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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

SPFL breaks 5m fan barrier in record-breaking season attendance figures

More than five million supporters attended SPFL fixtures for the first time in a single season.

The governing body revealed record-breaking attendance figures with Scotland boasting the highest football attendance per capita in Europe.

The SPFL confirmed 4,673,847 fans attended league and play-off matches in the cinch Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2 in the 2022/23 season.

And on top of that, 413,553 supporters attended Viaplay Cup and SPFL Trust Trophy competitions last season.

It takes the total attendance for SPFL matches to a whopping 5,087,400 - the first time the figure has surpassed the five million mark.

The previous record total was 4,902,673 from the 2018/19 season.

And the impressive figures have contributed to a 21.3 attendees per 1000 people stat - making Scotland the best-attended football nation per capita in Europe.

That's 65 per cent higher than second-placed European nation the Netherlands at 12.9 attendees per 1000 people.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “It’s absolutely brilliant to see that more than five million fans have attended our matches in a season for the first time ever.

“It has been a great year for attendances in the country, with a new record yearly high for cinch Premiership games set, as well as Scotland again recording by far the highest per capita attendance in Europe.

“As we approach our ten-year anniversary it’s excellent to see such impressive attendances across all our four cinch SPFL divisions.

“We are all looking forward to next season’s League fixtures getting released next Friday, before action on the pitch kicks off again in the Viaplay Cup next month, followed by the League season and SPFL Trust Trophy starting again in August.”

Cinch Premiership attendance reached 3,835,434 in the 2022/23 season making up the bulk of the record-breaking tally. Meanwhile, 397,373 attended Championship matches, 283,618 in League 1 and 102,168 in League 2.

The play-off matches across the divisions added another 55,254 to the total.

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