Women’s Manchester derbies to both be held at Premier League stadiums

Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium will host the two Women’s Super League (WSL) Manchester derbies during the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Old Trafford will host its latest WSL fixture – the fourth to be played in front of fans – against Manchester City on November 19. City will host their rivals at the Etihad in late March 2024.

More than 75,000 fans have attended the three WSL matches held at Old Trafford and the club said it is hoping to break the current high attendance of 30,196 – set against Aston Villa Women last season – on derby day.

Polly Bancroft, Manchester United’s head of women’s football, said: “This will be another big occasion for Manchester United Women, and a wonderful opportunity for our amazing fans to come in force to support the team at Old Trafford on derby day.

“We cannot wait to see everyone cheering us on at the Theatre of Dreams and away at the Etihad Stadium, in another fine spectacle for the women’s game.”

The reverse fixture will mark the fourth time that City’s women’s team have played at the 53,400-capacity Etihad following fixtures against Everton in May 2014 and Manchester United in September 2019 and December 2022 respectively. The latter, which took place last season, saw a crowd of 44,259 pack into the stadium.

Speaking about the announcement, City women’s team head coach Gareth Taylor said: “It’s fantastic news that we’ll be returning to the Etihad Stadium once again this coming season.

“Having a club-record crowd watch our WSL game against United last year was an incredibly proud moment for everybody involved with Manchester City and shows just how far we have come, both as a team and with the growth of the women’s game.”

The Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium welcomed a record-breaking crowd of 77,390 earlier this year. Arsenal set a new record attendance for a WSL match last September as 47,367 fans watched its derby match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.