• Fri. Dec 6th, 2024

North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

The Premier League clubs with the largest growing fanbase in 2023

ByVanessa Lima

Nov 28, 2023
Premier_League_Ink_Drop_shutterstock_1970052610

Luton Town Football Club have seen the largest increase in fans so far this year, with an increase of 336.4% in their social media followers from January 2023 until now.

Interested to discover which Premier League team has the largest growing fanbase, SeatPick utilised marketing analytics tool Social Blade and gathered the number of followers each team had in January 2023, and compared this to the number of followers gained by October 2023. 

Highlights from the research:

  • Luton Town Football Club has seen the largest increase in Instagram followers in 2023 (336.4%+), 300% higher growth than fellow recently promoted team, Burnley (35.5+) 
  • Brighton and Hove Albion ranks second with an increase of almost 1 million followers (986,338), and a 145.4% increase since the beginning of the year
  • Nottingham Forest places third with an 87% increase in followers, gaining an impressive 472,271 new followers since the beginning of the year
  • Manchester United ranks last, with an increase of just 4.1% since the beginning of the year –  a 25.7% lower increase in followers than Manchester City rivals

The results: Premier League teams with the largest growing fanbase in 2023 

# Premier League Team Instagram Handle January 2023 Instagram followers October 2023 Instagram followers Increase in followers % Percentage increase
1 Luton Town lutontown 74,737 326,133 251,396 336.4%
2 Brighton and Hove Albion officialbhafc 678,247 1,664,585 986,338 145.4%
3 Nottingham Forest officialnffc 543,069 1,015,340 472,271 87.0%
4 West Ham United westham 2,309,791 3,917,813 1,608,022 69.6%
5 Newcastle United FC nufc 1,372,263 2,311,531 939,268 68.4%
6 Fulham FC fulhamfc 702,652 1,013,394 310,742 44.2%
  7 Brentord FC brentfordfc 336,513 478,042 141,529 42.1%
8 Aston Villa F.C. avfcofficial 2,454,812 3,454,674 999,862 40.7%
9 Burnley burnleyofficial 510,069 691,219 181,150 35.5%
10 Manchester City mancity 37,584,126 48,784,723 11,200,597 29.8%
11 Bournemouth FC afcb 662,950 804,983 142,033 21.4%
12 Sheffield United sheffieldunited 559,354 668,488 109,134 19.5%
13 Wolverhampton Wanderers wolves 2,173,962 2,573,257 399,295 18.4%
14 Crystal Palace cpfc 1,542,516 1,787,060 244,544 15.9%
15 Arsenal FC arsenal 24,075,529 27,776,525 3,700,996 15.4%
16 Tottenham Hotspur spursofficial 14,348,450 16,270,515 1,922,065 13.4%
17 Chelsea FC chelseafc 37,043,639 41,214,454 4,170,815 11.3%
18 Everton FC everton 2,808,647 3,046,869 238,222 8.5%
19 Liverpool FC Liverpoolfc 41,185,370 43,331,317 2,145,947 5.20%
20 Manchester United FC manchesterunited 60,588,244 63,051,581 2,463,337 4.10%

Luton Town is the Premier League team with the largest growing fanbase in 2023

SeatPick can reveal that Luton Town is the Premier League with the largest growing fanbase,  with an increase of 336.4% in 2023. In January 2023, Luton Town were in the Championship and had 74,737 followers on Instagram, however, since being promoted to the Premier League this year—they have gained an extra 251,396 followers. Following Luton Town’s promotion, football fans became obsessed with their unique stadium away end located between houses and once inside, fans are required to climb metal stairs, where resident’s back gardens are easily visible from above.

In second place is Brighton and Hove Albion, with a 145.4% increase of Instagram followers. This is a 130% higher increase in followers than rivals Crystal Palace FC, who saw a 15.9% increase in the same period. Brighton and Hove Albion gained an impressive 986,338 followers this year, which may have been due to finishing sixth in the 22-23 season, and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League—their first ever participation in European football.

In third place is Nottingham Forest with a 87% increase in Instagram followers, gaining an impressive 472,271 new followers. This is 161,529 more followers than what Fulham FC in sixth place gained in the same period. In January 2023, Nottingham Forest had just over half a million followers (543,069), however the team now has more than 1 million (1,015,340).

Manchester United is the Premier League team with the smallest fanbase increase in 2023

Manchester United saw the smallest increase in Instagram followers in 2023, with an increase of just 4.1% since the beginning of the year. This is a 25.7% smaller increase in followers than that of rivals, Manchester City, in 10th place, who saw a 29.8% follower increase from January to October this year. Despite this, Manchester United has, however, increased its followers by almost 2.5 million this year (2,463,337). 

While following Manchester United on Instagram is a great way to stay up to date with your team, nothing beats the match day experience. If you are looking to experience a match day, then make sure to check out Seatpick’s upcoming Manchester United Premier League tickets for availability.

Methodology:

  1. SeatPick sought to discover the Premier League teams with the Largest Growing Fanbase on Instagram in 2023.
  2. Using a marketing analytics website called Social Blade, SeatPick collated the number of followers each Premier League team had in January 2023, and compared this to the number of followers in October 2023.
  3. The percentage increase in followers was then calculated and ranked from biggest increase in followers to lowest.
  4. All data was collected in October 2023 and is accurate as of then. The full dataset used throughout the study can be found here.

Photo credit: Ink Drop_Shutterstock.com