Record Italian crowd of 39,027 watches Juventus women beat Fiorentina
A week after Barcelona and Atletico Madrid made women’s soccer history, Italy has made some history of its own.
A record crowd of 39,027 fans packed the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Sunday to watch Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0, the most fans ever to attend a women’s match in the country.
The winning goal was scored by Sofie Junge Pedersen in the 84th minute, and it preserved Juventus’ lead atop the 12-team Serie A women’s table, four points ahead of Fiorentina.
This comes seven days after 60,739 fans watched Barca beat Atleti at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, a record for women’s club soccer worldwide. Tickets to that match were free for Atleti club members and as little as $5.66 or so for the general public.
While tickets to Sunday’s match in Italy were free, there’s no denying the rapid rise in popularity of women’s soccer. The match drew over two and a half times more fans than the previous national record, which was 14,000 according to the Associated Press. Juventus usually plays at the club training ground in Vinovo, located south of Turin, and Sunday’s match approached the 45,500 capacity of the Allianz Stadium.
The scenes were majestic:
🇬🇧 We have kick-off at Allianz Stadium! Let the Première begin! ⚽️
🇮🇹 Fischio d'inizio all'Allianz Stadium. Comincia la Première! ⚽️#JuveFiorentina #JuventusWomen #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/IawY99uTnn— Juventus FC Women (@JuventusFCWomen) March 24, 2019
🇬🇧 @ValeCernoia7 and the fans getting ready at Allianz Stadium. ⚽️ 👏
🇮🇹 @ValeCernoia7 e l'Allianz Stadium sono pronti! ⚽️ 👏#JuveFiorentina #JuventusWomen #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/QjNTssNVnw— Juventus FC Women (@JuventusFCWomen) March 24, 2019
Italian national team defender and Juventus legend Leonardo Bonucci tweeted his praise and support:
Il calcio e la passione non conoscono distinzioni. Una giornata storica e un Allianz Stadium pieno di tifo e passione.
Complimenti alle #JuventusWomen per la vittoria #FinoAllaFine @juventus pic.twitter.com/mXmqkMnZd2— Leonardo Bonucci (@bonucci_leo19) March 24, 2019
Translated of Italian, his words read: “Football and passion know no distinctions. A historic day and an Allianz Stadium full of support and passion. Congratulations to the #JuventusWomen for the victory. #UntilTheEnd.”
When it comes to the growth of women’s soccer around the world, there seems to be no end in sight.
Joey Gulino is the editor of Yahoo Soccer and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.
More from Yahoo Sports: