Athletic Club Bilbao set new record for attendance at women's game

The quarterfinal game of the Copa de la Reina between Athletic Club Bilbao and Atletico Madrid has set a new European attendance record for women's football.

48,121 people turned up at Athletic's San Mames Stadium to watch the game, in which the visitors won 2-0 on Wednesday night.

That is the highest ever attendance for a women's football match in Europe and actually higher than the best attendance the Athletic men's team have managed this season (46,860) in the derby against Real Sociedad, reports Xinhua news agency.

The attendance was higher than the 22,433, who watched the final of the women's Champions League in Cardiff in 2017 and slightly above the 45,419 who saw an international between England and Germany in 2014 and the 41,301, who watched the 2018 European Championship game between Germany and Norway.

Aitor Elizegi, who was recently elected as the new Athletc Club president, had promised to strengthen the club's commitment to its women's section and has said that the club will consider holding more games in the stadium.

"It's a shame we couldn't give the fans something to cheer about, but this makes me proud of Athletic," commented coach Joseba Agirre after the match.

--IANS

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