Jesse Lingard's FC Seoul land at No. 60 on global average attendance ranking
Published: 11 May. 2024, 20:09
![A record crowd turns out for Jesse Lingard's first game at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on March 10. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/05/11/b3d1ed4a-7422-4df7-ac17-0f91ba1a73c1.jpg)
A record crowd turns out for Jesse Lingard's first game at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on March 10. [YONHAP]
A mid-table club in the K League 1 has notched a higher average attendance rate so far this season than some of the best teams in Europe have in their soon-to-be-over campaigns, according to the popular football site Transfermarkt.
FC Seoul, who currently sit in the bottom half of the 12-team K League 1 table, are No. 60 in average attendance among all first division clubs after six home games this season — one they're playing with an ex-Premier League star.
They sit seven spots above the Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, with three games left in their 2023-24 season, and 14 spots above 2023-24 Bundesliga title winners Bayer Leverkusen, with two more league matches to go.
The Seoul club has drawn an average 33,991 spectators in six home games at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, according to the Transfermarkt ranking, a metric that comes alongside a fresh attendance record — 51,670 spectators in a match against Incheon United on March 10, which was surprise signee Jesse Lingard’s home debut.
Crowds had packed the 66,704 capacity stadium to see Lingard in action, though the former Manchester United star played just 30 minutes in the goalless draw, coming on as a substitute in the second half.
![FC Seoul's Jesse Lingard reacts after missing a shot during a match against Incheon United at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on March 10. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/05/11/14fd21f9-190a-4658-893d-f83ffa646e09.jpg)
FC Seoul's Jesse Lingard reacts after missing a shot during a match against Incheon United at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on March 10. [YONHAP]
The spectator count could well be a symptom of Lingard’s high-profile signing, which drew plenty of media attention abroad and in Korea.
FC Seoul’s previous attendance record was 47,899 spectators in 2016.
Seoul World Cup Stadium is Korea’s largest, expanded for the 2002 World Cup. FC Seoul moved to the stadium in 2004.
The capital side’s average spectator count is an outlier compared to other teams in the K League 1. Its seating stats are 180 percent of the next-highest attendance figure in the K League 1 — defending league champions Ulsan HD, with an average 18,542 spectators in five home games to rank No. 184.
Longtime heavyweights Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, who have struggled in the early days of the 2024 season, are the next-highest K League 1 team with an average 17,325 spectators over five home games at No. 207 and Daegu FC come behind them, with an average 11,803 spectators to sit at No. 289 — though Daegu are the only K League 1 club to have sold out a game this season in its 12,415-capacity stadium.
There are a total 1,023 clubs in the Transfermarkt attendance ranking, with Borussia Dortmund’s 81,625 Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany averaging 81.302 spectators over 16 home games — 15 of them sell-outs. Macedonian First Football League’s Makedonija, who sit in last place on the 12-team table, coming in with the lowest average attendance rate — averaging 10 spectators over 15 matches at home.
Incheon United and Daejeon Hana Citizen are the only other K League 1 clubs to break the 10,000 average spectator mark, with the rest of the clubs falling between an average 9,000 to 3,000 spectators over five or six home games this season.
The most sparsely-attended K league 1 side is Gimcheon Sangmu, the newly-promoted military club who has since shot up to the top of the table.
BY MARY YANG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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