SPFL break four million attendance figure as Neil Doncaster praises Scottish football fans for clubs support

Over four million fans attended fixtures across all four Scottish Professional Football League divisions during season 2021/22, as clubs bounced back from the Coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 4,082,038 supporters attended matches across the cinch Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two, including play-off fixtures.

A further 383,260 turned out to watch their teams compete in the Premier Sports Cup and SPFL Trust Trophy competitions, taking the overall total to 4,465,298 across the entire campaign.

Fans were locked out of stadiums for the entirety of the 2020/21 season as stirct restrcitions were introduced to help stop the spread of Covid.

Turnstiles were eventually opened at the start of the season with reduced crowds of no more than 5,000 as the restrictions were eased, meaning the figures would undoubtedly have been higher.

The season was halted again in December and January when crowd numbers werelimited to just 500 after a surge in positive cases.

It mean the 2018/19 season was the last to be played to a finish in front of capacity attendances.

SPFL chief executive, Neil Doncaster hailed the support of fans for providing clubs with additional cash boosts following their extended spell playing in front of empty stands.

He said: “It is incredible that we’ve had over four million fans back in stadia, which underlines the central role which Scotland’s national sport plays in communities all over the country.

“It is hugely encouraging to see such impressive attendances across all four cinch SPFL divisions, especially given how tough much of the last two years has been for our members.

“It is also a very timely financial boost for our 42 clubs, who played almost entirely behind closed doors during the 2020/21 season.

“Attendances in Scottish football continue to greatly outperform other countries of a similar size, and this is a real credit to the loyalty of supporters across the country, as well as the hard work of our individual clubs.

“The clubs themselves served up hugely compelling and competitive league battles, and we are all looking forward to more of the same next season across all four cinch SPFL divisions.”