Alexia headlines WSL boom as England becomes women’s football’s benchmark | OneFootball

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, England has become the model to follow and the Women’s Super League begins a landmark season on Friday. The 12-team competition, after a painful professionalisation, has attracted stars such as Alexia Putellas, Mapi León and Ona Batlle.

Barclays’ 2019 title deal was the first big lift, sharpening focus on sponsors, TV and private investment, and on three pillars, global talent, bigger audiences and sustainability.

England’s Euro 2022 triumph on home soil reinforced the project and drew in more partners.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United took women’s matches to their main grounds. This season many will play the full campaign there, drawing tens of thousands most weekends. In Spain, few clubs open their primary grounds for league games.

Last season’s average attendance was 6,872, and the record crowd was 56,537 for Arsenal-Chelsea 1-1 on 8 November 2025.

The WSL has a five-year, 65 million pound TV deal with Sky Sports and BBC, yet some 2025-26 matches drew surprisingly low audiences.

Unselected games stream free on YouTube. Views jumped from 2.4 million to 39.6 million in one season, with roughly three in four viewers outside the UK.

Alexia Putellas brings extra allure this weekend, her London City Lionesses debut sold out at speed. The Michelle Kang-owned club said it was their fastest ever sell-out and a single-match ticketing record.

So far 10 players have left Spain for English clubs, with moves including Mapi León to London City, Ona Batlle and Misa Rodríguez to Arsenal, plus Natalia Ramos and Andrea Medina.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”