58-year high for English Football League attendances

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English Football League matches were watched by more than 18million people in the 2016-2017 season, the EFL have announced.

The EFL announced its cumulative attendance figures on Thursday, with 18,107,332 fans clicking through turnstiles across the three divisions.

The total is the highest since 1959 and the 14th highest in the league’s history.

Chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “Football attendances clearly benefit from promotion and relegation as those teams carrying larger supporter bases move around divisions.

But what is particularly pleasing with this latest set of data is the fact the EFL has seen a three per cent growth season-on-season when this factor is removed and you analyse the attendances of the 67 clubs who have been members for the past two seasons.

“It is clear to see that the EFL continues to be one of the most watched football competitions and our clubs deserve huge credit for continuing to find new and innovative ways of encouraging supporters through their turnstiles.”

The figure was an 11 per cent increase on the tally from a season ago, with the league also pointing out that the 72 EFL clubs have a combined social media following in excess of 26.5 million.