Big crowds at Manchester United, Liverpool and West Ham could not prevent a year-on-year drop in attendance for football’s FA Cup third round.
A total of 571,132 watched the 31 games that took place over the weekend, which compares to 588,939 that attended the 32 matches last year. The outstanding game for 2016/17 sees Cambridge host Leeds tonight at their 8,100-capacity Abbey Stadium.
The average attendance so far is 18,423, although that figure will drop following the Cambridge game. That compares to 18,404 last year, which was the highest average for the third round in 35 years.
Manchester United’s home game versus Reading attracted 74,396, while Liverpool’s ground expansion led to the club’s biggest FA Cup crowd since 1977, with 52,692 watching Jurgen Klopp’s side draw with Plymouth.
West Ham’s first ever FA Cup game at the London Stadium attracted 56,975, who saw the home side thrashed 5-0 by Manchester City on Friday evening. The Hammers played in front of 34,547 when they faced Wolves at Upton Park at the same stage last season.
Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham also attracted crowds of more than 30,000, but a number of games featuring Premier League sides had low attendances.
A crowd of 6,608 watched Hull’s all-Premier League tie versus Swansea at the KCOM Stadium, with many home fans staying away in protest at the running of the club. That figure is 68 per cent lower than Hull’s 20,441 average gate for home league games during 2016-17.
At Norwich, who average 26,000 in the Championship, just over 12,000 watched the draw with Premier League side Southampton.
And Sunderland, usually watched by more than 40,000 fans at the Stadium of Light, drew a crowd of just 17,632 for the 0-0 draw against fellow Premier League side Burnley.
Championship team Cardiff attracted just 5,199 fans for their home game against Fulham, with many blaming the 11.30am kick-off time on Sunday, chosen to suit TV schedules, for the poor attendance.
However, non-League fans eager to witness an FA Cup upset travelled in big numbers to games. Seventh-tier Stourbridge went into the third round as the lowest-ranked side left in competition and took more than 2,000 supporters to Wycombe.
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