On this day (11 December) in 2022 I was at the Etihad Stadium when a new record crowd for a women’s club game in Greater Manchester was established. 44,259 watched Manchester City’s women’s team draw 1-1 with Manchester United. The attendance best all home games by Greater Manchester’s clubs; WFA Cup finals played in the area and games played by Dick, Kerr Ladies and other prominent women’s clubs over the previous 140 years or so. For those wondering the top five highest club attendances as recorded in Greater Manchester by the end of December 2022 were:
- 44,259 City v United, Etihad, December 2022
- 43,615 United v City, Old Trafford, November 2023
- 31,213 City V United, Etihad, September 2019
- 31,000 (occasionally reported as 35,000) Dick, Kerr Ladies v Bath Ladies, Old Trafford, January 1921
- 30,196 United V Aston Villa, Old Trafford, December 2022
You can read about the first competitive women’s Manchester Derby, which occurred in 1990, here:
Gary James' Football Archive 