Fans by the horde in Premier League games

Article posted by Coliseum, June 8^th, 2022

Image: MJR Group Ltd./Coliseum

Premier League (UK) attendances have smashed records.

‘THE MAG’ stated that a new official Premier League report give details of how this past (2021-2022) seasons has seen the biggest ever collective Premier League attendances of this Premier League era.

The Premier League (UK) is the top level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League. Seasons typically run from August to May with each team playing 38 matches. Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

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This is the 30^th season since the rebranding and launch of the Premier League, with collective attendances going over 15 million for the first time ever.

‘THE MAG’ further stated that these highest ever Premier League attendances, obviously following the very lowest ever total attendances last season due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The last full season of Premier League attendances was in 2018-2019 and a total of 14,623,992 attended the 380 matches.

In the 2021-2022 Premier League seasons, this has risen to 15,195,647.

The average attendance at each of the 380 Premier League matches this past season was 39,989, compared to 38,484 in the 2018-2019 seasons.

The average Premier League attendances for all 20 clubs across the 2021-2022 Premier League seasons, according to World Football:

Manchester United F.C. – 1.386.844 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 72.992;
Arsenal F.C. – 1.135.743 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 59.776;
West Ham United F.C. – 1.100.385 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 57.915;
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. – 1.073.936 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 56.523;
Liverpool F.C. – 1.008.828 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 53.096;
Manchester City F.C. – 1.002.048 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 52.739;
Newcastle United F.C. – 978.251 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 51.487;
Aston Villa F.C. – 794.930 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 41.838;
Everton F.C. – 730.383 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 38.441;
Chelsea F.C. – 692.055 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 36.424;
Leeds United – 689.855 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 36.308;
Leicester City F.C. – 616.360 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 32.440;
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. – 588.778 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 30.988;
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. – 583.772 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 30.725;
Southampton F.C. – 537.484 is the sum for 18 matches played and the average stands at 29.860;
Norwich City F.C. – 510.810 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 26.885;
Crystal Palace F.C. – 461.349 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 24.282;
Watford F.C. – 391.622 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 20.612;
Burnley F.C. – 364.588 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 19.189; and
Brentford F.C. – 321.336 is the sum for 19 matches played and the average stands at 16.912.

The above figures show that with Leeds surviving on the final day, it saw three of the five lowest supported teams relegated.

Between the three of them – Burnley, Watford and Norwich have averaged 66,686 for home matches this season.

The Fulham F.C. (17,774 this season) and A.F.C. Bournemouth (9,640) are already guaranteed to go up, with the Nottingham Forest F.C. (27,137) and Huddersfield Town (17,352) meeting in the play-off final held recently.

Even with Leeds surviving and Burnley going down, it is difficult to see how total Premier League attendances would then go up any further next season and indeed almost certainly fall to an extent overall.

Fulham have been doing development work and their residence – the 19,359-capacity Craven Cottage in Fulham, West London, appears to be set for a capacity of around 25,000 next seasons, A.F.C. Bournemouth residence – the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England – with a capacity of only around 11,000, whilst not much between the capacities of Forest residence – The Nottingham Forest Football Club in West Bridgford, England (30,000) and Huddersfield residence – The John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield, England (24,000).

Premier League official announcement – May 27th, 2022:

The total number of fans at matches in 2021-2022 exceeds 15m for the first time as stadiums are fuller than ever.

The drama of an enthralling 2021-2022 Premier League seasons was played out in front of a record number of fans in stadiums.

The Premier League research has found that the total attendance of the 380 matches for this season amounts to 15.2m. This is the first time that this number has breached the 15m mark.

This was a four percent increase on 2018-2019, the previous season not affected by stadium closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stadiums fuller than ever

Grounds were fuller than they have ever been, with the average utilization of stadiums at 97.7 percent of the capacity. This compares with a utilization of 95.1 percent in 2018-2019.

The average attendance for the season across the 380 matches was a record 39,989, up from 38,484 three years previously.

Exulted Richard Masters, the Premier League Chief Executive, “I’d like to say thank you to the fans for everything they’ve done this season, coming back in numbers. That shows how fantastic the competition has been and how brilliant the support is for it.”

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