I truly don’t understand what it is that Preston does that means they can draw crowds like that. I know if you ask people involved it’s about engaging the fans/community etc but NPL clubs have been trying varieties of that for years and it’s never worked before this. How do they manage to consistently pull mid four figures when most of their opponents struggle to hit 600?
Do they do it more than once a season?
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I would suggest that a big portion of it is the fact that it’s “not the A-League.” They’re doing a big FU to ALM to show they’re better. If they were to go mainstream, I dare say it could be very different.
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I’m not sure if “get promoted three times in four seasons” is a sustainable method for building fan engagement and hype.
None of those clubs drawing ~600 had the foresight to drop down to State League 1 - NW as part of a long term plan. Obviously it’s what Melbourne City should do to fix their crowd woes.
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No one would know those shows exist otherwise. 
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Not a sell out but a couple of thousand people at a game is pretty standard there, yeah, with bumper crowds at various times throughout the season.
Oh I get that but other NPL clubs have similarly tried the anti modern football approach but it doesn’t work for them in any significant way. Sydney United are definitely in that category but really don’t draw significant crowds.
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Ouch on all of them but particularly City.
Brutal.
Do not underestimate how much Hellas and Preston hate each other. Or the antagonism of Northern Macos and Greeks in a sporting environment that is much more tribal than Sydney.
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They are all skips to me
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Yeah, but for some of the skips, they’re not skippy enough, so they find identity in their grandparents.
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Grok does a slightly better job, even providing sources without prompting –
As of March 10, 2025, providing the most recent per-team attendance figures for the National Premier Leagues (NPL) New South Wales and NPL Victoria men’s association football leagues in Australia is challenging due to limited publicly available, up-to-date, and comprehensive data for the 2024 season, let alone the 2025 season which is only just beginning. However, I can offer some insights based on available resources and explain the limitations.NPL New South Wales (NSW)The NPL NSW Men’s competition is the top tier of men’s football in New South Wales, featuring 16 teams in a round-robin format. Attendance data for this league is not consistently published by official sources like Football NSW in a per-team breakdown for the most recent completed season (2024). However, some aggregated statistics can be found on sites like FootyStats.org, though they often lack detailed per-team figures for the latest season at this early stage of 2025.
General Insight: Historical data from sources like Transfermarkt and FootyStats suggest that NPL NSW games typically see modest crowds, with average attendances per game ranging from a few hundred to around 1,000 spectators, depending on the teams involved and the significance of the match (e.g., derbies or finals). For instance, a post on X from March 8, 2025, by @GregStock7 highlighted a concern about an attendance of 500 at an NPL NSW game involving “foundation clubs,” suggesting that some matches in 2025 have already seen low turnouts, though this is anecdotal and not a season-wide average.
2024 Season Estimate:
Based on prior seasons (e.g., 2023 data from Transfermarkt), the league-wide average attendance might hover around 500–700 per game. With 16 teams playing 30 rounds (240 total games), a rough estimate of total season attendance could be 120,000–168,000, translating to an average of 7,500–10,500 per team across their 15 home games. However, this is an extrapolation and not confirmed 2024 data.
Specific Teams:
High-profile clubs like Sydney United 58 FC, APIA Leichhardt, or Rockdale Ilinden might draw closer to 1,000–2,000 for big matches, while smaller clubs could see as few as 200–300. Without official 2024 per-team breakdowns, these remain educated guesses.
NPL Victoria
The NPL Victoria Men’s competition is similarly structured, with 14 teams in 2024 (down from previous years due to league adjustments), and is overseen by Football Victoria. Like NPL NSW, detailed attendance figures are not systematically released in real-time or post-season by official bodies, but some data can be inferred from secondary sources.
General Insight:
NPL Victoria tends to have slightly higher attendances than NPL NSW, partly due to Melbourne’s larger football culture and clubs with historical supporter bases (e.g., South Melbourne FC, a former NSL giant). The same X post from @GregStock7 on March 8, 2025, praised a 9,000-strong crowd at an NPL Victoria match, indicating that significant turnouts occur for marquee games in 2025, though this is likely an outlier (possibly a final or derby) rather than a team average.
2024 Season Estimate:
FootyStats.org has previously reported combined attendance figures for NPL Victoria, with averages per game often ranging from 800–1,200 in past seasons. For 2024, with 14 teams and 26 rounds (182 total games), a season total of 145,600–218,400 attendees suggests a per-game average of 800–1,200, and a per-team average (across 13 home games) of approximately 10,400–15,600. Again, this is an estimate based on historical trends, as 2024 data isn’t fully available yet.
Specific Teams:
Clubs like South Melbourne, Oakleigh Cannons, or Heidelberg United might average 1,000–2,000 per home game, with peaks much higher for key fixtures (e.g., the 9,000 mentioned), while smaller clubs like Dandenong City might draw 500–800.
Limitations and Notes
Data Gaps: Neither Football NSW nor Football Victoria publishes comprehensive, per-team attendance stats for the 2024 season as of now. Sites like Transfermarkt and SoccerSTATS.com provide tables and stats but rarely update attendance beyond top-tier leagues like the A-League. FootyStats.org offers some NPL attendance data, but it’s often aggregated or delayed.
2025 Season: Since it’s only March 10, 2025, the 2025 season is in its infancy (typically starting in February/March), and only a few rounds have been played. Full-season figures won’t be available until late 2025.
Variability: Attendance varies widely based on factors like team popularity, venue size, match significance, and weather. Finals or cup matches (e.g., FFA Cup qualifiers) often inflate figures beyond regular season norms.
Conclusion
Without official 2024 per-team data released as of March 10, 2025, I can provide rough estimates:
NPL NSW: Approximately 7,500–10,500 average per team for the 2024 season (based on 500–700 per game).
NPL Victoria: Approximately 10,400–15,600 average per team for the 2024 season (based on 800–1,200 per game).
For precise figures, you’d need to consult Football NSW and Football Victoria directly or wait for post-season reports from reliable sources like FootyStats. I can search the web or X for more current snippets if you’d like, but they’d likely remain anecdotal at this stage. Would you like me to dig deeper with what’s available?
That’s pretty rough numbers from the Shame in particular. Biggest club in Australia they will tell you.
Particularly since their team is generally decent
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That “Ironbark” field only has a capacity of 5k though doesn’t it?
I didn’t know whether to start a new thread but the magic of the cup hopefully starts tonight for me.
I’m the Under 18s coach for my son’s football club and our first team is playing our first Australia Cup game tonight.
We’ve got a Friday night game against local rivals who are one division above us.
It’s been raining for a day and a half so it should be proper football weather.
I’m sitting on the bench as the medical team.
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