Expert: This Year's CSL Attendance Has Surpassed Last Year, Reaching a Historic High of 6.18 Million

On September 7 Beijing time, Zhu Yi, the China region administrator of Transfermarkt, released statistics on his personal social media platform: following the completion of the 26th round of the 2026 Chinese Super League season, total attendance at matches this season has reached 6,184,660, officially surpassing the 6,180,990 recorded for the entire 2025 season. With four rounds still remaining, the league has already set a new historical record for single-season total match attendance in the CSL.

In the eight matches of the 26th round, a total of 204,761 spectators attended, averaging 25,595 per match. The Dalian Yingbo home match against Qingdao Hainiu at Suoyuwan Football Stadium drew 62,388 spectators, the highest figure of the round and another demonstration of Dalian's strong appeal as a 'golden football market'. Wuhan Three Towns' home match against Qingdao West Coast ranked second with 30,377 spectators, while Shanghai Port hosting Beijing Guoan with 25,085 spectators and Yunnan Yukun's 5-0 win over Liaoning Tieren with 18,536 spectators also maintained steady attendance.

Total attendance in the 2024 CSL season was 4.6635 million, while the 2025 season rose sharply to 6.181 million, with an average of 25,754 spectators per match. It was the first time in history that the league surpassed six million total spectators and it also broke the previous record of 5.801 million set during the 2016 era.

The growth in the 2026 season has been even more significant:

Across the first half of the season, the 120 matches averaged 30,389 spectators, marking the first time in CSL history that the half-season average exceeded 30,000.

The third round recorded 285,500 spectators in a single round, while the eighth round reached 306,300, consecutively setting new single-round attendance records.

During the first half of the season, 32 matches had attendances exceeding 40,000, with half of them surpassing 50,000. Seven of the top 10 highest-attended single matches in CSL history came from the current season.

At club level, Dalian Yingbo ranked first in 2025 with an average attendance of 58,268 and recorded multiple single-match crowds above 62,000 in 2026. Beijing Guoan and Chengdu Rongcheng have maintained home averages above 40,000, while Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Taishan, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Chongqing Tonglianglong, Yunnan Yukun and others have also frequently exceeded the 20,000 attendance mark.