More fans watch League Two than Benzema and Neymar in Saudi Pro League
The likes of Nick Powell and Paul Mullin are more popular than Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar … at least according to attendance figures.
Despite a double-decker bus' worth of elite-level players being lured to the country over the summer, Saudi Pro League clubs are struggling to fill their stadiums out. During game-week five earlier this month, average attendances across the division sat at just over 5,000 – roughly 1,500 lower than the average gate at a League Two match.
Attendance figures rose steeply following the arrival of Ronaldo mid-way through last season, jumping from 8,000 to 10,000. But they've since dropped back down to pre-investment levels despite an influx of famous players.
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In fairness, attendance figures at the four clubs financial backed by the government's Public Investment Fund (PIF) – Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli – have surged since last season, but spectator numbers are dropping everywhere else, and dropping alarmingly.
It means that over half of the clubs in League Two are attracting more fans to games than three-quarters of the teams in the Saudi Pro League. Wrexham, for example, pull in around 10,000 spectators every week, as do Notts County, while there are 12 clubs attracting an average of at least 6,000 fans per game this season.
What would you rather watch, a League Two match of a Saudi Pro League match? Let us know in the comments section below.
Fans on social media reacted to news of the Saudi Pro League's low attendance figures by saying it proves how 'buying' football doesn't always work. "Shows you can't just artificially create a football culture," one supporter wrote.
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"Really puts a spanner in the works of the 'build it and they will come' notion haha," another said. A third added: "Really poor that they can't get more than 5,000 people to watch Ronaldo, Neymar, Benzema, Kante, Mane. Ridiculous."
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