Football’s most supportive fan bases

Updated: 6636 Football

Every single football team has their dedicated fans, but which teams have the most supportive fan bases overall? Find out who came out on top in our guide.

Football’s most supportive fan bases
Dan Tracey Data Scientist and Football Editor

Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.

Whether you’re a lifelong football supporter of your local home team or a fresh-faced fan of the Premier League’s most recent winners, every team has their dedicated fans.

But, with all that being said, it’s undoubtedly true that some football teams get more consistent support than others. Even when the going gets tough, their fans are beside them to cheer the players on to victory.

With that in mind, we decided to work out which teams worldwide and in the UK have had the most supportive fans in the last decade!

To do this, we examined stadium attendance, positive and negative conversations online, and overall mentions of the team's home stadium compared to its capacity for the 2023/2024 leagues. Once we had all these stats, we scored each team’s results out of 50 to rank them.

So, without further ado, here are our insights into football’s most supportive fan bases!

The world’s most supportive fan bases

world’s most supportive fan bases


Starting off at a global level, below are the teams we think have the most consistent supporters in the world:

Rank League Team Name % of stadium full 2013/14 % of stadium full 2023/24 % of fans increased/decreased in decade Online Mentions Positive Negative Online mentions by Capacity Most Supportive Fanbase (0/50)
1 Spanish Real Madrid 87% 89% 2% 49000000 18 12 604.6 44.43
2 Prem Manchester United 100% 98% -2% 29000000 14 12 387.3 39.62
3 Spanish Cádiz CF 4% 85% 4796% 153000 7 5 7.3 38.57
4 German Bayer 04 Leverkusen 94% 99% 5% 390000 24 4 12.9 37.98
5 NHL Arizona Coyotes 299% 100% -67% 567000 13 26 123.3 36.67
6 Championship Millwall FC 53% 82% 55% 39000 38 11 1.9 36.10
7 Spanish Real Betis Balompié 50% 84% 67% 143000 30 6 2.4 35.36
8 German Borussia Dortmund 99% 100% 1% 5000000 17 8 61.5 34.99
9 NBA Hawks 86% 102% 18% 6000000 16 25 361.4 34.33
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1. Real Madrid

Starting off with perhaps the most well-known football team in the world, we have Real Madrid, who got a fantastic score of 44.4 out of 50, with fans on a global level flocking to see every match thanks to the consistent high-level skill of their players.

Supported all the way from the Philippines to the UK and, obviously, their home country of Spain, Real Madrid supporters are constantly packing the stadium. With an attendance record of 87% in 2013/14, which increased to 89% in 2023/24—only a 2% increase, but consistency says a lot about team support.

In addition, at least 18% of online chatter about Real Madrid in the last 12 months had positive connotations compared to just 12% being negative, while online mentions around their home stadium, in general, sat at 604 per the stadium’s capacity, all of which combine to reflect a fan base that can’t get enough of their team.

2. Manchester United

Next, we have another big-name team and a Premier League titan Manchester United. With an excellent score of 39.6 out of 50, Manchester United has a well-earned reputation for brilliant plays despite some tough seasons in recent years.

For starters, United had 100% stadium attendance throughout 2013/14, which only dropped to 98% in 2023/24. This is nothing to be sniffed at when you consider that Old Trafford has a maximum capacity of over 74,000 seats.

For the last 12 months of online conversation, United shared a similar percentage of negative comments (12%) as Real Madrid but still had a higher volume of positive messages overall (14%). Online mentions around Old Trafford totalled 387.3. It's not bad for a team that’s often accused of being backed by glory supporters.

3. Cádiz CF

One of the powerhouse teams of Spain’s Segunda Division, Cádiz CF snagged the third spot in our world rankings thanks to the incredible transition in their playing ability in the last decade, which is directly reflected in their stadium attendance.

Going from a quite frankly abysmal stadium attendance of 4% (around 830 people out of a 20,000-seat stadium) in 2013/14 to an explosive 85% attendance in 2023/24, Cádiz CF has seen a quite frankly mind-blowing stadium attendance increase of 4796%!

The good news doesn’t stop there for Cádiz CF fans, as the team has enjoyed a respectable 7% of positive online mentions in the last 12 months compared to just 5% negative. As a result, Cádiz CF garnered a total score of 38.6 out of 50 – a fantastic feat for a team whose fan support was practically non-existent a decade ago.

4. Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Heading to fourth place, we have the top team in Germany’s Bundesliga for 2023/24 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen – who finished their last tournament with 90 points and no losses!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has only increased fan attendance to their stadium, which rose 5% in the last decade, from 94% in 2013/14 to 99% in 2023/24, and could potentially reach 100% this year if they continue to be such a dominate force in German football.

The online front is even better for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, with 24% of online conversations and mentions being positive compared to a poultry 4% being negative. While stadium mentions compared to capacity were quite low at just 12.9, Bayer 04 Leverkusen came away from our rankings with a great score of 38.0 out of 50.

The UK’s most supportive fan bases

Moving onto the home of UK football itself, let’s now have a look at the most supportive football fans throughout the UK’s three top football leagues out of a score of 100:

The most supportive fan bases in the Premier League

most supportive fans premier league figures

Stadium Name Team Name % of stadium full 2013/14 % of stadium full 2023/24 % of fans increased/decreased in decade Online Mentions Positive Negative Online mentions by capacity Most Supportive fanbase
Old Trafford Manchester United 100% 98% -2% 29000000 14 12 387.2914969 69.66
Etihad Stadium Manchester City 86% 97% 13% 8000000 15 11 145.4096007 54.07
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tottenham Hotspur 57% 98% 72% 2000000 11 21 31.82179793 53.01
Villa Park Aston Villa 85% 98% 16% 6000000 13 10 140.574481 51.25
St James' Park Newcastle United 96% 100% 3% 4000000 10 13 76.42630593 50.09
Molineux Stadium Wolverhampton Wanderers 65% 97% 49% 518000 10 23 16.16224649 49.72
Vitality Stadium AFC Bournemouth 80% 98% 22% 366000 10 16 32.30647012 45.60
Stamford Bridge Chelsea FC 102% 97% -5% 2000000 11 13 48.95601302 45.60
Anfield Liverpool FC 74% 92% 25% 2000000 13 20 32.93536435 42.35
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First up, and as you no doubt already expected based on the results of our global ranking, we have Manchester United, who got a UK score of 69.7. Perhaps the most loved team in UK football, it’s hard not to reiterate why United’s supporters are so passionate about following their team into every game.

Following Manchester United are their fierce rivals, Manchester City, who scored 54.1 out of 100. With a stadium attendance of 97% in 2023/24 (just 1% below United’s and a 13% increase from 86% in 2013/14) and strong positive mentions of 15% online over the last 12 months, much like United, City fans are loyal to a fault for their favourite team.

Finally, in third, we have our first London team, Tottenham Hotspur. Scoring 53.0 out of 100, Tottenham enjoyed a massive stadium attendance boost of 72%, going from 57% in 2013/14 to 98% in 2023/24. This shows how popular Tottenham has become in the last decade. Even recent performance has put negative mentions online up to 21%.

The least supported teams in the Premier League

While we’ve examined those teams with the most dedicated supporters so far, we couldn’t help but also examine why certain teams received less support in 2023/24 than they did a decade ago.

Of course, the reasoning may be evident for teams such as Burnley FC. Having just been relegated out of the Premier League, online mentions of Burnley are at a low 9% for both positive and negative comments. Though stadium attendance is up 54%, from 62% to 96%, fans might not be done with Burnley just yet.

Our lowest-ranked Premier League team, Fulham FC,  is in a similar boat. Although they didn’t suffer relegation, their middle-of-the-table performance left many fans indifferent, with positive and negative mentions online of 9% and stadium attendance dropping 3% from 97% to 95% over the last ten years.

The most supportive fan bases in the EFL Championship

most supportive fans EFL

Stadium Name Team Name % of stadium full 2013/14 % of stadium full 2023/24 % of fans increased/decreased in decade Online Mentions Positive Online mentions by capacity Negative Most Supportive Fanbase
King Power Stadium Leicester City 77% 97% 25% 2000000 12 61.97130728 8 55.68
St Andrew's Birmingham City 53% 72% 37% 2000000 10 68.0063926 19 55.29
MKM Stadium Hull City 94% 86% -9% 846000 16 33.0649574 13 54.79
Elland Road Leeds United 66% 95% 43% 2000000 11 52.78437582 10 52.48
The Den Millwall FC 53% 82% 55% 39000 38 1.935868162 11 48.12
Carrow Road Norwich City 98% 96% -3% 626000 11 22.97753634 8 47.87
Coventry Building Society Arena Coventry City 7% 78% 1014% 691000 13 21.19046889 13 47.56
Ashton Gate Bristol City 49% 84% 70% 1000000 11 37.03703704 13 44.98
Loftus Road Stadium Queens Park Rangers 91% 91% 0% 127000 12 6.917211329 10 43.31
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Moving on to the EFL Championship, Leicester City is the most supported team by a close margin. Despite having dropped from the Premier League after their 2015/16 win, Leicester still saw its stadium attendance grow 25% from 77% to 97% to deliver a total score of 55.7 out of 100

Following hot on their heels is Birmingham City, whose recent performance saw stadium capacity fill from 53% to 72% in the last decade and a total score of 55.3 out of 100 despite negative conversations in the previous 12 months, sitting at 19%.

