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Werder players say thank you to the fans in Bremen's Weser Stadium - after a defeat against Freiburg
Photo:
IMAGO/Oliver Baumgart / IMAGO/foto2press
The women's Bundesliga has set a record number of viewers after only nine matchdays.
According to the DFB, 173,438 fans attended the previous games.
The record from the 2013/2014 season was thus surpassed early on by around 17,000 visitors.
Back then, 156,355 spectators came to the stadiums on 22 match days.
It was foreseeable that the number of viewers would reach a record high.
The total number of spectators from the previous season had already been reached on the seventh day of the game.
More than 20,000 fans have already watched three games this season.
The record was in the opening game between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich with 23,200 spectators.
21,287 fans watched Bayern's away game at champions VfL Wolfsburg, and 20,417 spectators watched the Werder Bremen vs. SC Freiburg game.
Since last summer's European Championships, when Germany was only beaten by England in the final, football has been perceived differently and has been on the upswing.
The popularity could - at least in the past few weeks, in which Werder's home game against Freiburg falls - also be due to boycott movements for the men's World Cup in Qatar.
For example, the »Unsere KURK« fan organization had advertised alternative offers before the controversial tournament and suggested, among other things, going to women's football.
Instead of rooting for the World Cup in Qatar or in the pub, some fans support their clubs' women's teams.
Fan organization sees a "win-win situation"
"It's a win-win situation," said Helen Breit of "Unsere Turn".
"Soccer fans can support with significantly more fan culture freedom, you can take a stand against this unspeakable men's World Cup and at the same time finally give women's football the recognition it deserves."
However, Breit also sees a long-term opportunity.
»Of course, these are mainly individual campaigns at the moment.
But it is precisely through these actions that people find their way into women's football that they may not have had on their screens before.
And enjoy it and consider coming back,' she said.
The trend in the Bundesliga is positive, but this does not apply to all clubs.
Bayer Leverkusen and MSV Duisburg, for example, have an average of less than 1,000 spectators.
hba/dpa