On today’s soccer-centered episode of The IX Sports Podcast, host Kathleen Gier recaps opening weekend of the 2026 NWSL season, including Boston Legacy FC’s inaugural match and attendance records broken across the league.
First, Gier broke down which teams saw the highest attendance over the weekend, and how a strong showing at the home opener can help boost morale and overall excitement for the rest of the season.
“The NWSL announced a record high attendance, with more than 129,000 fans in the stands this weekend,” Gier said. “That gave them an average of just over 16,000 per match. Boston was the big outlier there, obviously at Gillette Stadium, where they had a huge capacity, I think they had just over [30,000]. Kansas City was also an announced sell out, but that was their limit of [11,500] at their stadium. So a lot of variation, but everybody’s numbers are up, which we love to see. And I hope we’re able to continue that throughout the season.”
“I know we are still waiting for [Boston Legacy FC] to get some more better news about White Stadium and make some progress there, but it sounds like at least for now, this was a good substitute and a good opportunity for the city to really come out and show out for that first game,” she continued. “I’m excited to see what Denver does for their opener as well. That’s still a little ways off, but they will be at Empower Field at Mile High, and I enjoy an NFL stadium crossover. I like having that higher attendance and being able to just really welcome them with that energy, even if not every fan comes back for the next game. I think that it gives a lot of people an opportunity to kind of join in on that excitement the first weekend, and then kind of settle into a routine after that, which I think is really important as we’re trying to grow women’s sports or continuing to go into new metros.”
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“I think it’s so special for these athletes as well,” Gier said. “Because I’m sure that they’re nervous and they’re really wondering what they’re going to walk into exactly. And so I think having as many people cheering for them as possible on that first day, as many people walking around the city wearing gear, all of that is good for women’s sports.”
Tune in to hear from postgame conferences across the league’s opening weekend, and more from Gier about the major headlines and stories heading into the first month of NSWL regular-season play.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily.
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