With Australia having just 26 million people, including just 14 cities with a population of 250,000 or more, it does very well by world standards in terms of sporting crowds.
In 2023 the AFL achieved an average of 36,000 (18 teams) excluding finals, only lower than America’s National Football League (69,400 for 32 teams), Germany’s Bundesliga (43,000 for 18 teams) and England’s Premier league (40,200 for 20 teams).
The NRL, with a record crowd average in 2023 of 19,600 (17 teams), also compares well with major football leagues based on 2022-23 data: Spain 29,400 (20 teams), Italy 29,500 (20), France 23,700 (20), Brazil 21,500 (20), and the USA 21,000 (29).
This level of support is despite greater concern about the adverse effects of concussion, which may reduce playing numbers over time for both the AFL and NRL when compared to say football and basketball.
(Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
In contrast, while Australian public interest in national football teams has been evident during the 2022 and 2023 men’s and women’s World Cups, including a record television audience for the Matildas, the A-League’s 2022-23 home crowd average was just 7,500 (12 teams) after a high of 14,600 in 2006-07 (8 teams).
So what are some of the reasons why the A-League may long struggle to match interest in the AFL and NRL?
First, one cannot ignore history. The cultural affinity of different Australian cities (namely Melbourne and Sydney) to Australian Rules and Rugby League over many decades is a prime reason why their dominant state leagues evolved into the most watched national club competitions of the AFL and NRL.
As of 2023 Melbourne and Sydney, with around 5 million people each, had 5 AFL teams with an average home crowd above 40,000: Collingwood 63,700, Carlton 51,400, Richmond 50,600, Essendon 45,600 and Melbourne 44,600.
Of the other 4 Melbourne AFL teams, Hawthorn averaged 33,300, St Kilda 33,000, Western Bulldogs 28,500 and North Melbourne 20,800.
Of Sydney’s 9 NRL teams, Canterbury averaged 18,300, Cronulla 14,100, Manly 16,300, Parramatta 18,300, Penrith 18,900, Souths 19,700, St George Illawarra 11,900, Sydney Roosters 22,900 and Wests Tigers 15,600.
Second, as both the AFL and NRL now include teams in cities with previously little interest in the very different football codes, it appears many Australians prefer the more violent, fast-paced and relatively high scoring nature of both games, although the third football code, Rugby Union while also played played in the cooler months has withered away in terms of attendances and television audiences.
Adelaide’s Panashe Madanha. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
In Sydney and Brisbane where rugby league is most popular, the AFL Swans and Lions averaged 32,800 and 27,400 in 2023 for home games.
In Melbourne, where rugby league player numbers are virtually negligible when compared to Australian Rules and football, its NRL team (Storm) averaged 20,900.
In comparison, the A-League had only three teams nationwide with a home crowd average above 10,000 in 2022-23 with only Sydney FC above 15,000 (17,000).
Of course, it would not take much for the A-League to once again get above 10,000 again if football fans actually turn up to A-League matches where there are suitable venues.
After all – Brisbane and Perth, with poor 2022-23 home crowds of 5,600 and 4,600, once averaged 16,900 in 2007-08 and 13,000 in 2000-2001.
As constantly stated, effective strategies to boost crowd numbers could include letting young kids in for free, although the A-League is mindful it has to pay for stadium use and wages, and playing matches in the evening to avoid the heat of the day.
But the idea that Melbourne and Sydney, hosting nearly 40 per cent of Australia’s population, can boost the A-League crowd average is proving a disaster and fortunately the next A-League club will be Canberra.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Not only is Melbourne Victory’s recent 10,000 average a fraction of the 25,400 achieved in 2014-15 (with a number of big games played at Docklands), with Melbourne City’s 5,600 average in 2022-23 also well below its near 10,000 average in 2017-18, but the third team of Western United attracted a dismal 3,100 for home matches in 2022-23.
Even in Sydney, the 2022-23 crowd average of 10,700 for the Western Wanderers is far behind 17,700 achieved in 2016-17, despite playing at one of Australia’s best rectangle stadiums at Parramatta, while Central Coast Mariners managed just 6,600 and Macarthur FC attracted just 3,500 in 2022-23.
The A-League faces added disadvantages against the AFL and NRL because the latter two face little international competition as the only major national leagues of their sporting codes (besides England’s less lucrative Super League).
The A-League also seeks to attract paying fans who may also have purchased television access to the best national football leagues in the world.
Optus Sport alone reported having 1 million subscribers by November 2021 with the popularity of the English Premier League attracting 280,000 account holders to watch Everton draw with Liverpool during September 2020.
While much is made of the golden years of the A-League around 2006 through the arrival of genuine stars like Alessandro Del Piero and Emile Heskey, even Australian players are attracted to higher paying overseas leagues which makes it hard to attract marque players.
