An extended Anfield and the addition of West Ham’s new stadium could not prevent the FA Cup third round attracting its lowest total attendance in three years.
A total of 579,105 fans attended the 32 games, including a crowd of 52,692 who saw Liverpool face Plymouth in the first Cup game at Anfield since its capacity was raised from 45,500. Liverpool’s average Premier League attendance this season is 52,925.
The London Stadium’s first FA Cup game, as West Ham lost to Manchester City, attracted 56,975 fans – 22,000 more than the Upton Park crowd that saw the Hammers play at the same stage last year. West Ham’s average attendance this season is 56,963.
The average third round attendance of 18,097 was slightly down on 2014-15 (18,297) and last year’s 18,404 – which was the highest since 1979-80.
The total was aided by crowds of more than 30,000 at Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham, while 74,396 were at Old Trafford to see Manchester United face Reading.
However, the majority of clubs hosting matches in the third round of the English FA Cup saw attendances drop below the average gate for home league matches.
Just 6,808 supporters attended the all-Premier League clash between Hull and Swansea at the former’s KCOM Stadium, some 68 per cent less than the average attendance of 20,441 for the current 2016-17 season. However, the game was impacted by a boycott by home fans in protest against the running of the club.
Stoke, also in the top-tier, saw their attendance fall by 21 per cent on an average of 27,385 this term, despite the prospect of a local derby against Championship team Wolverhampton Wanderers. The away side won the tie 2-0.
West Bromwich Albion was the only Premier League team to record an increase in attendance for the game, with the team’s defeat against Derby attracting a gate of 25,288, which represents a nine per cent hike on the club’s average league attendance for the season.
Sutton United, which play in the Conference National fifth tier, saw the highest increase in attendance, with the gate of 5,013 for the 0-0 draw with League One side AFC Wimbledon 247 per cent higher than its average this season.
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