Hibs midfielder Rachael Boyle points to last season’s record crowd at Celtic Park as she insists more games at bigger venues will elevate the game.
The SWPL broke the attendance record three times last season, including the Capital Cup game in November which saw a phenomenal 8,000 fans pack into Easter Road.
And a record breaking 8,234 fans attended SWPL games in August, which is a 30 per cent rise compared to the same period last year.
Scotland star Rachael Boyle told The Women’s Football Show: “We’ve obviously had it with the Capital Cup where it’s fully funded so fans can come in for free.
“It really helps to attract some fans in and allows people the opportunity to come to the stadium, watch a game and watch their club.
“Whether it’s men’s or women’s football that they support, they can come along and see if they enjoy it, so hopefully then then attracts them to come back.
“It just makes it that bit more difficult when it’s smaller venues and kids haven’t got much freedom to run around but when you look at Celtic Park and they’ve got the Green Brigade coming in it really elevates the game and what an occasion that was.”
The highest attendance to date this season was for the game between Rangers and Glasgow City at Broadwood, which saw 1,196 fans witness the top of the table clash.
There was also a record-breaking crowd of 459 for Montrose on opening day, when they took on Celtic at Links Park in what was their first ever top-flight match
Scotland star Rachael Boyle added: “I think the spectacle of the game matched the crowd that they had, I think it was a fascinating game to watch.
“It’s something that people really enjoyed I think the more visibility we can get it’s only going to grow the game.”
