BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Women’s soccer celebrated a milestone Wednesday when a world-record crowd of more than 91,000 people watched Barcelona defeat Real Madrid 5-2 in the Champions League at the Camp Nou Stadium.
Organizers said 91,553 people were in attendance in Barcelona. The previous record for any women’s game was 90,185 for the 1999 World Cup final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl.
“I don’t have the words to describe it,” Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas said. “It was super magical. The game ended and the fans didn’t want to leave. It was incredible.”
At the 2012 Olympic final in London, 80,203 people saw the U.S. defeat Japan 2-1 to win the gold medal.
The previous club record was 60,739 in a Spanish league match between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona at Atlético’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in 2019. The previous women’s Champions League record was 50,212 for a game between Lyon and Frankfurt in Munich in 2012.
A stadium-wide mosaic featured the words “More than Empowerment” on the grandstands of the Camp Nou.
“Culers, the world record for attendance at a women’s football match is ours!” Barcelona wrote on Twitter.
The Catalan club advanced to the semifinals 8-3 on aggregate after winning the first leg 3-1 in Madrid last week.
Putellas scored one of the goals for Barcelona, which will face either Arsenal or Wolfsburg in the semifinals.
It was the first time Barcelona’s women’s team played a match at the Camp Nou in front of fans. It had played at the stadium before but behind closed doors because of restrictions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The team usually play its matches at the much smaller Johan Cruyff Stadium, which holds about 6,000 fans. The Camp Nou has a 99,000-capacity.
The match sold out quickly after free tickets for club members were snapped up two months in advance. The cheapest tickets for non-members were priced up to 15 euros ($16).
Barcelona has won all seven meetings with Madrid, which only recently created its women’s team.
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