Neil Doncaster salutes 'world renowned' SPFL fans as punters produce historic opening day crowd numbers

Neil Doncaster has saluted Scottish football’s “world renowned” fans after the SPFL recorded the second highest opening week attendances in the league’s history.

An impressive 133,586 supporters turned out across all four divisions as the 2023/24 campaign kicked off in style. It comes after the league broke the five million season total attendance barrier for the first time last year and amid a cost of living crisis across the UK. The only opening weekend league crowds to top the weekend since the SPFL was formed a decade ago came in 2018 when 134,397 attended. And SPFL chief Doncaster said: “It’s great to see such strong attendances at games across the country.

“I know the opening weekend of league fixtures is one of the highlights of the league season for supporters, and I’d like to thank everyone that attended an SPFL game throughout our four divisions. This weekend’s strong crowds continue to build on last season’s positive trends, which included five million fans attending SPFL matches for the first time ever, and Scotland enjoying the highest per capita support across European football. It’s a further reminder of why Scottish football fans are renowned across the world for their incredible support.”

The largest crowd of the opening weekend was at Celtic Park on Saturday, where 58,772 fans witnessed the champions defeat Ross County 4-2. A total of 17,586 supporters watched St Mirren’s dramatic late 3-2 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday, while 9,256 fans were inside Rugby Park as Kilmarnock dumped Rangers 1-0.

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