MLS Attendances On The Up, Now The Sixth Best-Attended League In The World

Attendances in the MLS are on the up, with the US's top division now the sixth best-attended football league in the world.

On average, the league had 21,962 fans at each game in 2016, beating the average of 21,558 fans attending games in the top flight a year earlier. Since 2006, the influx of elite players into the MLS has brought in more fans and there has been a huge 40% increase in attendances; the figure 10 years ago was 15,504.

Steven Gerrard

Seattle Sounders had the highest attendance in MLS with 42,636 fans in what was a 3.6% decrease from last year's figures. 11 clubs in the Western and Eastern conference saw their attendance improve - with Montreal Impact seeing a 16.4% having boasted an average attendance of 20,699.

The presence of star players like Steven Gerrard, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, David Villa, Giovani Dos Santos, Kaka and Sebastian Giovinco is quite clearly having a monumental impact on the MLS, with the league now only behind the Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Liga MX, and the Chinese Super League in terms of attendances.

(h/t ESPN FC)

Topics: Frank Lampard, MLS, Steven Gerrard

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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