Oldham Athletic recorded its largest League Two attendance of 9,449 fans at their home match against Port Vale. The figure came as the EFL’s opening weekend saw 521,783 supporters across 72 clubs, with the Championship drawing 304,501 and League One 143,605. League Two’s total attendance was 73,677, and Oldham’s 9,449 represented the division’s biggest crowd for the weekend.
The 72 clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two collectively filled 521,783 seats, enough to occupy the 80,663‑capacity MetLife Stadium six times over. The average adult ticket price was roughly £30, meaning a full season of home games would cost a supporter more than £1,000. By contrast, a standard ticket to the World Cup final cost about £1,500, making the EFL’s season cheaper by £120 per supporter.
The Championship’s opening weekend averaged 25,375 spectators per match, 3,000 more than the previous season’s average. League One’s average rose to 11,967, about 1,500 above last season, while League Two averaged 6,140, 600 above the prior year. Across the 36 opening‑weekend fixtures, EFL grounds were around 81 % full, with the Championship at 91 %, League One at 73 % and League Two at 66 %.
Ticket pricing varied across divisions. The most expensive away ticket that weekend was £45 for West Ham United supporters travelling to Burnley, a price 50 % above the Premier League’s away‑ticket cap. In the same match, Charlton Athletic sold 3,001 tickets to the London Stadium for a game against West Ham, a sold‑out allocation 1,001 larger than West Ham’s 2,000‑ticket allocation for their trip to Burnley.
Notts County, newly promoted to League One, hosted Leicester City on August 15 in a sell‑out crowd of 17,172 for a 1‑1 draw. Bradford City, now in League One, drew almost 20,000 at Valley Parade for a 2‑0 win over Peterborough United, a figure that tops the club’s previous League Two attendance record of 15,000‑17,000.
The EFL’s reliance on match‑day income is evident: Championship clubs recorded combined operating losses of £436 million in 2024‑25, and a proposed away‑ticket cap has been discussed but not agreed upon. While the Premier League capped away tickets at £30 since 2016‑17, no such cap exists in the EFL, a point raised by Notts County CEO Joe Palmer.
Oldham’s 9,449‑strong crowd underscores the broader trend of rising attendance in lower‑league football, a trend that has seen the Championship set an all‑time attendance record in 2023‑24 and become the third‑best attended division in Europe last season.