And to wrap up with our third place team, we move to Hull City, who have seen a slight decline of stadium attendance in the last decade of -9% (down from 94% to 86%), but thanks to positive sentiments in the previous month off 16% compared to negatives of 13%, Hull has managed to get a score of 54.8

The least supportive fans in the EFL Championship

As for the EFL’s least supported teams, going from the bottom up, we have Blackburn Rovers, who had a rather dire total score of 17 out of 100. With an already low stadium attendance of 48% (that did increase to 50%) and middling positive mentions online of 10%, there is nothing special to say about Blackburn Rovers.

Next, sitting just above them, we have Middlesbrough FC, who scrape by higher than Blackburn thanks to their large increase in stadium attendance, which was up 70% in the last decade from 47% to 80%; however, low online chatter in all areas keeps their score at a low 21.6.

The most supportive fan bases in League One

most supportive fans league one top figures

Team Name % of stadium full 2013/14 % of stadium full 2023/24 % of fans increased/decreased in decade Online Mentions Positive Negative Online Mentions by capacity Most Supportive fans2
Lincoln City 22% 83% 286% 1000000 14 17 98.71668312 76.44
Cambridge United 38% 82% 116% 1000000 13 4 123.0466347 56.21
Leyton Orient 43% 88% 103% 113000 14 13 12.18854493 55.63
Northampton Town 61% 88% 43% 103000 14 10 13.208515 53.11
Exeter City 73% 77% 5% 209000 12 10 23.66930917 48.07
Portsmouth FC 59% 92% 55% 55000 12 9 2.658546017 47.70
Derby County 74% 81% 9% 336000 13 8 10.00089294 47.31
Reading FC 99% 54% -45% 339000 10 15 14.03087621 45.25
Cheltenham Town 31% 65% 110% 86000 15 9 12.17095952 43.18
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Finally, to wrap up our most supportive fans list, let’s look at League One and the incredible story of Lincoln City. Seeing a whopping 286% increase in fan attendance (going from 22% to 83%) and 98.7 stadium mentions out of a capacity of 10,000; they scored a quite frankly excellent score of 76.4 – the best in all the UK leagues.

Following Lincoln, we have Cambridge United, which also saw a stellar increase in stadium attendance, increasing 116% from 38% to 82%. Add to this 13% positive mentions online compared to only 4% negative comments, and Cambridge came away with a score of 56.2.

Lastly, we have Leyton Orient to round out our top three in League One. They, too, saw massive increases in stadium attendance, going from 43% to 88% over the last 10 years (a 103% improvement). They also had relatively even positive and negative mentions online, at 14% and 13%, respectively, to give them a final score of 55.6.

The least supportive fans in League One

To close out, we’ll look briefly at the least supported teams in League One, and the team that had the worst score by far – Port Vale FC – who scored just 5.8 out of 100! With minor fan attendance of 33% increasing to 35% and no real online discussion, Port Vale FC clearly needs to be doing more to get their fans excited.

Then, sitting slightly above PortVale FC, we have Burton Albion, who did see a good attendance increase of 20%, though this only saw attendance rise from 41% to 49%. And again, online conversations were minimal to say the least, resulting in Burton Albion’s score topping out at 18.1.

And there you have it; those are the most supportive teams in the World and UK football. Of course, there’s more that goes into a team winning than the support of their fans – the odds have to be in the favour as well.

Methodology

For each fanbase, we looked at the following factors: 

  • Percentage of stadium full in 2013/14

  • Percentage of stadium full in 2023/24

  • The change in percentage of stadium full in the last 10 years

  • Positive conversations online

  • Negative conversations online

  • Online mentions by capacity

Each fanbase was then given a score based on how well they performed in the metrics above. Teams in the overall rankings were given a score out of 50 whereas when looking at specific leagues, the score was out of 100.

*Teams were scored in the league they were in during the 2023/24 season.

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