Attendances at League of Ireland Premier Division matches rose by 8% in 2025, with over 1.1 million people attending matches involving League of Ireland teams in Ireland this year.
Having broken the million barrier for the first time in 2024, a total of 1,127,155 spectators attended games involving League of Ireland teams in Ireland this calendar year, a figure boosted by the involvement of both Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne in league stages of the Conference League.
It was the first time in history that two League of Ireland had qualified for the group/league phase of a European competition in the same season.
In total, it represents an 11.7% increase on the 2024 figure of 1,009,072.
The Premier Division saw an 8% increase overall, with a total of 683,208 attending top flight games in 2025 compared with 628,178 in the 2024 season. The average attendance across the league also rose from 3,490 to 3,775.
The top flight figures were undoubtedly boosted by the opening day fixture between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, which was moved to the Aviva Stadium and attracted a record crowd of 33,208.
In no small thanks to that fixture, Bohs recorded the biggest overall increase in attendances, 38% with an average home crowd of 5,862. The Gypsies will host St Patrick's Athletic in the opening clash of next year's season.
League runners-up Derry City, who opened a new stand in 2025, saw a 20% jump to 3,474, while Drogheda United and Shelbourne also saw jumps of 13% (to 2,296) and 7% (to 4,562) respectively.
By contrast, there was a 5% drop in First Division attendances, from 165,163 to 157,095 in 2025, with the well supported Cork City being promoted from the second tier at the end of 2024.
Women's Premier Division attendances also experienced a modest rise of 1% to 36,045 in 2025.
The Men's FAI Cup recorded a 9% overall increase in attendances in 2025, despite a smaller crowd for last month's decider between Shamrock Rovers and Cork City - which was down from 38,723 the previous season to 35,252.
