Over 10 million fans attended a match in the Sky Bet Championship, the first time that milestone has been broken since 2018-19 and only the 11th time that that has happened in tier two football, making the Championship the fifth best attended division in Europe behind only the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A.   

English football’s third tier, Sky Bet League One, also made the European top 10 with nearly six million supporters attending a match, while League Two was in 14th place with over three million supporters taking in a fixture in the fourth tier. 

A 15% rise in season ticket sales from 2020-21 has contributed to the growth in attendances and represents the highest number of season tickets sold from any EFL season in the 21^st century. Junior season ticket sales have also continued to rise.   

The Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy saw another 1.9 million fans in grounds across both competitions. The EFL Trophy Final between Bolton Wanderers and Plymouth Argyle attracted 79,389 fans, ensuring the fixture was the highest attended across Europe that weekend, while the 87,306 fans from Manchester United and Newcastle United that attended the Carabao Cup Final made it the highest attended final since 2014//15.  

EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said:  

“To welcome nearly 22 million supporters to an EFL competition in 2022/23 is quite remarkable. These numbers don’t happen by accident. They are testament to the efforts of the 72 Clubs to create such quality football and matchday experiences that encourages fans to attend matches in person even when there are so many other ways to consume football, and particularly when so many people are facing a squeeze on their finances. 

“The continued rise in season ticket sales, and particularly junior season ticket sales, is really encouraging.  Quite simply, these fans are the future of our game which is why it is so heartening to see so many young supporters attending fixtures regularly and developing a love of the game that they will hopefully take with them throughout their lives.”  

Attendances in EFL Competitions – 2022/23