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2016 Boxing Day Bumper Crowds For EFL

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Boxing Day 2016 saw a new record attendance figure lodged in the Football League with over 500,000 in attendance at ground’s around the country.

The bumper crowds out in force on Boxing Day surpassed the half a million mark and not only ranked as some of the highest in the country, it also surpassed average attendances in many of Europe’s biggest leagues with a 7% overall increase on figures from the same period last year.

Figures from December 27 games are also included in the final Boxing Day count, and across all three EFL divisions the overall 7% increase breaks down as 25% at Championship level (+300,000), 17% for League One which translates as almost 135,000 fans through the turnstiles at that level and League Two saw 66,634.

Looking at the Championship a bit more closely, the +300,000 figures averaged out across the 12 games as being +25,000 at each ground, with Newcastle United taking the highest gate (52,179) in their game against Sheffield Wednesday and that was fourth highest across the entire football pyramid on the day. The sidenote being their attendance outstripped Premier League and German Bundesliga averages figures as well.

Aston Villa’s crowd of 41,337 against Burton Albion was the sixth highest on the day in the country as well, also outstripping Premier League rival averages.

Brighton’s Amex Stadium and Derby County’s iPro Stadium both saw +30,000 fans in attendance also.

For League One, Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane hosting of Oldham Athletic took the fifth highest attendance in the Football League and tenth highest in the country with 25,821 packed in – it was a higher crowd than four games in the Premier League featuring Swansea City, Hull City, Burnley and Watford.

The United gate on the day was also higher than average attendances in Italian Serie A (21,414), French Ligue 1 (20,003) and Holland’s Eredivisie (18,907).

The EFL also picked out Bradford City’s 21,874 crowd on the day at Valley Parade as being higher than three attendances in the top flight and higher than the above three European averages and Bolton Wanderers, Bristol Rovers, MK Dons and Oxford United combined over 50,000 fans themselves.

For League Two specifics, matches averaged +5,500 with a total of 66,634 going through the turnstiles – with the highest being Plymouth Argyle v Wycombe Wanderers at 12,210, followed by Luton Town v Colchester United with 9,164.

Picking out the top ten attendances for games on Boxing Day and December 27 in the Football League, that list reads.

1. Newcastle United v Sheffield Wednesday (Championship) – 52,179
2. Aston Villa v Burton Albion (Championship) – 41,337
3. Derby County v Birmingham City (Championship) – 32,616
4. Brighton & Hove Albion v QPR (Championship) – 30,176
5. Sheffield United v Oldham Athletic (League One) – 25,821
6. Wolves v Bristol City (Championship) – 24,669
7. Huddersfield Town v Nottingham Forest (Championship) – 22,100
8. Bradford City v Scunthorpe United (League One) – 21,874
9. Preston North End v Leeds United (Championship) – 21,255
10. Reading v Norwich City (Championship) – 21,180

Details from EFL.com.

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