Record numbers: Irish League fans vote with feet as attendances reach 10-year high

It's been a pulsating start to the 2017/18 Danske Bank Premiership season and fans are certainly voting with their feet!
Attendances in the Irish League are upAttendances in the Irish League are up
Attendances in the Irish League are up

After the first eight rounds of fixtures there have been record breaking attendances at 20 Premiership games.

The frantic start to the season, which sees Coleraine currently top the table, 43% (20 of 47) of games played have enjoyed a highest recorded crowd for that specific fixture since top-flight attendance figures have been published in the last ten seasons.

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NIFL Managing Director Andrew Johnston is delighted with the upsurge; “We started the season back in August with a record crowd for a Ballymena United versus Crusaders game and the trend has continued right up until last Saturday when Glentoran hosted a record crowd for a Coleraine game – in fact, the highest recorded attendance for a non ‘Big Two’ games since they won the league in May 2009!”

“It’s been fantastic to see and it’s noticeable the rise in numbers when we’re at the games; it adds to the fantastic atmosphere within the Danske Bank Premiership.

Credit must go to the clubs for all their hard work in their initiatives to encourage the fans back, so I’d certainly recommend that if anyone hasn’t been to one of our games before – there is no better time to start.

With over 50,000 spectators through the gates already this season and average of 1,106 per game, this marks a ten season high for the League.