ATTENDANCES for SSE Airtricity League matches rose in 2015 as interest in the domestic game continues to grow. SSE Airtricity League Premier Division crowds increased by 9.8% with an overall 6.9% boost for attendances for the League across both the Premier and First Divisions. A number of clubs posted notable increases on last season with Limerick (48%) leading the way in the Premier Division ahead of the likes of Longford Town (31%), and Galway United (28%).
In the First Division, Finn Harps (77%) attracted big crowds as they went on to win the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off, while Wexford Youths (62%) and Cobh Ramblers (44%) also enjoyed significant increases.
Both Cork City and Dundalk attracted an average attendance of over 3,000 spectators to their home games, while almost 375,000 people attended games across the League.
There was also increased interest in both the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup and EA Sports Cup with the two respective finals seeing an increase on attendances from 2014 with the former attracting a crowd of 25,103 to Aviva Stadium.
The 2016 SSE Airtricity League season will kick off on March 4, 2016.
