Premiership attendances on the rise

With a cumulative total of 108494 fans making their way through the turnstiles since the opening day of the season in August, this is an increase of almost 12500 more supporters attending our games.

This is the equivalent of 109 more fans attending each Danske Bank Premiership game.

Andrew Johnston, Managing Director of the NI Football League, is delighted with the latest attendance figures and puts it down to a number of factors.

“We knew the attendances had been on the increase this season, but as this statistic can vary from week to week we wanted to assess things at the midpoint of the season so we could get a clearer indication of the attendances over a prolonged period of time.

“A 12.9 per cent increase in attendances is phenomenal for the Danske Bank Premiership and is testament to the hard work each club continues to do off the pitch to attract fans through their gates each matchday.

“Social Media is one area of communication that people now rely on for information and our clubs have really embraced this through their Twitter and Facebook activity.

“Many clubs have also taken part in the trial to play more games on a Friday night and early indicators have shown that certain matches played at this time can improve attendances.

“The media have continued to play an important role in promoting the NI Football League and I thank them for their support for local football.”

Perhaps the most important factor in the increase in attendances is the competitive nature of the league this season, with Cliftonville, Portadown, Linfield and Crusaders all within three points of each other at the top of the table.

In addition to these four clubs, Glenavon and Ballymena United have also been league leaders at various stages of the season.

“This season is one of the most exciting we have had in recent memory,” he added.

“Not only has there been six different leaders of the Danske Bank Premiership, but our goals per game ratio of 3.21 tops the table compared to the many of the leagues around Europe.

“Fans watch football to see goals, and this means our supporters are getting more entertainment and value for money week in week out,” concluded Mr Johnston.