More fans at weekend 2nd division games than at Bundesliga matches

DPA
·1 min read
Schalke fans are seen in the stands during the German second Bundesliga soccer match between FC Schalke 04 and SV Wehen Wiesbaden at Veltins Arena. The nine German second division games on the last matchday have for the first time ever attracted more fans than the nine Bundesliga matches, Kicker sports magazine has reported. Bernd Thissen/dpa
Schalke fans are seen in the stands during the German second Bundesliga soccer match between FC Schalke 04 and SV Wehen Wiesbaden at Veltins Arena. The nine German second division games on the last matchday have for the first time ever attracted more fans than the nine Bundesliga matches, Kicker sports magazine has reported. Bernd Thissen/dpa

The nine German second division games on the last matchday have for the first time ever attracted more fans than the nine Bundesliga matches, Kicker sports magazine has reported.

Kicker said that the second tier games Friday to Sunday were watched by 284,643 fans. The Bundesliga matches on the same days drew 261,099 fans, the lowest figure in the post-coronavirus era.

The lower division has prominent clubs with huge fan bases and big stadiums, with 60,542 watching Schalke v Wehen Wiesbaden and 52,652 attending Hertha Berlin v Magdeburg.

In the Bundesliga, 50,000 came to watch Cologne v Werder Bremen and 44,822 RB Leipzig v Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Bundesliga figure were also lower because neither Bayern Munich (75,000 seats nor Borussia Dortmund 81,000) with their big stadiums played at home.

Germany's second tier is the best attended second division in Europe, attracting over 28,000 fans on average in the first half of the season, just below Spain's top tier La Liga and more than France's Ligue 1.

According to Kicker, the all-time Bundesliga matchday record is 485,210 from 2010, and the second tier record was set earlier this season at 297,163.