Top 10 Best Football Club Fan Bases Around The World

July 14, 2021 By Sourav

Fans are the key role player of any sports team in any corner of the world, as they are the main supporters of any activity of the clubs financially, socially, and emotionally.

High attendance of fans in any game can put as much pressure as the team itself on the opponents because they stand up for their players, roar against their opponents, worship their winning managers, and display amazing synchronized choreography with their team’s national anthem. And, here is the list of the top 10 best football club fan bases around the world.

Best Football Club Fan Bases around the World | 2021 Updates

Fans never stop cheering for their favorite clubs as they are the main ingredients to a house-full stadium in any match. According to the studies, around 250 million official fans of various teams or football clubs can be traced worldwide.

Our team has calculated the data of statistic reports of various premier or first division championships worldwide and ranked the supporter clubs according to the average attendance of supporters per match on their respective home ground.

10. Newcastle United Supporters

Newcastle United Football Club famously the Newcastle is mostly known for their Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland since 1898. The club was founded on 9 December 1892 and now has its official supporters' clubs all over the world. Newcastle’s supporters often refer to themselves as the Magpies, the Geordies, or the Toon Army, and publish a number of fanzines including True Faith and The Mag.

The official supporter club called Newcastle United Supporters Trust was founded in September 2008 which "represents the broad church of Newcastle United's support" according to the fan base motto.

According to the Barclays Premier League’s statistics report of the last season, Newcastle United played 19 matches last season whereas a total of 957511 fans attended the stadiums to support their club.

While their home ground St James' Park has a seating capacity of 52387, all the matches Newcastle United last season was attended by their 50395 supporters on an average basis with the highest attendance of 52280 supporters in a single match. They surely deserve the tenth place in our list of the best football club fan bases around the world.

9. Hamburg Supporters

Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. famously known as Hamburger SV or just Hamburg was founded on 29 September 1887 by the merger of Der Hohenfelder Sportclub and Wandsbek-Marienthaler Sportclub and played continuously in the Bundesliga since the end of World War I.

The team is nicknamed Die Rothosen or The Red Shorts for the distinctive color of the shorts during the match. Hamburg is listed among the twenty largest football clubs in the world by Forbes and currently has 70,000 official members which makes it one of the most popular teams in Bundesliga.

According to the Survey report of last season of German Bundesliga, Hamburg played 17 matches last season whereas a total of 883586 fans attended the stadium to support their club.

While their home ground Imtech Arena has a seating capacity of 56000, all the matches of Hamburg were attended by their 51976 supporters on an average basis last season with the highest attendance of 57000 fans in a single match. They now hold the ninth place in our list of best football club fan bases around the world.

8. Borussia Monchengladbach Supporters

Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach e.V or famously the Borussia Monchengladbach derived its first name Borussia from the Latinized form of Prussia. It was nicknamed Die Fohlen which stands for The Foals for their aggressive playing style by the fans.

Borussia Monchengladbach is now sponsored by Retail banking mega-giant Postbank since 2009. This team established itself as one of the most popular clubs in Germany. They surely deserve their mention among the best football club fan bases around the world.

According to the statistics of last season of German Bundesliga, Borussia Monchengladbach played 17 matches last season whereas a total of 892591 fans attended the stadium to support their club.

While their home ground Stadion in Borussia-Park has a seating capacity of 54,057, all the matches of Borussia Monchengladbach last season were attended by their 52505 supporters on an average basis with the highest attendance of 54010 fans in a single match.

7. Arsenal Supporters

Arsenal is one of the most successful clubs in English football and holds the record of winning 11 FA Cups. Founded in 1886 in Woolwich, they became the first club from south England to participate in the Football League in 1893.

The Arsenal’s fans are often referred to as the Gooners, which is derived from the team's nickname The Gunners. It has a huge fan base of 27 million worldwide and the official supporters also publish magazines like The Gooner, Gunflash, and the famous satirical fanzine Up The Arse!

According to the statistics of the Premier League, Arsenal played 19 matches last season whereas a total of 1140251 fans attended the stadiums to support their club. Their home ground Emirates Stadium has a seating capacity of 60432.

Around 60,013 supporters attended the matches of Arsenal last season on average. Besides, they have witnessed the highest attendance of 60071 Fans in a single match. They now hold the seventh place in our list of best football club fan bases around the world.

6. Schalke 04 Supporters

Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V. or famously just the Schalke was founded in 1904. As of 2021, it has around 130,000 official members which makes it the second-largest sports club in Germany in terms of membership.

The motto of this team is 'Wir Leben Dich,' which stands for 'We live up,' and the team was nicknamed Die Königsblauen or The Royal Blues by its huge fan base.

The official Schalke 04 Fan Club Association has 1500 fan clubs worldwide. According to the statistics report of last season of German Bundesliga, Schalke 04 FC played 17 matches last season whereas a total of 1045704 fans attended the stadium to support their club.

