"Attendance FC? That's your insult? You're jealous!" Rachel Major regularly finds herself fending off jibes from rival fans towards Arsenal's growing attendances.

A supporter of 20 years, she has enjoyed a prime seat at the club that is driving the growth of the women's game. Last season, the Gunners averaged 34,000 at Emirates Stadium, almost four times the next highest average attendance which was set by Chelsea - and better than eight Premier League clubs., external Arsenal's home crowds accounted for 41% of all supporters at WSL fixtures, a club success story, though one that raises questions about the overall supporter experience as both league and clubs strive to progress. To investigate, BBC Sport asked fans how the game can keep existing followers engaged, captivate new supporters and inspire the next generation.

What's working? In January 2026, a YouGov study, external found 28.5m fans of WSL football globally, split equally by gender with almost half aged 18-34. It is notably different from the men's game, which skews male and older.

"At a men's game, you feel like you're just a cog," says Donna Jones, a season ticket-holder at London City Lionesses. "The game doesn't care about the fans. In the women's game, the players and staff want to build a relationship." Bankrolled by billionaire majority owner Michele Kang, London City are the only fully independent WSL club and averaged a home crowd of just under 3,000 at League One Bromley's Copperjax Community Stadium in their top-flight debut.

Their efforts to entice new supporters earned the Best Fan Engagement prize at the 2026 Women's Football Awards., external "The club have done a fantastic job at creating an environment that's not just about the match," adds Jones. "They have different food options, a T-shirt cannon, foam fingers, player signings, a spin-the-wheel at half-time - there is so much. "They are really trying to grow the fanbase." The family-friendly hallmark of the women's game has been critical to its growth in England, whose back-to-back victories at the European Championships in 2022 and 2025 ignited an explosion of interest.

Pre-match activities planned for the Wembley fan park before England's fixture against Spain in April encouraged Mark Jenkins to take his six-year-old daughters to their first professional match. "We did a lot of research in terms of what time to turn up and what would be going on - it was a really good atmosphere in the fan park," he tells BBC Sport. "[My daughters] enjoyed it and the first thing they said was, 'Can we do it again?' "Women's sport is more accessible now.

Eventually they will know the players' names and have posters on the wall just as I had." The women's game has trialled a fan choice pilot, external over the past two seasons, permitting alcohol to be consumed in the stands. Adopted by 18 clubs across the WSL and WSL2, it has been well received, with 70% of supporters now in favour, external of the initiative. "It's absolutely brilliant," affirms Arsenal season ticket-holder Major.

"People are better behaved. "Before, you had 15 minutes to get in the queue, to buy a drink and then down it before you got in.