Scottish football is set for a good year for fan engagement if the season’s opening weekend attendances are anything to go by.
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has published its attendance figures for the first game week of the 2024/25 season. A total of 255,850 people attended games across the SPFL’s four leagues – the Premiership, Championship, League One and Two.
Unsurprisingly, the Old Firm games brought in the biggest crowds, with 58,712 attending Celtic’s 4-0 win against Kilmanoc at Celtic Park and 48,529 attending Rangers 2-0 victory over Motherwell at the Ibrox.
Given the on-pitch dominance and subsequent extensive brand building the two Glasgow clubs have amassed over the past 100 years, this wasn’t too surprising. However, figures from other stadiums show that clubs further down the table still have a strong following.
A total of 17,057 attended Aberseen vs St Mirren, ending 3-1 for the home side, whilst in the third tier League One over 2,000 went to Gayfield Park to watch Arbroath v Montrose, a local derby match.
SPFL CEO, Neil Doncaster, said: “It’s really positive to see such significant attendances right across the country on our opening two weekends of the league season.
“Scottish football fans are renowned for their incredible support, so it’s great to welcome more than a quarter of a million supporters to league games across our four divisions already this season.
“Our game has enjoyed record yearly attendances for two consecutive seasons now in the SPFL, and these strong opening weekend crowds are more good news for Scottish football.”
For a country of under six million people, Scotland has a vibrant and well supported football scene which often punches above its weight in terms of attendance and viewership.
The attendance figures published this week show that football is as popular as ever in the country, and the sport’s commercial partners could expect strong returns as a result.
Last year saw viewership for the SPFL on Sky Sports, the league’s UK domestic broadcaster, rise by 24%, an increase of 2.5 million viewers on the year prior.
The commercial opportunities the league poses have not gone unnoticed by other stakeholders. Notably, bookmaker William Hill partnered with all four leagues of the SPFL in a multi-year sponsorship deal earlier this year.
Discussing the partnership with Insider Sport earlier this month, William Hill CEO, Per Widerström remarked: “The passion and love for football, we are very much sharing that. It’s important for us in light of our presence and our heritage in Scotland.
“We are 90 years old as the William Hill brand, we have more than 200 betting shops in Scotland and we are an integral part of the local communities.”
