One in five minutes played at Euro 2022 were by WSL players

Players from the Women’s Super League accounted for 21 per cent of minutes played at Euro 2022, PA news agency analysis shows.

The WSL was the top domestic league at the tournament, with players accumulating 13,534 minutes in total, ahead of Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga (11,760) and Spain’s Primera Division (7,712).

This follows calls for bigger crowds at WSL games, with Euro 2022 having smashed previous attendance records and the final having been played in front of a sell-out audience at Wembley.

Fifty-two WSL players featured at some point during the tournament, including 15 for England, seven for Norway, and five for Denmark and Sweden.

Only three of the 18 players used by Sarina Wiegman will be plying their trade outside England in 2022-23 – Lucy Bronze at Barcelona, Rachel Daly at Houston Dash and Georgia Stanway at Bayern Munich.

Runners-up Germany were one of just two teams that did not field a WSL player, alongside Portugal.

Arsenal contributed 11 players and a total of 3,076 minutes at Euro 2022, the most of any English club.

The Gunners’ contingent included two of England’s stars – captain Leah Williamson and Golden Boot winner Beth Mead – plus other leading players such as Vivianne Miedema from the Netherlands and Stina Blackstenius from Sweden.

Reigning WSL champions Chelsea provided nine players, the same as Manchester City, while Manchester United supplied eight.

Although WSL players dominated the tournament overall, Bayern Munich provided the most minutes of any individual club, with 4,399 spread across 14 players.

Barcelona were second on the list with 4,144 minutes, ahead of German champions Wolfsburg (4,006) and Champions League winners Lyon (3,245).