Adelaide United star Craig Goodwin returned to Al-Wehda in the Saudi Professional League in the offseason. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)
The A-League’s average wage is around $150,000 and there are 23 national football leagues paying at least double that amount including Greece, Denmark and Austria despite smaller average crowds than the A-League.
While few Australians now play in the big five European football leagues where average salaries are at least 15 times higher than the A-league, Australian (and foreign) players are still very much attracted to England’s second tier Championship, with its average wage 7 times higher than the A-League.
Hence, while it has been noted most national leagues are basically feeder competitions for the biggest leagues, and that A-League clubs “have reaped more than $7 million in transfer fees this pre-season” which helps address their shrinking budgets, the loss of top players (such as Craig Goodwin to Saudi Arabia) may complicate the decision of some football fans to attend the lesser A-League.
While English fans now accept watching the best players in the world rather than the past reliance upon home-grown talent, the A-League increasingly has to develop young players to help pay for a few promising or ageing overseas players as marque players.
Let’s hope the A-League can quickly return to an above 10,000 crowd average. Despite football being the World Game, it remains to be seen how long it takes to again return to the near 15,000 figure achieved around 15 seasons ago.
RoarRoar
Roar Rookie
The major problem for football in Australia is the administration insists on following what ever AFL and Rugby League does. For example, the draw is a mishmash of games that obviously marketing people have come up with not football people. We have this conflict between the new “Australian “ sport culture and “football” culture when it comes to how the competition is set up. All the major sports had the simple home / away competition with a finals series . Then all the codes became corporatised which , football followed along with and it’s not working as the crowd numbers show. As the article mentions most football fans prefer to watch the major European leagues . That means they prefer to watch leagues that are a simple home and away competition with the highest placed team winning the Premiership. Q: What is the most important thing any supporter of one of these European clubs wants to win? A: That clubs countries Premiership. We see every year the joy of the Premiers players and fans particularly, if it comes down to the last day. I love a good final series but if we are talking being part of world football culture then, I believe Australian football has to very seriously going down this road. Australian football has the unique opportunity to offer a competition different to AFL and NRL and be recognised and understand by football and sports fans both here and around the world . If this was to happen maybe a knockout cup competition just for the A league clubs could be played throughout the season with the final played the weekend after the regular season. The NPL is sought of a 2nd division without the Relegation/ promotion. Again, this is an opportunity for football in Australia to differentiate itself from the other codes. None of the other codes could even contemplate a relegation/ promotion system. We won’t see big crowds turning up at 2nd division games but it will bring interest with the drama of clubs trying to go up and surviving the relegation. With h proper management that interest will bring new fans , investors and corporate backing. It’s time for football to forge its own path not just follow other codes.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
good crowds for womens A-League last night. 11,000 SFS and 5,700 at Gosford.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
Yes Andre, it is possible there could be a quick rebound to 10,000 because of factors you mention.
Garry
Roar Rookie
Welcome aboard..all your points have been raised in earlier discussions. :happy: Mind you I think CCM crowds were trending up at the end so really the only issue we all agree on is City sb doing more. And there is signs a 'magic round' is on the agenda - it may replace Sydneys GFs - and theyve tried to fix kickoff times this year.
Andre
Roar Rookie
The dip in attendance had many different reasons, and it varied by club. - Western United still didn't have a stadium in the west of Melbourne - Perth were playing out of the tiny Macedonia Park due to HBF stadium upgrades - Melbourne Victory had massive sanctions following the pitch storming incident - Brisbane were playing out of Redlands, far from suitable transport and a majority of their fanbase - Wanderers fans were quite cautious following years of mismanagement, fan over policing and security as well as 7 years of dismal on field performances. The crowds gradually grew as the season went on. The real disappointments last year were Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne City who really had no excuse for poor crowds as they were playing beautiful football and were top of the table. Another issue was the scheduling and kickoff times. Local derbies should always be played on Saturday or Sunday to encourage travelling fans to get up in numbers, and there were way too many Sunday 3pm kickoffs across Summer which was brutal to attend and should have been shifted to 7pm or later. Western United are getting their training ground this year, Perth are back at their original stadium, Victory's sanctions are over, Brisbane are back at Suncorp, Wanderers fans are back unrestricted and riding off a strong season so there will be a natural uplift in crowds regardless. The clubs should all start to be look at Kids attending free, scheduling more double headers (women & mens games back to back) and starting up a magic round where all games are played at one ground to bring all the fans together.
