Who has the best fans in the Football League? Figures reveal Yorkshire’s super supporters

Leeds United fanshad the best away support in the Football League last season.

As fans around the country prepare to head to the first games of the new season this weekend, The Football League has released analysis of match attendances at games last season.

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A mass of information has been released regarding attendance figures, with many of the Yorkshire clubs performing well.

As well as Leeds United having the highest average away attendance, Sheffield United boasted the best home support in League One, closely followed by Bradford City.

Leeds and Middlesbrough were among four teams to achieve a home attendance above 30,000, while Middlesbrough enjoyed the highest attendance for a single match of 33,463 on the final day when they faced Brighton.

Sheffield United also had the most season ticket holders in League One, while the 6,857 Middlesbrough fans that travelled to Blackburn Rovers in December made for the highest away following for a single match.

The Sky Bet Championship also remains the fourth best attended division in Europe, with Sky Bet League 1 and Sky Bet League 2 crowds much higher than their equivalent divisions in other European countries.

Fulham’s Craven Cottage was named the most popular away ground to visit in the Sky Bet Football League last season (2,788 visiting fans on average). Milton Keynes Dons was most visited by away fans in Sky Bet League 1 (average of 980 visitors per match) and Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium the most popular away trip in Sky Bet League 2 (an average of 948 visiting fans per match).

Statistics revealed by the Football League also include...

Attendances

• The club with the highest average attendance was Derby County, followed by Norwich City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

• The highest in Sky Bet League 1 was Sheffield United, followed by Bradford City and Bristol City.

• In Sky Bet League 2, Portsmouth had the highest average, followed by Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle.

• Eight clubs averaged over 20,000 attendees per match.

• Thirteen clubs achieved at least one match attendance higher than 25,000 last season. Four clubs, (Middlesbrough, Derby County, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest) achieved match attendances over 30,000.

• The highest attendance for a single League match last season was marginally up on last season at 33,463 (Middlesbrough v Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of the season).

• The biggest growth in attendances was seen at Coventry City (+264%) following their return to the Ricoh Arena. Brentford (+40%) saw the second biggest growth, with Fleetwood Town (+25%) third.

• Norwich City had the highest occupancy rate (97%). Bristol City (88%) had the highest in Sky Bet League 1, and LutonTown (88%) in Sky Bet League 2.

• The total match attendance for an average round of 36 fixtures was 357,222.

• The largest cumulative total of tickets sold for a single weekend of Football League matches was 476,161 for the 36 fixtures played over the final weekend of the season.

• The lowest crowd variation was at Brighton & Hove Albion where the lowest home gate equalled 95% of the highest home gate of the season - followed by Blackpool and Brighton & Hove Albion. The highest in Sky Bet League 1 was Bristol City (84%), and in Sky Bet League 2, Luton Town (81%).

Season Ticket Holders

• Total 2014/15 season ticket sales were the highest on record at 463,518.

• The average number of season ticket holders per club was 12,236 in the Championship, 4,570 in League 1 and 2,507 in League 2.

• Most number of season ticket holders for a club was 21,857 at Derby County. Sheffield United had most in League 1 (14,053) and Portsmouth (11,175) in League 2.

• Coventry City had the biggest growth in season ticket holders (471%), followed by Milton Keynes Dons (+88%) and Brentford (+87%).

• The average crowd proportion of season ticket holders was 65%. Milton Keynes Dons had the highest proportion, followed by Brighton & Hove Albion and Hartlepool United.

Away Fans

• Away crowds at Sky Bet Football League matches totalled 1.4 million last season .

• The average number of away fans at games was 847, a rise of 1%.

• Average away fans at Sky Bet Championship games was 1,400, in Sky Bet League 1 it was 668 and in Sky Bet League 2, 473.

• The biggest average away following at games was for Leeds United (2,774), followed by Middlesbrough (2,237) and Derby County (2,165). Sheffield United (1,687) had the biggest away following in Sky Bet League 1, and Luton Town (1,231) topped the away following table in Sky Bet League 2.

• Around half the clubs that remained in The Football League from 2013/14 saw an increase in the number of their fans travelling to their away games.

• Bristol City (+77%) saw the biggest increase in travelling fans, followed by Southend United (+74%), Wycombe Wanderers (+64%) and Middlesbrough (+57%).

• The biggest away following in each division as a proportion of the number of fans that attend home games was Brentford (Sky Bet Championship), Rochdale (Sky Bet League 1) and Luton Town (Sky Bet League 2).

• Highest recorded number of away fans at an individual match was the 6,857 Middlesbrough fans that travelled to Blackburn Rovers in December.

• Fulham’s Craven Cottage was the most popular ground in The Football League for away fans to visit (2,788 visiting fans on average). Milton Keynes Dons was most visited by away fans in Sky Bet League 1 (average of 980 visitors per match) and Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium the most popular away trip in Sky Bet League 2 (an average of 948 visiting fans per match).

• The biggest increase in visiting fans last season was the number going to Rochdale’s Spotland (+102% increase compared to 2013/14), followed by Brentford’s Griffin Park (+98%) and Chesterfield’s Proact Stadium (+86%).