Scottish Premiership crowds break four million mark

Scottish Premiership crowds topped four million for the first time last season as the league continues to attract the highest per capita attendances in Europe.

From a 4.1m total, average gates in the top flight reached 17,903, up by 3%, as Celtic defended their title thanks to a dramatic final-day victory at home to challengers Hearts.

Only England, Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands attracted bigger audiences overall.

Adjusting average crowds for population puts Scotland way out in front with close to 20 attendees per 1,000 residents, nearly twice the figure for the next best nation, Norway.

Figures published by Uefa show approximately six million Scottish supporters watched men's matches during the 2025-26 campaign, with 900,000 in the lower leagues, 200,000 at domestic cup ties and 800,000 at European matches.

Champions Celtic were the only club outside Europe's big five leagues to exceed one million for home Premiership crowds.

Across all competitions, Rangers broke the one million mark.

The reports also shows just over two-thirds of all Premiership minutes last season were played by non-Scots.

The European average is 47%, with only Greece, Portugal and Turkey having a lower percentage of locally trained talent than Scotland.

Norway, Spain, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Sweden were the only nations with figures above 60%.

The Scottish FA have submitted proposals to increase playing time for young players, with SPFL clubs to vote on the matter in November.