STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – AUGUST 27: Hammarby supporters display their scarves prior to the UEFA Women’s Champions League Second Qualifying Round match at Stockholm Arena on August 27, 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)
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Ahead of their winner-takes-all UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier against Manchester United on Saturday, Hammarby have reported record ticket sales.
Yesterday they announced that over 25,000 tickets have been sold for the game at the 35,000-capacity 3Arena in the south of Stockholm. This would not only be a record for Swedish women’s club football but more than double the previous record for a UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier.
Both of those records already belong to Hammarby. Last season, they attracted a crowd of 12,062 to the stadium for their Champions League Round 2 qualifier against SL Benfica. At the time that was also a record for a Swedish women’s club game but was bettered later in the season when they drew 20,048 for the group stage clash against Manchester City.
SEIXAL, PORTUGAL – SEPTEMBER 25: Hammarby Fotboll players celebrate the qualifing for the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League at the end of the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2nd Round 2nd Leg match between SL Benfica and Hammarby Fotboll at Benfica Campus on September 25, 2024 in Seixal, Portugal. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
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Following this weekend’s game, Hammarby will have registered nine of the ten highest attendances in the history of the Swedish game at tbe 3Arena, all of them set within the last five years. 18,537 watched the Damallsvenskan match between Hammarby and city rivals AIK in 2021 which remains a domestic record for the Swedish women’s league.
Hammarby play the majority of the their league games at their 3,100-capacity Idrottsplats (Sports ground), also known as Kanalplan. The fact that they are consistently attracting five-figure crowds to their bigger games is down to a concerted effort by the club to create an exciting fan culture around the women’s team.
Known as the Bajen, the club’s supporters are encouraged to create an intimidating atmosphere at games with non-stop singing, drumming and chanting. Their eye-catching green and white colors are used in numerous show-stopping tifos which often go viral adding to the mystique around the Hammarby fan experience.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – NOVEMBER 21: A general view as fans of Hammarby form a TIFO which reads “1970” prior to the UEFA Women’s Champions League match between Hammarby IF and Manchester City at Stockholm Arena on November 21, 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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With ten rounds of the Damallsvenskan still to play, Hammarby lead the league by a single point. Should they remain top, they will win the Swedish league title for the second time in three years. In 2023, they won the championship with victory away to IFK Norrköping and took around 7,000 travelling supporters with them, with many more reportedly unable to gain entry to the stadium.
Hammarby only just qualified for the game against Manchester United with a heart-stopping victory over Metalist Kharkiv from Ukraine. After scoring first, they fell behind, only to retake the lead and go two goals clear going into the final ten minutes. Two late Metalist goals looked to have taken the game into extra time before Cathinka Tandberg scored an injury-time winner to make it 5-4.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – AUGUST 27: Cathinka Tandberg of Hammarby celebrates scoring her team’s fifth goal during the UEFA Women’s Champions League Second Qualifying Round match at Stockholm Arena on August 27, 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)
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Manchester United, who reached the Round 2 final by comprehensively defeating PSV Eindhoven 4-0 at the same stadium on Wednesday, know they are in for a daunting test in a hostile atmosphere. When Manchester City visited the arena last season, one of their goalscorers, Khadija Shaw, was pelted with missiles from the crowd after celebrating in front of the home supporters.
Wednesday’s match against PSV was watched by just 370 spectators. Tomorrow’s game could potentially see as many as 70 times more. Manchester United Women’s head coach Marc Skinner believes the Swedish team also possess “a greater threat” than their previous opponents.
“Hammarby are mid-season, and they’re up and running. They have international players. They’re a good team and so to come here in their backyard with their fans – if there’s a team that can do it, it’s us because we have that spirit and mentality. Of course we have the quality.”
“We will regroup, refresh, re-focus and be ready to go for the enormous challenge. We put ourselves, because of who we are, what we are and the club we are to put ourselves in the position where we think we can beat anyone.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/asifburhan/2025/08/29/25000-tickets-sold-for-hammarby-uwcl-qualifier-with-manchester-united/
