Many New Attendance Records in Swedish Football During the Anniversary Season 2024

Never before have so many people attended men’s elite football matches in Sweden in a single season. As the 100th anniversary season in 2024 wraps up, it’s clear that last year’s combined attendance record for Allsvenskan and Superettan has been surpassed. AIK has also set a new record for a single club in Allsvenskan.

“It’s especially exciting to break these records in the year Allsvenskan turns 100. The fans create an incredible atmosphere at our games in most cases and deserve great credit for their passion,” says Ola Rydén, league director of Swedish Professional Football Leagues.

The new combined record attendance for Allsvenskan and Superettan is 3,192,519 spectators, an increase of nearly 165,000 compared to 2023. Allsvenskan alone has set a new record for a 16-team league with a total of 2,588,708 spectators, averaging 10,786 per game.

“We continue to see fantastic growth in attendance. Football is the country’s largest popular movement, and it’s clearly visible in the stadiums. In recent seasons, we’ve set records every year,” says Ola Rydén.

Many clubs have shown increases in attendance, led by AIK, which set a new record for a single club in Allsvenskan with an average of 28,589 spectators per match. Malmö FF and BK Häcken also set new attendance records, while GAIS, IFK Göteborg, Västerås SK, and IK Sirius reported numbers not seen in 50 years.

While Superettan as a league did not break a new attendance record, several clubs within the league—such as Helsingborgs IF, Örebro SK, Östers IF, Landskrona BoIS, and IK Brage—saw significant increases in attendance compared to the 2023 season. In total, 19 clubs across Allsvenskan and Superettan increased their attendance compared to the previous season.

“The clubs are working very hard and successfully to make football accessible and welcoming to everyone. This effort is paying off. The clubs’ hard work and the world-class atmosphere created by fans have generated a huge interest in coming to the stadiums and watching the games live,” says Ola Rydén.

Recently, the Experience Institute released its Sportnavigator report, which shows that Allsvenskan is the most popular league in Sweden, with half of the adult population having a favorite team in the league. This popularity is also evident at elite football stadiums across the country.

“This trend has been clear since we, together with the leagues and clubs, decided 10-15 years ago to focus on audience growth. We are now seeing the results of those efforts, which is incredibly exciting. Hopefully, we’ll continue to grow just as much in the coming years,” concludes Ola Rydén.

As with last year, clubs are being rewarded for their attendance efforts through Unibet’s Publikstödet initiative. The purpose of Publikstödet is to support the most important aspect of Swedish football: fan engagement. A total of 20 million SEK will be distributed among the clubs to reward their efforts. No club will receive less than 200,000 SEK in this allocation. The 2024 Publikstödet allocation will be announced shortly.

Records for the 2024 Season: