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Newcastle draw biggest women's football crowd in England for 2021-22 with 22,000 people at St. James' Park

Newcastle drew the biggest women's football crowd in England for the 2021-22 campaign so far on Sunday as 22,000 people packed into St. James' Park for their latest National League Division One game.

The Women's Super League clash between Manchester United and Everton previously held this season's record attendance, with Old Trafford hosting 20,241 on March 27.

Newcastle Women went past that mark at the weekend on their debut at St. James' Park, with the kick-off time for the match initially delayed by 15 minutes to allow fans extra time to get to their seats.

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Newcastle's record-breaking day

22,134 supporters watched the fourth-tier outfit beat Alnwick Town 4-0, and they were in full voice after Katie Barker scored the team's first-ever goal at the Magpies' iconic stadium.

Newcastle Women usually play their games at Druid Park, where their previous record crowd was set at 2,700 in an FA Cup encounter with Ipswich Town.

"It's just such a fantastic experience," Newcastle head coach Becky Langley said of the occasion. "The crowds today, I'm just so proud of. Everyone came together as a city and Newcastle fans have done the whole club proud.

"To come out in such big numbers for a women's football game is just something that we could only have dreamed of."

The women's team received a whole host of congratulatory messages after the game, including from popular TV show hosts Ant & Dec, both of who are well-known fans of the club.

What is the record attendance for a women's match?

The 2021-22 season has been a huge one for the development of the women's game, with Barcelona breaking the world attendance record twice at Camp Nou.

The Femeni side were watched by 91,553 in a Clasico win over Real Madrid in March, but that crowd was bettered a short while later as 91,648 spectators turned up to see them beat Wolfsburg 5-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

The previous record had stood for more than 20 years, with a 90,185 attendance recorded when the United States played China in the Women's World Cup final in 1999.

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