During this summer's European Championship, the all-time attendance record for a women's match was broken when England met France in the final at Wembly.

But at the same time as major European club team matches attract record audiences, attendance figures are stagnant in Sweden.

The best audience average for a season in the women's league is from 2004 - when the average was 1,127 spectators per match.

After that, the average has never been over 1,000 and if you look at the ten highest audience figures in the series' history, seven of them are at least ten years old.

The fact that the numbers do not lift affects the clubs' conditions - and finances.


Audience revenue has very little impact on the clubs' finances, 13 out of 14 clubs in the women's league told SVT Sport.

- When we make our budget, the audience is not the deciding factor.

If it came to zero, we would also be fine, says Kif Örebro's chairman Fredrik Stengarn to SVT Sport.

Even Lina Bertilsson, chairman of Eskilstuna United, a club that has major financial problems, is on the same track.

- The audience revenue in itself is not a lot of money, but on the other hand, the audience is needed to raise interest in sponsors, it's kind of connected, she says.

Hammarby best audience rating: "Very important"

SVT Sport has been in contact with all clubs in the women's league and only one, Hammarby, believes that audience revenue is a key part of the association's finances.

Hammarby also has by far the highest audience average at its home matches in the series.

- For us, it is a big part, it is very important, partly financially, but also for framing and, the sporting aspect, says Hammarby's sporting director Johan Lager.

AIK is a so-called double club, meaning that they have both a women's and a men's team.

In this way, you get away with not having such a high audience average at the ladies' home matches, club director Manuel Lindberg tells SVT Sport.

- Within the women's side in general, they (audience revenue) are not noticeable, they are so low that it is barely noticeable and it is very sad.

- I don't think people understand how much women's football has developed and the level it maintains, the women's league is a top five league in Europe and is very entertaining and family friendly.

Come and have a look instead of being an expert at home and having lots of opinions, if people started checking, many other revenue streams would be lifted.

If we get more audiences, we get more TV revenue and then we get more sponsors, says Manuel Lindberg.

SEE MORE: Financial crisis in women's Swedish clubs:

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Vittsjö is one of the clubs in the women's league that is struggling financially.

Photo: Bildbyrån