Vlad
Roar Rookie
Do we know what is counted as attendees? We might find it hidden within the undefined word "member". The number of times at Coopers Stadium they announced an 11,000 crows and its looked no different to 7,000. Marquees lost to the MLS has taken its toll. But back to watery numbers. I remember the feds demanded a player census not long ago and the notables were football with 2 million registered players, Rugby Union so pathetic it forgot and VFL refused to release numbers. Instead the next day they published "1 million participants" that counted everyone at the park. Advertising fluff that cannot be the produced so its rubbish. My childhood team was denied a ground once by an imaginary VFL thirds team invented to prevent other sports using the ground. Good old White Australia Policy ball. Now I jog over more and more cricket pitches that are overprinted with football pitches in winter than VFL pitches. They put some sticks over another park but the stud activity is clearly within the football pitches. So let's call it a one third at best. Remember the Leichhardt Oval debacle attempting to kick off Marconi with made up player numbers? All VFL claims come with a bucket of salt.
Brendan
Roar Pro
You’re correct, Tunfanooo. The AFL’s crowd numbers, especially in Melbourne, are massive. Maybe it’s a Victorian thing? I’m sure someone has written a thesis about it. Now, if the A-League could harness that potential (or AFL knowledge), football would be very happy.
Tigerinthetank
Roar Rookie
Good comment about the pitch invasion. Actually know a lad who was one of them although he did nothing much more than get on the ground. Disappointing thing is he is not a regular attendee of Victory matches, I did'nt even know he followed the Victory until my son told me. Pretty sad really that so called supporters like that have had that result. Although saying that I think the decision to sell the grand final to Sydney has had a devastating effect on crowds in Melbourne and it will take some time for that to be forgiven by some and return.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
yes, I was thinking of that pitch invasion after I submitted. Good chance A-League can get above 10,000 sooner rather than later.
Kitwally
Roar Rookie
Some good points raised Chris. I think the Melbourne Derby pitch invasion needed to be mentioned. Victory averaged crowds of over 20,000 from 2006/7 to 2018/19, and their crowds were affected by the pandemic. City’s average crowds were down because Victory had less fans for the derby. Mention also needs to be made of Brisbane and Perth not playing in their “home” stadia. WSW have unresolved issues with their supporters. I do not know what CCM have to do to get better home crowds, they played scintillating football. MacArthur’s crowds may improve if they start playing games at Liverpool as reported. Western need a home ground. Sydney and Adelaide are trending in the right direction. Newcastle need an owner. Wellington are in rugby-mad New Zealand, hope next season’s Auckland team is successful.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
yes, i struggle to see how the A-league could support two divisions and get good crowds. Maybe they could continue to have state feds, and winners of each play off for team to be promoted, or to play match against wooden spoon A-League. there is a huge cost of having a second division nationwide.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
yes, the AFL does incredibly well. Melbourne finals crowds were huge, 5 matches over 90,000 including Blues v Swans.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
It's then a question about what people want. If you want the purity of a pro/rel system, then you are going to have to trade off professionalism, money and crowds. If you want the money and crowds, then you have to abandon the idea of pro/rel. Football in Australia can't have both. The market just isn't big enough for it, and the geographical disparity (and simultaneously, the geographic concentration of a disparate population) is an insurmountable hurdle.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
The A-League shouldn't even bother to try and compare or compete with the AFL on this. Different grounds, different seasons for one. But also, as you showed, AFL crowds are an anomaly in global sport. There isn't a league of any sport being played in a comparably sized country that pulls in crowds like AFL. The naysayers on these forums loathe to accept this, but the AFL is an extraordinarily well attended sport by nearly any metric. Good article though. Raised a lot of worthy points in there, Chris.
Garry
Roar Rookie
my figure was home AND away :happy:
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
Yes, i had changed an earlier draft to another one yesterday, and stuffed it up. Sentence should be just Melbourne. Sydney 32,800. https://afltables.com/afl/crowds/2023.html
Garry
Roar Rookie
And I think the issue is lack of lower level fans attending A League games. I hope, whether it succeeds or fails, the NSD will finally link the two.
Garry
Roar Rookie
“As of 2023 Melbourne and Sydney, with around 5 million people each, had 5 AFL teams with an average home crowd above 40,000: Collingwood 63,700, Carlton 51,400, Richmond 50,600, Essendon 45,600 and Melbourne 44,600.” where is the Sydney team here? Swans average was 34.643 btw
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
I really believe the number of teams in Melbourne and Sydney is too high, but they are there now. The expansion should focus on more cities having one team. Canberra and Auckland, while they may struggle to get 10,000, is the right start for future expansion imo.
Kris
Roar Rookie
How much of the attendance issue is to do with spreading the supporter bases out too thin? Would attendances necessarily be higher if we'd remained with one club per city only? I personally prefer promotion/relegation and hope that it can succeed. Maybe poor attendances are inevitable while the league is still in its infancy.