Hull and Leeds fans top the Social Media table

Recently-relegated Hull have the biggest digital following across the 72 Football League clubs, with Leeds coming in closely behind in 5th. The next Yorkshire clubs are Middlesbrough (12th), Doncaster (16th), Sheffield Wednesday (17th), Sheffield United (22nd), Bradford City (29th) and Barnsley (30th).

The report was put together by the Football League to celebrate its official Facebook page reaching 500,000 likes this week. While The Football League’s total cumulative social audience across official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts now exceeds one million.

A spokesman for the League said: “We’ve taken the opportunity to crunch the numbers and see which clubs in the Football League are leading the way when it comes to fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter

“The league tables may not tell much of a story before a ball has been kicked – but pre-season is a great time to see who sits top of the pile when it comes to social media.”

In total, the 72 Football League clubs have a combined social audience across Twitter and Facebook of over 12 million, with club Twitter followers accounting for 4.3 million and club Facebook fans 8.1m.

The league table shows Championship club Hull City out in front when it comes to their combined audience. The Tigers have a total of 1,115,104 fans across these two networks, more than 910,000 on Facebook and more than 204,000 on Twitter. This puts them ahead of Fulham on 963,566 and Queens Park Rangers on 912,301.

Topping the charts in League 1 is Wigan Athletic almost 400,000 Facebook fans and Twitter followers, with Doncaster Rovers in second place followed by Blackpool. In League 2, Portsmouth lead the way with a combined total of over 200,000, followed by Notts County and Luton Town.

Looking at Facebook alone, Hull’s following is the largest in The Football League, putting them out front in a top ten made up exclusively of Championship clubs. Best placed on Facebook from League 1 is Wigan Athletic, while Portsmouth boast the biggest total in League 2.

In terms of growth in the last 12 months, Cambridge United have gained the most Facebook fans of the clubs in The Football League both last season and this season, with a 642% uplift. Crewe Alexandra and Rochdale have achieved the next best growth rate.

Over on Twitter Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and Hull City make up the top three most-followed clubs, but Wigan Athletic are fourth as they lead the way in League 1. Doncaster Rovers are again second in League 1, earning them a place in the overall top 10, with Sheffield United taking third place.

Again Portsmouth set the pace in League 2, this time with more than 62,000 Twitter followers lapping up their 140-character updates. Newly promoted Bristol Rovers take second spot in League 2, with Plymouth Argyle in third.

Following their promotion to the Sky Bet championship, Milton Keynes Dons have had the biggest growth in Twitter followers, rising 133% from July 2014. Steveange, Cambridge United, Morecambe and Middlesbrough have also all more than doubled their follower numbers over the past 12 months.