The showpiece event, which will be held on Sunday 14 May at Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, has seen over 10,000 tickets issued in the last five weeks since the 30k mark was reached, highlighting the appetite fans have for the match, with the Finalists due to be confirmed in April.

A record 49,094 fans witnessed Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City in last year’s Final, with both clubs still in the competition following this past weekend’s Fifth Round.

Tickets for this year’s Final can be purchased here. For accessible tickets please call 0800 093 0824.

Category Pricing
Category 1 – £30
Category 2 – £25
Category 3 – £15
Concession (OAP/Student) – £10
Junior (Under 16) – £5
Group Adult (9+) – £15

The competition is currently at the Quarter-Final stage, with the next set of ties due to be played on Sunday 19 March.

With thanks to the FA

A crowd of 49,094 contributed to a fantastic atmosphere within Wembley Stadium connected by EE as they watched Chelsea win the competition for the fourth time. The previous record was set in 2018 when 45,423 were present to see Chelsea defeat Arsenal at the national stadium.

In a season that has seen game-changing broadcast deals for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and unprecedented interest in the women’s game, this record attendance at Wembley Stadium highlights the momentum generated ahead of this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO in England.

Baroness Sue Campbell, The FA’s Director of Women’s Football said: “That was a special day for the women’s game. The atmosphere in and around the stadium from early this morning has been absolutely fantastic, it’s exactly the sort of occasion we hoped for when we committed to hosting the Final at Wembley Stadium every season. The picture of Olympic Way packed with families, friends, girls and boys is an image that will live with me for a long time.

“This has been a landmark domestic season for women’s football. We have seen a huge growth in TV and digital audiences throughout the season and nearly 50,000 at Wembley today shows the appetite to attend live women’s football in this country. I’m delighted they’ve been rewarded with a great spectacle between two top teams.

The momentum certainly doesn’t stop here. After a fascinating FA Women’s National League Play-off Final next Saturday, there’s a hugely exciting summer ahead. A major tournament on home soil provides us with an incredible opportunity to not only drive participation, refereeing, and coaching but also be even more ambitious with our desire to grow the fanbase. Days like this are just part of the journey, not the end.”

With thanks to the FA

Sensory Rooms at Wembley Stadium (Photo by Christopher Lee – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

The new technology used within the sensory rooms includes traditional sensory equipment, alongside a stadium-first immersive solution to enable the stadium to accommodate the widest range of access requirements and achieve the greatest level of inclusivity.

The sensory rooms, designed and installed in partnership with multisensory equipment specialists Experia and in consultation with the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, will provide guests who would ordinarily find the stadium experience challenging a safe and comfortable space to enjoy events and match-days.

Wembley Stadium’s title partner, EE, has further strengthened their partnership with the iconic venue through their support of the sensory rooms. As well as working on ways to maintain the rooms as best-in-class, EE will ensure the spaces have full fibre connectivity.

The launch of the rooms also aims to create a pathway to enable guests with disabilities to progress and go on to be able to enjoy an event in general admission.

The opening of the spaces makes Wembley Stadium the first venue in the country to offer two sensory rooms and the first music venue to launch this offering.

Sensory Rooms at Wembley Stadium (Photo by Christopher Lee – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Matthew Owen, Wembley Stadium’s Customer Engagement Manager & Lead on Disability Access planning and provision, said: “To be able to open these spaces at the most iconic multi-purpose venue in the world is a moment of great excitement. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive stadium, and this further reinforces that commitment.

“On a personal level, having been involved in disability access throughout my career and as an adult with Asperger’s Syndrome, I have seen first-hand the benefit these spaces and programmes can bring. I would like to thank everyone who has helped bring these spaces to life – including Experia, Nordoff Robbins, EE and the wider team at Wembley Stadium. “I’d also like to acknowledge the efforts of The Shippey Campaign, who worked with Sunderland AFC to bring the first sensory rooms into a football environment.”

