Last night’s friendly win against Norway saw the lowest number of fans turn out to watch England since Wembley reopened in 2007 and it could be a sign of things to come.
International football for England fans has long been an almost certain source of disappointment, and last night’s 1-0 win against Norway saw just 40,181 fans attend the game at Wembley in what was the lowest attendance figure since the stadium reopened in 2007.
Less than half the fans that could fit inside the 90,000 seater stadium turned out to watch the friendly, and it could be a sign of things to come.
Roy Hodgson believes that the upcoming games at Wembley for the Three Lions’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign will see low attendance figures as they don’t “excite” fans.
“We’ll find it hard to bring attendances back because the opponents we’re playing won’t excite the public,” the England manager said.
However, England’s highest attendance figure at Wembley came in a World Cup qualifier against minnows Kazakhstan, as 89,107 fans were at the game in October 2008.
The numbers have fluctuated in the past four years, though there are no signs that masses of fans will start piling into the stadium to support the national side anytime soon.
| Match | Date | Attendance | Average Attendance (per year) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | vs Egypt (F) | March 3 2010 | 80,602 | |
| England | vs Mexico (F) | May 24 2010 | 88,638 | |
| England | vs Hungary (F) | August 11 2010 | 72,034 | 78,927 (2010) |
| England | vs Bulgaria (ECQ) | September 3 2010 | 73,346 | |
| England | vs Montenegro (ECQ) | October 12 2010 | 73,451 | |
| England | vs France (F) | November 17 2010 | 85,495 | |
| England | vs Ghana (F) | March 29 2011 | 80,102 | |
| England | vs Switzerland (ECQ) | June 4 2011 | 84,459 | |
| England | vs Wales (ECQ) | September 6 2011 | 77,128 | 75,550 (2011) |
| England | vs Spain (F) | November 12 2011 | 87,189 | |
| England | vs Sweden (F) | November 15 2011 | 48,876 | |
| England | vs Netherlands (F) | February 29 2012 | 76,283 | |
| England | vs Belgium (F) | June 2 2012 | 85,091 | 78,782 (2012) |
| England | vs Ukraine (WCQ) | September 11 2012 | 68,102 | |
| England | vs San Marino (WCQ) | October 12 2012 | 85,654 | |
| England | vs Brazil (F) | February 6 2013 | 87,453 | |
| England | vs Republic of Ireland (F) | May 29 2013 | 80,126 | |
| England | vs Scotland (F) | August 14 2013 | 80,485 | |
| England | vs Moldova (WCQ) | September 6 2013 | 61,607 | 78,443 (2013) |
| England | vs Montenegro (WCQ) | October 11 2013 | 83,807 | |
| England | vs Poland (WCQ) | October 15 2013 | 85,186 | |
| England | vs Chile (F) | November 15 2013 | 62,953 | |
| England | vs Germany (F) | November 19 2013 | 85,934 | |
| England | vs Denmark (F) | March 5 2014 | 68,573 | |
| England | vs Peru (F) | May 30 2014 | 83,578 | 64,110 (2014) |
| England | vs Norway (F) | September 3 2014 | 40,181 |
This year has seen three England games at Wembley so far, and those matches have seen the lowest average attendance per game seen since the national side moved back into Wembley in 2007.
The highest attendance figure in the past four years came against Mexico in a friendly in May 2010 as 88,638 fans turned out to watch the Three Lions win 3-1.
Over 70,000 fans have been in attendance for all of England’s European Championship qualifiers in the past few years, and it will be intriguing to see if that amount continue to support the side in the upcoming months.
England could continue to play home games at Wembley for the next eight or nine years despite calls to move the fixtures across the country, as elite nations like Spain and Germany do.
The low attendances reflect the lack of excitement England fans show towards the national side and this summer’s poor World Cup campaign will likely see many more supporters stop attending games at Wembley.
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