Manchester was taken over by football on Wednesday evening. But neither Manchester United nor Manchester City were in action, instead, the city was packed with thousands of fans heading to Old Trafford for the opening game of the 2022 Women’s European Championship.
The city’s pubs were full pre-game as England were set to take on Austria, a game the hosts won 1-0, and the atmosphere around the ground was even building hours before kick off.
Already, over 500,000 tickets have been sold for this summer’s games in England, the final at Wembley is already a sellout, and the opening game set records.
A record at Old Trafford
With 68,871 people in attendance on Wednesday, a new Women’s European Championship record was not only beaten, but smashed. The previous record was for the 2013 final between Germany and Norway with 41,301.
In 2005, England opened a European Championship against Finland in front of 29,092 people. That was in Manchester as well, but at the Etihad Stadium, but this summer’s opener was on another level.
Just like the regularly-set records in the 2021/22 Women’s Champions League, Wednesday showed us that we have entered a new era of women’s football. How things have changed.
England are dreaming of tasting silverware on home soil this summer, but they are by no means clear favourites for the Euros and there are plenty fo strong teams competing.
For Spanish fans, referee Marta Huerta de Aza might have caught the eye at Old Trafford, as she became the first Spaniard to take charge of a European Championship game, and what an event it was to mark the occasion.
