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.
Chesterfield today played in front of a ????-??? crowd of 9,667 ?️
Just a reminder this is the fifth tier of English football.#TheVanarama | #Spireites pic.twitter.com/mVzr53Qvhq
— Vanarama (@Vanarama) November 11, 2023
Biggest National League crowds
Chesterfield
Highest: 9667
Average: 7379
Oldham Athletic
Highest: 7964
Average: 6740
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
11 November Top #NonLeague Crowds
9667 @ChesterfieldFC
6418 @OfficialOAFC
4195 @SUFCOfficial
3594 @Official_HUFC
3334 @DulwichHamletFC
3162 @YTFC
3002 @thesilkmen
2849 @OfficialShots
2558 @altrinchamfc
1928 @BathCity_FC
1815 @AFCFylde
1741 @MUFCYorkRoad
1693 @Dag_RedFC— Non League Crowds (@NonLeagueCrowd) November 12, 2023
The latest stats on Non-League crowds as of April 2024
30 April Top #NonLeague Crowds
4099 @buryfcofficial
3098 @thesilkmen
2035 @PrescotCablesFC
1779 @MarineAFC
1637 @stockton_townfc
1600 @RuncornLinnets
1462 @RamsgateFC
1122 @BuryTownFC
945 @AFCRD v @KTFCOfficial
934 @RWBTFC
809 @SittingbourneFC
803 @FavershamTownFC
800 @GornalAyWe— Non League Crowds (@NonLeagueCrowd) May 1, 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. 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.