Rethinking Women’s Football Attendance in an Emerging Destination: Constraints, Marketing Awareness and Interest through a Pluriversal Lens

Women’s football is increasingly recognised as an important component of the sport tourism industry, with potential to diversify audiences, stimulate domestic travel, and advance gender inclusivity in emerging destinations. Yet, despite the growing interest, attendance remains inconsistent, complicating conventional measures of spectator demand. This study compared individuals who had attended women’s football matches in an emerging destination, South Africa and interested nonattendees, examining associations between attendance status, perceived financial and logistical constraints, perceived marketing awareness, and interest in the sport. A cross‑sectional online survey was used to gather data (N=378) using non‑probability convenience and self‑selected sampling methods. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent‑samples t‑tests, and hierarchical binary logistic regression to compare attendees with interested non‑attendees. Findings indicate that stronger interest in women's football is significantly associated with a lower likelihood of non‑attendance, whereas perceived financial and logistical constraints and marketing awareness were not significant. Gender did not add explanatory value. A pluriversal perspective informs the interpretation of the experiences that the standardised measures leave unexplored. For event organisers and destination marketers, these findings emphasise the need to convert existing interest into actual attendance, re-evaluate access barriers that standard measures might miss, and develop strategies to better engage diverse audiences in women's football.