money-breakdown/
• https://www.britishlibrary.cn/en/articles/the-history-of-womens-football-in-the-uk/
• https://www.skysports.com/football/news/28508/12071179/siobhan-chamberlain-former-england-goalkeeper-says-making-goals-smaller-for-women-would-be-ridiculous

Methodology

Women’s football entertainment index

Data source used: FBrefs

• Match data for the 21/22, 22/23, and 23/24 seasons of the Women's Super League and the Premier League was obtained from FBref.com in order to calculate which teams are the most entertaining to watch.
• All stats were calculated per 90 minutes of play time, in order to show the average amount of action that happens per game, weighted equally across teams despite different numbers of matches played.
• A variety of variables were selected for analysis. These variables were then used in a weighted percentrank to create a final entertainment score from 0 -10, where 10 is the most exciting.
• An overall average per 90 mins stats was provided for the men’s and women's teams overall, to give a comparison of the two.

The following variables were used (the corresponding number is the weight given for each variable in the final score):

• Possession - 0.061538462
• Goals (not including penalty kicks) - 0.1
• Penalty kicks scored - 0.1
• Penalty kicks attempted - 0.076923077
• Expected goals (not including penalty kicks) - 0.076923077
• Saves - 0.1
• Shots on target - 0.076923077
• Shots from free kicks - 0.076923077
• Crosses made - 0.05
• Corner kicks - 0.076923077
• Shot creating actions - 0.076923077
• Goal creating actions - 0.076923077
• Number of tackles won - 0.05

Women’s football transfer figures

Data sources used: Soccerdonna.de, transfermarkt, ONS

• Market values (in euros) for players in the Women's Super League were obtained through soccerdonna.de. To obtain market values for previous seasons, a combination of Kaggle captures of soccerdonna data and archived waybackmachine web pages were used.
• Market values (in euros) for male players in the Premier League and Champions league were obtained through transfermarkt, to be compared to the women's league.
• Using these figures, an average market value per player per season was calculated for the WSL and the Premier League/Champions league.
• Following this, the consumer price index (CPI) from ONS was used to adjust each season's value for inflation, up to the equivalent of May 2024 values. The index in May was used for each year, as this is when the season ends for the WSL and the PL.
• With the average market value per player adjusted for inflation, the % change year on year for each league was calculated, to show the growth rate over the past few years.
• In addition, the top 50 most expensive transfers per year for Mens and Womens football were averaged by year, to compare how transfer fees were increasing.

Note: Market value is often estimated, and is not necessarily an accurate figure, particularly for lesser known players.

Average attendance

Data sources used: Footballwebpages, worldfootball

• Average attendance data was obtained for the 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons for the Women’s Super League, the Premier League, and the Champions league. (Note: 2020/21 was excluded due to COVID).
• The year on year percentage change for the average attendance of home games for each league was compared, to compare the WSL’s growth to other male leagues.