Phil Rogers, BT/EE Sports Sponsorship said: “As Lead Partner of Wembley Stadium and all England teams, one of EE’s key ambitions is to support the growth of disability football on the pitch but also ensure the game is as inclusive as possible for all fans and spectators with disabilities.

“There should be no barriers to enjoy the game, especially at the home of English football. EE is proud to support the new sensory rooms at Wembley Stadium, which open this weekend providing a safe and comfortable environment for families to enjoy a day to savour.”

Sensory Rooms at Wembley Stadium (Photo by Christopher Lee – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Gareth Jones, Founder of Experia, said: “We’re delighted to have helped Wembley Stadium design and instal their sensory rooms. The use of new technology will ensure that everyone who would love to attend an event or match-day is empowered to enjoy their favourite teams and artists perform in a safe, comfortable space with their families.

“It’s been fantastic for us to see such an iconic venue leading the way and we hope it will act as an example to others and be a catalyst for change in other stadia in the UK and further afield.”

Sandy Trappitt, Head of Partnerships at Nordoff Robbins, commented: “We are proud to be involved in this exciting launch of two multi-purpose rooms, which will give people who wish to attend events the opportunity to do so in a safe and enjoyable way. As an organisation it is our privilege to connect, collaborate and co-create music with our clients.

“We aim to advocate for their continued access to the therapeutic benefits of music. Wembley Stadium is host to some of the biggest sporting events and music performances, and all guests will now be able to enjoy everything the venue has to offer.”

To find out more about the sensory rooms or to enquire about their availability at an event in the future, please click here.

With thanks to the FA via Matchfit

One of the pleasures of watching women’s football is that the crowd all mingle together quite happily and there is no segregation into separate areas of the ground, today was no different and we were sitting amongst both sets of fans with the Chelsea drummer to the left and the Notts County drummer to the right.  Gradually the lower tier filled and soon the teams were on the pitch being introduced to Mark Sampson (England Coach) and Greg Dyke (FA Chairman).  It was nice to see Mark Sampson greet Laura Bassett; the rapport between player and coach apparent.

Finally kick off – and Chelsea were very slow to get going, for the first twelve minutes the Lady Pies retained the ball and kept Chelsea on the back foot without really threatening at all.  Eventually though the blues grew into the game and looked threatening every time they attacked.  They looked solid in defence, and as they grew in confidence some of the swagger drained from the Lady Pies who showed lots of endeavour in the middle of the park but no real cutting edge in the final third.  Ellen White was effectively marked out of the game and unable to make any impact.

The goal came on 37′ with a cross from Eni Aluko and despite Alex Greenwood’s best efforts and Carly Telford trying to get to the ball it was the simplest job for Ji So-Yun to stab home from just a few yards out.

Chelsea had at least two other chances when it seemed harder to miss than to score but miss they did, and the Lady Pies were unable to punish them, their best efforts coming around the 60 minute mark when a shot from Desiree Scott was deflected behind and the resultant corner was cleared off the line.

Chelsea held out for the historic win and were worthy winners on the day, however the real winner today was women’s football.

It was a real treat to listen to the young man sitting behind us who had brought his young daughter to her first ever football match: we heard him explaining how if she wanted to, when she was a little bigger she would be able to play football, because there are lots of girls teams now, and how happy he would be to take her to training and matches; to watch her play – quite made the heart sing.

How wonderful that these youngsters will grow up with the likes of Laura Bassett and Claire Rafferty as their role models.

We left to the strains of the Chelsea anthem: Blue is the colour, football is the game, We’re all together, and winning is our aim, So cheer us on through the sun and rain, ’cause Chelsea, Chelsea is our name – seemed appropriate!

Fifth round draw was announced today

The stage was set for a memorable afternoon, with a record 45,619 crowd in attendance to see the Three Lions’ first match at the famous stadium since it re-opened in 2007. It was also the occasion of Karen Carney’s 100th cap.  England had won all their 10 World Cup qualifiers en route to the 2015 World Cup in Canada and came into the match on a high but Mark Sampson’s team were beaten by three first half goals.  The first was a deflection off Alex Scott as she struggled to keep out Simone Laudehr’s header, then the German Captain, Celia Sasis added two more.

