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Which club has the biggest non-league crowds in the 2023/24 season?

Written by Okello Steve
Last Update: May 1, 2024
Published on

 

The Non-league crowds in the United Kingdom have reached extraordinary new heights since the Covid-19 pandemic forced football matches behind closed doors.

This football attendance boom has been clear at the highest levels of the game, such as the Premier League, but also right down the football pyramid.

Is that still true in the 2023/24 season? We take a look below. And, crucially, which club is drawing the biggest non-league crowds this year?

The biggest non-league crowds: Chesterfield

With an average of nearly 7,500 supporters per home game in the National League, Chesterfield are leading the way for non-league crowds so far in the 2023/24 season.

The Spireites have a 10,504-capacity home (opened in 2010) which they come close to filling almost every week. In fact, on 11 November, with a slightly reduced capacity, they had a 9,667-strong sell-out crowd for their 4-2 win against second-placed Barnet. Chesterfield lead the division and also have a fantastic away following as they look to climb back into the Football League.

Biggest National League crowds

Chesterfield

Highest: 9667

Average: 7379

Oldham Athletic

Highest: 7964

Average: 6740

Oldham Athletic are the biggest non-league club in Greater Manchester with huge non-league crowds
As a former Premier League club, it's little surprise Oldham Athletic have some of the biggest non-league crowds | Photo by Icon Sport

Southend United

Highest: 6356

Average: 5763

York City

Highest: 5466

Average: 4439

Hartlepool United

Highest: 5018

Average: 3935

Biggest National League North crowds

Scunthorpe United

Highest: 5063

Average: 3751

Hereford

Highest: 3152

Average: 2600

Chester

Highest: 2676

Average: 2290

Biggest National League South crowds

Yeovil Town

Highest: 6289

Average: 3441

Torquay United

Highest: 2733

Average: 2316

Maidstone United

Highest: 2243

Average: 2006

Other big English non-league crowds

There are two particularly notable clubs with big non-league crowds who do not appear in the above lists. Bury FC have drawn a 4,115-strong crowd for one of their games this season, with an average of 3,275. Macclesfield, meanwhile, have hit heights of narly 3,500 and are averaging more than 3,000, too.

These two sides, of course, are both major clubs who had to drop down the divisions after serious financial trouble. Macclesfield FC were reformed out of the old Macclesfield Town, while Bury FC came out of a merger between the extinct Bury club and the phoenix club Bury AFC.

Biggest non-league crowds as of November 2023

The latest stats on Non-League crowds as of April 2024

Chesterfield, Oldham and Southend had the best average attendance

Chesterfield, Oldham and Southend has some of the best average attendance in non-league crowds in home matches. It was also the case in both home and away crowds, something that had a significant impact in the way the teams performed in the just concluded season.

For Chesterfield, we would say, having the best crowds overall contributed to their promotion to League One. Chesterfield finished the 2023/24 National League as the best team in England National League, bagging a total of 98 points from 46 matches. They were the best team overall in home performance, where they bagged 60 points, which is more than half of the total points they had.Β  They were the second-best away team and we can contribute their success on the road to massive support from travelling fans.

Oldham and Southend finished the 2023/24 season in 10 and 9 places respectively.