"If you want some accessible but informative insight into football then I suggest you couldn't do better than the Political Economy of Football website, which is not only intelligible but comes with the added bonus of being written by Addicks fan Wyn Grant." Ben Hayes - Charlton Athletic programme
Statistics on club and match attendances – spectator numbers.
Overall average attendance numbers at Scottish professional football matches have started to grow in last few years. Season 2011/12 recorded the lowest figures over the period covered, average of 17,235 spectators for all 4 divisions combined, and by season 2016/17 this had grown to 19,600.
Manchester United had the highest average home attendances (domestic league matches only) in season 2016/17. Arsenal had the second highest average, but were over 15,000 spectators behind Man Utd (75,290 vs 59,955).
Of the top 30 clubs listed below, 19 were playing in the Premier League, 10 in the Championship, and one, Sheffield United, was playing in the the third tier National League 1.
A comparison of match attendances across the 3 main football leagues of Denmark (SuperLiga), Norway (Tippeligaen) and Sweden (Allsvenskan).
The Swedish 16 club Allsvenskan league averaged 7,135 supporters per match in 2014. The 16 club Norwegian Tippeligaen averaged 6,960 per match. The 12 club Danish SuperLiga averaged 7,930.
Table: Top 30 Scandinavian Clubs – Ranked by ave. match attendance
English Football Leagues Average Attendances by Division for seasons 1994/95 to 2013/14. For season 2013/14 English Premier League clubs averaged 36,670 spectators, Championship at 16,610, Div 1 at 7,475 and Div 2 at 4,350. Total for all four divisions rose by 1.6% compared to 2012/13
Presented below a list of the top 100 European Football Clubs as ranked by their average match attendances in domestic league matches during season 2013/14. Borussia Dortmund (80,295) maintained their first position from last year, followed by Manchester United (75,205) and Barcelona (72,115). Real Madrid (71,565) and Bayern Munich (71,000) rounded out the top 5.
The average attendance for J League Div 1 clubs in 2013 was 17,226 (18 clubs in division) and for J League 2 clubs it was 6,665 (22 clubs). The best supported side in Japanese professional football in 2013 was Urawa Red Diamonds with an average league attendance of 37,100.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima were champions in 2013 and averaged 16,209 spectators.
A list of the top thirty German Bundesliga football clubs as ordered by average home attendances (domestic league matches only) for season 2012-13.
Borussia Dortmund retained their top spot, averaging over 80,500 spectators per match. Bayern Munich retained second position, averaging 71,000, with Schalke 04 coming in third at 61,170.
The average attendance for Bundesliga 1 was 42,625 (the highest in Europe) and for Bundesliga 2 football clubs it was 17,235.
A list of the top thirty English football clubs as ordered by average home attendances (domestic league matches only) for season 2012-13.
Manchester United FC retained their top spot, averaging over 75,500 spectators per match. Arsenal FC retained second position, averaging over 60,000, with Newcastle United FC coming in third at 50,515.
The average attendance for English Premier League clubs was 35,920 and for Championship clubs it was 17,450. For the third and fourth tiers of the English professional football leagues the averages were 6,320 and 4,390 respectively.
Table of English Football League Average Attendances by Division from season 1994/95 to 2012/13.
The average attendance for English Premier League clubs in 2012/13 was 35,920 and for Championship clubs it was 17,450. For the third and fourth tiers of the English professional football leagues the averages were 6,320 and 4,390 respectively.
A list of the top thirty Italian football clubs as ordered by average home attendances (domestic league matches only) for season 2012-13.
FC Internazionale regained their top spot, averaging over 46,500 spectators per match. AC Milan dropped down to second position, averaging 43,650, with AS Roma coming in third at 40,180.
The average attendance for Serie A clubs in 2012-13 was 23,235 and for Serie B clubs it was just under 5,000.
Table: Top 30 Italian Football Clubs by Average Home Attendance – 2012/13