England had won all their qualifiers but so too had Germany and in truth the German side were not only very skillful, but they were big and fast and out-muscled England all over the pitch.  Eni Aluko was effectively nullified as successive crosses were cut out by the German defence.

The Lionesses were unable to launch a comeback against the two-time world champions and the wait for a win over Germany has now stretched to 20 matches.  But a bumper crowd had braved the downpours to be a part of this historic event and they were treated to a pulsating opening period.  And it may have been a different story if Jordan Nobbs terrific 25 yard strike just seconds after kick off had gone in instead of rattling the cross bar.

It was a frenetic start and the opening goal came in the sixth minute as Laudehr arrived at the near post to head Behringer’s corner towards goal, only for the ball to brush off Scott and past Bardsley.

Things got worse for England before the quarter-hour mark as Sasic capitalised on a mix-up between Fara Williams and Steph Houghton on the halfway line, raced clear down the left and clipped the ball beyond the advancing Bardsley.

Rattled by those early setbacks, Sampson’s side were unable to get a foothold in the game but attempted to break at speed at every attempt. On one such occasion, Scott scampered down the right and picked out Nobbs with her cross. The 21-year-old’s looping header was caught by Almuth Schult who stumbled backwards but not far enough over the goal-line.

Schult was called into action once more before the break to smother Williams’ 18-yard effort on the half volley.  But there was still time for Germany to extend their lead, and ultimately complete the win, as Sasic grabbed her second of the game on the stroke of half time, heading home Tabea Kemme’s pinpoint centre.

Substitute Fran Kirby, on for Eniola Aluko, was a stride away from having a clean strike at goal on the edge of the box but she slipped before making contact – and fellow sub Jodie Taylor dragged a shot wide of the target soon after.  Then Jill Scott fired into the side-netting and Houghton headed wide in the final minute as England looked for a goal to mark the occasion.

There will be plenty of positives to take from this match, England having received an challenging test to make them very aware, if they weren’t already, of the standard necessary to compete at the highest level.  Carney herself said at the end of the match that they have learnt a lot and will come back fitter, faster and stronger, and she is confident they can do that.  The excitement of the day also meant that the Lionesses lost some of their composure which resulted in frequent loss of possession, but these are things that can be built on and remedied in the six months before the World Cup in June.

Starting line-up for England:

England Women: 1 Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), 2 Alex Scott (Arsenal), 5 Steph Houghton (C; Manchester City), 6 Lucy Bronze (Manchester City), 3 Demi Stokes (South Florida Bulls), 7 Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), 4 Fara Williams (Liverpool), 8 Karen Carney (Birmingham City), 9 Lianne Sanderson (Arsenal), 10 Toni Duggan (Manchester City), 11 Eniola Aluko (Chelsea).

Substitutes: 19 Fran Kirby (Reading) for Aluko (62), 18 Jill Scott (Manchester City) for Williams (71), 20 Jodie Taylor (Washington Spirit) for Sanderson (80), 16 Jo Potter (Birmingham City) for Scott (84), 14 Alex Greenwood (Everton) for Stokes (84), 12 Laura Bassett (Chelsea) for Bronze (90)

Substitutes not used: 13 Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal), 15 Claire Rafferty (Chelsea), 17 Jade Moore (Birmingham City), 21 Carly Telford (Notts County), 22 Jess Clarke (Notts County).

Head coach: Mark Sampson

Germany: 12 Almuth Schult, 3 Josephine Henning, 5 Annike Krahn, 6 Simone Laudehr, 7 Melanie Behringer, 13 Celia Sasic (C), 14 Tabea Kemme, 16 Melanie Leupolz, 17 Jennifer Cramer, 18 Alexandra Popp, 20 Lena Goessling.

