Top 10 most watched football leagues in the world

These competitions invite the biggest crowds in the stadiums and have the highest viewership.

Football is arguably the most watched sport in the world. It invites huge crowds inside the stadium and much more through live broadcasting and streaming across the globe. The sport is massively popular, as more than 200 countries play the game. Some of the biggest league competitions across the globe invite huge viewership because of the quality of players and teams in them.

Here we rank the top 10 most watched football leagues in the world in terms of viewership in the stadium and audience watching on TV and other streaming platforms:

10. Chinese Super League

The Chinese Super League became a part of the global discussion after the competing clubs started offering huge contracts to attract big stars from Europe.

An average stadium attendance of 24,107 people is one of the highest in the whole of Asia. They had more than 700 million viewers during the 2019 season. The league involves a total of 16 teams and it has been home to some top talents from Europe.

9. Eredivisie

The Eredivisie, the premier league in the Netherlands is popular for its total football philosophy and for producing incredible young players.

There is an average stadium attendance of 18,010 for matches in the Dutch Eredivisie and the league also enjoys a large audience from broadcasts as it is shown in over 100 countries.

The Ajax vs PSV Eindhoven clash back in 2021 had 1.46 million viewers. However, the average viewership is less due to the low popularity of the rest of the teams.

8. Brasileiro Serie A

The first division of Brazil is the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. The league is heavily popular in Europe, as it constantly produces incredible young players. Figures like Neymar, Vinicius Jr and more have come to Europe from the league.

Palmeiras are the most successful club in the competition’s history. The league has an average attendance of 43,458 and a viewership of 1.4 million across the globe. Over eight million fans attended the matches during 2022.

7. Bundesliga

The Bundesliga is one of the most-watched football leagues in the world because of its attacking gameplay. Bayern Munich are record winners of the competition. They were on an incredible run but it was ended by Bayer Leverkusen who won the league unbeaten last season under the guidance of Xabi Alonso.

In addition to a global audience, the league also observes 43,458 average attendance, being one the best-supported leagues by fans. It also has an average viewership of 361,000 per game and reached over 1.7 million households.

6. Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is the premier league competition in the United States of America. The league has 29 teams divided into Eastern and Western conferences because of the size of the country. Average stadium attendance currently stands at 21,310. It has had about 2 million viewers per game in recent times, making it one of the most-watched football leagues in the world. The league averaged 285,000 viewers per game from 2012 to 2021.

5. Serie A

The first division of the Italian league system includes iconic clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and more. The league enjoys 24,700 average viewers from the stadiums and reached over 2 million viewers while Cristiano Ronaldo was playing in the competition. Juventus have won the league 36 times and Inter Milan are the reigning champions of the competition.

4. Liga Apertura

The first division in Mexico is called the Liga MX Apertura and is the strongest North American football league. It bears a close resemblance to Spain and Brazil in the style of gameplay.

Club America are the record title winner with 15 trophies and they are also the defending champion of the competition. According to official figures, the average stadium attendance is 25,557 people. The TV viewership of the competition has observed a rise lately, reaching 3.7m households overall.

3. Ligue 1

Famously known for being imbalanced in favour of the financial might of Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1 is one of the most-watched football leagues in the world. However, before their takeover by rich owners, the league was a very unpredictable competition. PSG have overtaken AS Saint Etienne (10) as the most successful club with 12 league titles, followed by Olympique de Marseille, who have nine each.

PSG are the defending champions after winning it last season. The average stadium attendance is 22,484 coupled with 10.5 million viewers per game, worldwide. The ratings saw a massive boost while Messi was there.

2. LaLiga

The second most-watched league in the world is LaLiga. It includes legendary clubs like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona that have traditionally dominated European football.

Los Blancos are the most successful club in the league’s history, winning it 36 times and they are also the reigning champions of the competition. In the 2019/2020 season, LaLiga reached an audience of over 2.8 billion people worldwide.

1. Premier League

The English Premier League is the undisputed leader in viewership across the globe. Considered the toughest league in the world, it also surpasses all others in terms of financial might. Some notable clubs that play in the league like Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur bring in millions of viewers every year. 

The league enjoys an average attendance of 38,181 people, reaches 643 million viewers per game and has a worldwide television audience of over 3.2 billion people. Manchester United have won the competition 20 times, more than any other team.

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