NWSL’s next fan wave is arriving on YouTube and TikTok

The National Women's Soccer League is pulling in fresh fans far beyond the turnstiles, with its YouTube audience jumping sharply early in the 2026 season.

According to data released by the NWSL, views across the league's YouTube channels rose 41.7% over the first 10 weeks of the season to 11.2 million. Watch time was up nearly 50%, and subscribers increased 17.9%.

The digital pop comes alongside gains in the stands, on social media and at the merch counter, giving the league several signs that casual attention is turning into regular fandom.

A broader fan base is tuning in

Nielsen estimated the NWSL had 39.3 million fans in the United States in 2025, compared with 30.8 million in 2023. On ESPN, women made up nearly half of the league's audience for a second straight season, while viewership among women ages 18 to 34 rose 30% year over year.

Spanish-language audiences are growing, too. ESPN Deportes' average NWSL audience more than doubled from 2024, rising 109%, according to figures cited in league and ESPN reporting.

The boom is visible in stadiums. More than 40,000 people attended a Gotham FC match at Citi Field, which the club called the largest women's sporting event in New York history. Mashable senior reporter Matt Binder, who attended, said there were “way more younger girls there than even young boys at any NYCFC game” he had been to.

Clips are doing heavy lifting

For younger supporters, the match is only part of the product. NWSL clubs and players post highlights, interviews, training footage and behind-the-scenes material on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, keeping fans close between games.

The league said match coverage produced more than 1 billion minutes viewed across broadcast, streaming and digital outlets through Week 10.

Matt Hochberg, who runs the FIFA-licensed women's soccer agency Hochberg Sports Marketing, wrote on X that women's sports fans “skew younger” and “digital-first,” adding that the audience is attractive to brands trying to reach those viewers.

The league's own social reach is also climbing. The NWSL said its combined following across six major platforms rose 24% year over year to 3.1 million, with fans responding to highlights, player stories and behind-the-scenes access.

Players are bringing their own audiences. Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson each have social followings in the hundreds of thousands. The league also had players from 55 national teams in 2025, according to Genius Sports, giving clubs ties to fans outside the United States. Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga, who represents Malawi, has won back-to-back league MVP awards.

Attendance and merchandise are up

NWSL clubs averaged 11,044 fans per match during the first half of 2026, up 10% from the same stretch last year. The league reached 1 million attendees faster than in any previous season and is on track to average more than 10,000 fans for a fourth straight year.

The biggest crowd came in March, when expansion team Denver Summit FC hosted the Washington Spirit at Empower Field at Mile High. The game drew 63,004 fans, a league record and the largest crowd for a professional women's sporting event in the United States, according to the NWSL.

Denver Summit and Boston Legacy FC joined this season, lifting the league to 16 clubs. Games are carried by CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video, ION, Victory+ and NWSL+.

Fans are spending, as well. The NWSL said combined club merchandise sales rose 72% in the first half of the season from the same period in 2025, while sales through NWSL Shop climbed 207%. The league did not disclose total revenue.

On the field, the NWSL said every club has beaten a higher-ranked opponent at least once this season. At midseason, upsets were up 10% from last year, and twice as many matches had been decided in the final 15 minutes.

This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.