Substitutes: 10 Dzsenifer Marozsan for Behringer (46), 22 Luisa Wenseng for Kemme (46), 11 Anja Mittag for Leupolz (46), 8 Pauline Bremer for Laudehr (76), 4 Babett Peter for Cramer (89), 23 Verena Faisst for Sasic (89)

Substitutes not used: 21 Laura Benkarth, 28 Lisa Weiss, 29 Meike Kamper, 2 Bianca Schmidt, 15 Kathrin Hendrich, 24 Lena Petermann, 25 Sara Dabritz.

Goals: Scott (OG,6), Sasic (12, 45)

Bookings: Mittag (58)

Head coach: Silvia Neid

Referee: Esther Staubli

Attendance: 45,619

It seems as if this is a culmination of a lifetime’s work, and when I look back to the generations who were not even permitted to play the sport; when I was coaching youngsters the mothers who asked me not to encourage their daughters as they didn’t want them playing the football; the time when schools wouldn’t let the girls play and the FA would not countenance girls’ leagues – we have really come a very long way.

I look at the women in the current team, some of whom had to go to the USA to play; Fara who endured seven years of homelessness with only her football to keep her going; Eni Aluko about to qualify for as a lawyer, Karen Carney on the verge of her 100th cap; Alex Scott, who dreamt of this as she played on a concrete pitch; women who have had to juggle jobs and/or studying with intensive training – how did/do they manage?

Do they worry that the occasion, with 55,000 eager, happy supporters will get to them and impede their performance, or will the encouragement give them the confidence to play at their best?  I wonder if they managed to sleep last night or whether the excitement was too much.

I am convinced that the combined success of our rugby team winning the World Cup this summer, and the cricket team retaining the Ashes and going on to series wins over India and South Africa has all helped to raise the profile of women’s sport this year.  Its been incredible so far.

Whatever the result on Sunday, the fact that the women’s team had the potential support to fill the stadium must have given many a lot to think about.

And we will be able to say that we were there, cheering the team on and witnessing this historic occasion – COME ON ENGLAND!

Karen Carney is in line to make her 100th international appearance. The Birmingham City captain made her England debut against Italy in 2005 and has scored 23 times for the Lionesses. Eight of the Team GB side that beat Brazil at Wembley in the London Olympics feature in the squad including captain Steph Houghton, who scored Team GB’s goal in the 1-0 win.

England take on the European Champions on Sunday 23 November (3pm KO) and the match is live on BBC Two, with coverage starting at 2.45pm. The match will be played in front of a crowd of 55,000 – a record attendance for an England Women’s game.

Mark Sampson said: “To play Germany at Wembley Stadium is a special moment for not only the team but the women’s game in England. So many people have worked incredibly hard in recent times and over the years to grow the women’s game in this country and the match on 23 November will be a real showcase to the football world that England is a proud women’s football nation. I speak on behalf of the players when I thank every supporter for their backing, it’s incredible to have 55,000 fans at Wembley cheering on the England women’s team. We face a big challenge against a great opponent but I know this team will give their all to make all our supporters proud.”

Speaking about Karen Carney Sampson said, “Karen is a great person and incredible football talent, in my eyes one of the best in the world. It will be a great moment if she can take the field to win her 100th cap. The team are very proud to have Karen as a team mate.”

The match forms part of England’s preparation for next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup which takes place in Canada. England qualified for the tournament with a perfect record of ten wins out of ten.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal), Carly Telford (Notts County)

Defenders: Laura Bassett (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Liverpool), Alex Greenwood (Everton), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Claire Rafferty (Chelsea), Alex Scott (Arsenal), Demi Stokes (University of South Florida)

Midfielders: Karen Carney (Birmingham City), Jade Moore (Birmingham City), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jo Potter (Birmingham City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Liverpool)

Forwards: Eniola Aluko (Chelsea), Jess Clarke (Notts County), Toni Duggan (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Reading), Lianne Sanderson (Boston Breakers), Kelly Smith (Arsenal), Jodie Taylor (Washington Spirit).

For more information on the match please visit TheFA.com.