UEFA report confirms Scotland has highest attendance per capita in Europe

Scotland recorded significantly higher top-flight attendances per capita than any other European league, according to a new UEFA Report.

The SPFL’s William Hill Premiership welcomed 18.36 attendees per 1,000 people at matches across Scotland’s top flight in season 2023/24 – close to double the figure welcomed by the next closest European nation.

This attendance per capita is nearly 80 per cent higher than second-placed country Portugal’s Primeira Liga, which has 10.23 attendees per 1,000 people.

In third place was Netherlands’ Eredivisie with 9.16 matchgoers per 1,000 people, followed by England’s Premier League with 6.77 attendees per 1,000 people.

The overall yearly attendances and weekly averages for European leagues are contained within UEFA’s newly published annual “The European Club Talent and Competition Landscape” report.

The report also found that the near 3.8 million fans that attended top flight matches in Scotland last season was the eighth highest in the whole of Europe, with the average league attendance of 16,500 the seventh highest on the continent.

Celtic and Rangers also joined an elite list of clubs, including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, to have had an aggregate attendance over 1 million home supporters across the season, including league, domestic cup and European matches.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “It’s brilliant to see that Scotland’s top-flight has again, by some margin, the highest attendance per capita in Europe.

“It’s a real tribute to the incredible passion of our supporters across the country, whom I’d like to thank on behalf of our member clubs for their continued strong support of our national game.

“Scottish attendances have, for many years now, outperformed leagues of a similar size, so it’s great to see that trend continue in this new UEFA report.

“This positive news builds on two record years for attendances for the SPFL, and our clubs are looking to continue to grow these attendances across season 2024/25.”