More Australians and New Zealanders have watched the Hyundai A-League than ever before after a new aggregate attendance record was set for the 2011/12 regular season.
More Australians and New Zealanders have watched the Hyundai A-League than ever before after a new aggregate attendance record was set for the 2011/12 regular season.
The cumulative total of 1,416,157 fans for the season bettered the previous season-high total of 1,393,933 in Season 6 (2010/11).
The Season 7 aggregate was reached playing 30 less matches than the previous season with 135 matches being played across 25 weeks compared to 165 matches played in season 6.
Almost 50,000 fans attended matches in Wellington, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney across the weekend to ensure the new mark was set.
The Season 7 average regular season attendance of 10,490 was bolstered by significant increases in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Wellington.
The Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season also saw some increases in other key areas including goals, TV audience and memberships.
Season 7 saw an average of 2.7 goals per match, watched by a TV audience that has increased by 46 per cent from last season. Add to this the 23 per cent increase in club members and the Hyundai A-League-s growth and potential is gaining momentum.
The league has also seen some decreases, most notably in the incidence of red card offences which has seen a significant 21 per cent drop with only 27 red cards being issued in the 2011/12 regular season.
“This has been a fantastic season with our goals per game average in line with some of the biggest leagues in the world including the EPL (2.72), La Liga (2.74) and Serie A (2.49),” said head of A-League Lyall Gorman.
“The on-field action has been watched by more people proving that football has a growing footprint in this country.
“This season has witnessed the Hyundai A-League gain hugely significant boosts in ratings, memberships and attendances and the fact that more people have attended matches this season, with 30 less matches being played, is testament to the league-s potential and the work taking place in Clubs, communities and regions across Australia and New Zealand.”
With the pointy end of the Hyundai A-League 2012 Finals Series kicking off this weekend, with games in Wellington, Brisbane and Perth, excitement is building to crown a champion to what has been an remarkable season by all measures.
For information on how to purchase tickets to the 2012 Hyundai A-League Finals Series, please click here
