The current record for a Swedish club match in women's football has three years on its back. On October 10, 2021, 18,537 people came to Tele2 Arena to see Hammarby play a Damallsvenskan derby against AIK.
Now "Bajen" hopes to polish its own record.
When tickets for the upcoming home matches in the Champions League against Manchester City (21/11) and Barcelona (12/12) were released last week, over 10,000 were sold for each match after just three days.
Record audience earlier in the fall
Hammarby's team captain Alice Carlsson says it's time to break that audience record.
I was at the record match against AIK and really want it to be beaten. And if it's going to happen, it's when big teams like Barcelona and Manchester City come here and play on Södermalm, says Carlsson.
On Monday morning, the City match was up to over 12,400 sold, while the same figure for Barcelona's visit was just under 12,000. It's on par with the home match against Benfica earlier in the fall, when Hammarby set a new audience record (12,062) for a Champions League qualifying match.
"Strange" audience support
And the fans' interest seems unwavering despite not always going smoothly on the pitch. Hammarby got a proper thrashing away against Barcelona three weeks ago, but despite a 0-9 loss, the traveling "Bajen" supporters kept cheering throughout the match.
It was a strange feeling. We lost 0-9, the goals poured in, but they still cheered the loudest in the entire arena. You get proud of feeling that support, says Alice Carlsson.
To reach the audience records for the main tournament, Tele2 Arena would need to be significantly expanded. The audience record is held by Barcelona, who played their Champions League semifinal at home against Wolfsburg in 2022 in front of 91,648 spectators at Camp Nou.
18,537 people: Hammarby–AIK, Damallsvenskan, 2021, Tele2 Arena (4–1).
17,623: Hammarby–Häcken, Swedish Cup final, 2023, Tele2 Arena (3–0).
15,033: Hammarby–Häcken, Damallsvenskan, 2023, Tele2 Arena (3–2).
12,830: Hammarby–Djurgården, Damallsvenskan, 2023, Tele2 Arena (1–0).
12,062: Hammarby–Benfica, Champions League qualifying, 2024, Tele2 Arena (1–2).
9,413: Linköping–Umeå, Damallsvenskan, 2008, Folkungavallen (1–4),
8,978: Hammarby–Djurgården, Damallsvenskan, 2022, Tele2 Arena (3–0).
8,907: Umeå–Djurgården/Älvsjö, Damallsvenskan, 2004, Gammliavallen (2–3).
Source: Swedish Football Association, obosdamallsvenskan.se.
