MLS Ranks Eighth Among Global Soccer Leagues In Average Attendance

MLS’ average attendance of 18,828 through Aug. 20 ranks the league eighth among global soccer leagues. The German Bundesliga tops all leagues with 45,726 per game during the ’11-12 season, led by Dortmund with 80,521 per game. La Liga club FC Barcelona leads all major clubs with 84,119 per game. While Sounders FC leads all MLS clubs with 42,610 fans per game, that average would rank around 26th among clubs whose leagues rank in the top 10 in average attendance. MLS Sounders FC would rank as the 12th best draw in the Bundesliga, sixth best in the EPL and fourth in both La Liga and Serie A. The Sounders’ figure would top all clubs in the Chinese Super League, Ligue 1 and the U.K.’s second-tier Championship league (THE DAILY).

TOP GLOBAL SOCCER LEAGUES IN AVERAGE ATTENDANCE
RANK	LEAGUE	NATION(S)	TEAMS	AVG.
1	Bundesliga*	Germany	18	45,726
2	EPL*	U.K.	20	34,601
3	La Liga*	Spain	20	30,272
4	Liga MX**	Mexico	18	25,288
5	Serie A*	Italy	20	23,459
6	Eredivisie*	Netherlands	18	19,516
7	Chinese Super League***	China	16	18,928
8	MLS***	U.S./Canada	19	18,828
9	Ligue 1*	France	20	18,665
10	Football League Championship*	U.K.	24	18,824

NOTES: Attendance figures taken from ESPN.com and Worldfootball.net. * = Figure at end of '11-12 season. ** = Figure at end of '11-12 spring season (Clausura). *** = Through Aug. 20.