Leeds United have the most hometown supporters in the Premier League according to survey - YEP 23/9/21
Leeds United have the most fans that grew up in the local area according to a survey by 888 Sport.
By Molly Burke
There has often been an assumption that fans of clubs such
as Manchester United and Liverpool are just ‘glory hunters’ that only support
their clubs because of the success and history that comes with it.
Meanwhile, fans of teams such as Norwich City and Brentford
are more local and will loyally follow them whatever league they are in.
To find out if these kind of long-running ‘jokes’ are
actually true, 888 Sport asked fans from each Premier League club their reasons
behind supporting their team and their proximity from thier club’s home ground.
Following the survey, it is apparent that Leeds United fans are
the most proud of their Yorkshire roots, with 42 per cent of Whites supporters
saying the sole reason they support the club is because they grew up in the
Yorkshire hub – the highest percentage in the league. Meanwhile, only four per
cent of Manchester City fans gave the same reasoning.
This isn't particularly surprising for Leeds United’s fan
base, who have shown their love and dedication to the tight knit community
surrounding their football club over the years. The Whites’ faithful continued
to turn up at Elland Road in their thousands even when they struggled in the
lower leagues and have now been rewarded for their loyalty with their recent
success.
Newcastle United fans are able to boast that they are the
most ‘locally supported’ club, with their fans living an average of 44.9 miles
away from St. James’ Park – the shortest distance in the division.
Surprisingly, Everton fans live the furthest away from their
stadium – with the Toffees living an average 98.2 miles from Goodison Park.
Elsewhere, Man City and Liverpool have dominated the Premier
League in recent years and so it is rather predictable that 18% of both
fanbases claimed they chose to support their respective club due to their
recent success.
12 per cent of Tottenham Hotspur fans also stated the same
reason for supporting the London club – despite not winning a trophy for 13
years and counting.
888 Sport’s research was completed as part of the Fan
Locations campaign.
