Carabao Cup sees highest first round crowds EVER
Carabao Cup sees highest first round crowds EVER with almost 250,000 fans passing through the turnstiles… after opening weekend of the EFL season saw 20 per cent increase in attendances
- Large crowds at Leeds, Ipswich, Sunderland and Stoke boosted fan figures
- Opening round crowds increase 45 per cent compared with last season
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The Carabao Cup recorded its highest first round attendances ever with almost 250,000 fans watching this week’s ties.
Opening round crowds in the competition were up 45 per cent compared to last season and 39 per cent higher than average – with the cumulative figure beating every season’s since the current single-leg format was adopted in 2001.
Numbers were boosted by a crowd of 35,129 at Elland Road for Wednesday night’s Leeds United vs Shrewsbury Town tie, while 15,047 saw Ipswich Town beat Bristol Rovers.
Five-figure crowds were also seen at Sheffield Wednesday vs Stockport, Stoke vs West Brom and Sunderland vs Crewe.
With one match to come – Queens Park Rangers vs Norwich City next Wednesday – the cumulative first round attendance stands at 239,754.
The Carabao Cup first round saw record attendances with almost 250,000 spectators passing through the turnstiles this week
A crowd of over 15,000 was at Portman Road to watch Ipswich Town beat Bristol Rovers
The biggest crowd came at Elland Road as 35,129 watched Leeds United beat Shrewsbury
Fans were treated to a number of shocks, too, with Crewe beating second-tier Sunderland on penalties.
Gillingham beat Southampton, just relegated from the Premier League, 3-1, while Doncaster defeated Hull 2-1, Salford knocked out Preston on penalties and Hollywood-owned Wrexham stunned Wigan.
It comes after the opening weekend of the EFL season witnessed 543,168 supporters passing through the turnstiles – an increase of 90,000, or 20.7 per cent, on last season.
Attendances in the Sky Bet Championship were 44.2 per cent up on the opening weekend of 2022-23, helped by big crowds at Leeds, Leicester, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: ‘Round one of the Carabao Cup has produced some great games, brilliant goals and shocks results and it’s great to see that fans are attending in such strong numbers to watch the cup action unfold live.
‘This large mid-week turnout follows a record-breaking start to the EFL season with over half a million supporters also enjoying the opening weekend, the highest number this century, which is a testament to the quality on the pitch, atmosphere in the stands and interest in EFL competitions.’
Defender Pascal Struijk bundled home the winner for Leeds United in the 58th minute
Wrexham knocked Wigan Athletic out of the Carabao Cup on penalties on Tuesday night
Hollywood star and club owner Ryan Reynolds was wrapped up in the drama at Wrexham
Meanwhile, Chelsea will host League Two Wimbledon in an all-London clash in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Wimbledon claimed a big scalp in round one by winning 2-1 against Coventry City with two late goals and Mauricio Pochettino will want no such slip-ups.
Elsewhere, there will be two all-Premier League clashes as Fulham welcome Spurs and last year’s semi-finalists Nottingham Forest face newly promoted Burnley at home.
Wrexham are in for an intriguing clash against fellow fourth tier outfit Bradford City, which will see their manager Phil Parkinson reunite with his old club, having led the Bantams to the final in 2013.
Carabao Cup second round draw
Northern section:
Tranmere Rovers v Leicester City
Salford City v Leeds United
Harrogate Town v Blackburn Rovers
Stoke City v Rotherham United
Wrexham v Bradford City
Doncaster Rovers v Everton
Bolton Wanderers v Middlesbrough
Port Vale v Crewe Alexandra
Nottingham Forest v Burnley
Sheffield Wednesday v Mansfield Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackpool
Sheffield United v Lincoln City
Southern section:
Bristol City v QPR or Norwich
Plymouth Argyle v Crystal Palace
Reading v Ipswich Town
Portsmouth v Peterborough United
Luton Town v Gillingham
Swansea City v Bournemouth
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur
Exeter City v Stevenage
Wycombe Wanderers v Sutton United
Birmingham City v Cardiff City
Newport County v Brentford
Chelsea v AFC Wimbledon
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