Athletic Bilbao set a new attendance record for a women's match after 48,121 fans filled the San Mames stadium on Wednesday, reports, www.sportspromedia.com/.
Coming as Bilbao's women's side took on Atletico Madrid in the Copa de la Reina domestic knockout cup competition, Athletic have claimed that the figure is the largest in history for a club match in Europe. It also broke the previous record in Spain – also held by Bilbao, which was set in 2003 when 35,000 fans came to watch Bilbao's women's team beat Seville-based Hispalis to clinch the league title.
The number is also close to 2,000 greater than any turnout attracted by the men's side in this season's La Liga. Bilbao, currently sitting 11th in the top tier, have not seen a crowd of more than 46,860 during the 2018/19 season.
The club charged €5 per ticket for non-members, while offering free entry to season ticket holders. The initiative was praised by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for "writing a part of football history in Spain".
In spite of the record home crowd, visitors Atletico won the game, taking them into the semi-finals of the women's equivalent of the Copa del Rey tournament.