Their home ground Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen has a seating capacity of 62109. Around 61,512 supporters attended the matches of Schalke 04 FC on an average basis last season. Besides, they have also witnessed the highest attendance of 61973 fans in a single match. They surely deserve their mention among the best football club fan bases around the world.

5. Bayern Munich Supporters

Eleven football players led by Franz John founded the Bayern Munich club in 1900. Their roaring crowds of the stadium also now called them 'Die Bayern' or 'The Bavarians'. Bayern Munich became the second-most popular sports club in the world with its 223,985 members.

It has also become the most popular football club in Germany with 10 million fans. Besides, it has 262,077 official members through its 3,576 club-affiliated fan clubs.

According to the statistics of the last season of German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich played 17 matches last season. A total of 1207137 fans attended the stadium to support their club. Their home ground Allianz Arena has a seating capacity of 69060.

Around 71,008 supporters attended the matches of Bayern Munich last season on an average. They have also witnessed the highest attendance of 71137 fans in a single match. Bayern supporters now hold the fifth place in the list of best football club fan bases around the world.

4. Real Madrid Supporters

The Real Madrid Club de Fútbol or simply Real Madrid was founded as Madrid Football Club in 1902 and bestowed by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 with the royal crown in the emblem from which the word Real stands for royal in Spanish was adopted in the team name.

Real Madrid has more than 1,800 club-affiliated supporters' groups called peñas all around the world with approximately 174 million members. And to hold a season ticket, one must first be a socio or club member.

According to the statistics of last season of Spanish Primera Liga, Real Madrid played 19 matches last season. A total of 1369605 fans attended the stadiums to support their club. Their home ground Santiago Bernabéu has a seating capacity of 75000.

Around 72084 supporters attended the matches of Real Madrid on an average basis last season. They have also witnessed the highest attendance of 98761 fans in a single match. Los Blancos now holds the fourth place in the list of best football club fan bases around the world.

3. FC Barcelona Supporters

A group of footballers led by Joan Gamper founded the 'Futbol Club Barcelona' in 1899. This club eventually became a symbol of Catalan culture and heritage. They operate with the 'Més que un club' that stands for 'More than a club'. Millions of Barcelona’s fans worldwide sing the official theme song called 'Cant del Barça'.

According to recent reports, this team has a whopping 270 million fans all over the world. Barcelona's players won the highest number of Ballon d'Or awards and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

According to the statistics of last season of Spanish Primera Liga, FC Barcelona played 19 matches last season. A total of 1406757 fans attended the stadiums to support their club. Their home ground Camp Nou has a seating capacity of 98000.

Around 74,040 supporters attended the matches of FC Barcelona on an average basis last season. They have also witnessed the highest attendance of 98761 fans in a single match. Barcelona supporters now hold third place in the list of best football club fan bases around the world.

2. Manchester United Supporters

Manchester United Football Club based in Greater Manchester was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878. This club has later changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. This old club established itself as one of the richest football clubs in the world.

They now hold the record of highest average home attendance in Europe. According to surveys, The Red Devils has 354 million fans worldwide. They have more than 200 official branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club in 24 countries.

According to the statistics report of the last season of Barclays Premier League, Manchester United played 19 matches last season. A total of 1428860 fans attended the stadiums to support their club.

Their home ground Old Trafford has a seating capacity of 75769. Around 75203 supporters attended the matches of Manchester United last season on an average. They have also witnessed the highest attendance of 75368 Red Devils in a single match. They now hold second place in our list of the best football club fan bases around the world.

1. Borussia Dortmund Supporters

Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund commonly known as Borussia Dortmund is a large membership-based sports club. They now became the third largest sports club by membership in Germany with 100,000 dedicated members. This club is nicknamed Die Schwarzgelben by the fans, which stands for 'The Black and Yellows'.

Dortmund achieved eight Bundesliga, five DFL-Supercups, and three DFB-Pokals. They also won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and Intercontinental Cup. They now hold the top place in our list of best football club fan bases around the world.

According to the statistics of the last season of German Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund played 17 matches last season. A total of 1371495 fans attended the stadium to support their club.

Their home ground Signal Iduna Park in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany has a seating capacity of 83,000. Around 80,676 supporters attended the matches of Borussia Dortmund last season on average. They have also witnessed the highest attendance of 86645 fans in a single match.

Largest Football Club Fan Bases | 2021 Ranking

Final Words

According to the statistics reports of various championship leagues throughout the world, other notable mentions on this list which achieved a pretty amazing average attendance per match on their home ground are Paris St-Germain with 44812 attendances per match, Atletico Madrid with 46584 supporters per match, and Inter Milan with 42605 supporters per match. And now, we hope that you liked our list of the best football club fan bases around the world.