SPFL attendances increase again as over a quarter of a million fans head through turnstiles

Over a quarter of one million football fans have turned out in force during the first two matchdays of the new SPFL seasons.

A total of 255,850 spectators have attended stadiums in the Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two so far this month, as Scotland's national sport continues to captivate the whole country.

Attendances have sharply risen over the last two years and the latest figure is 50,000 higher than the number of fans who turned up in the first two weekends of the 2013/14 campaign which was the first season of the Scottish Professional Football League's new format, writes the Daily Record.

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New Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has got off to a flyer since taking up the reins in the Granite City, and a crowd of 17,057 watched his side defeat St Mirren 3-1 on Sunday to record a sixth straight win in all competitions.

Premiership champions Celtic played host to Kilmarnock in front of 58,712 fans on the opening weekend, while 48,529 were at Murrayfield to witness Rangers 2-1 win against Motherwell last Saturday.

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Further down the Scottish pyramid, an impressive 7,595 spectators were at East End Park to see Falkirk's 2-0 away win against Championship rivals Dunfermline, which is the highest attendance outside of the top-flight this season.

Over 2,000 supporters also took in the goalless draw between Arbroath and Montrose in an Angus derby at Gayfield on Saturday.

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SPFL group chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "It's really positive to see such significant attendances right across the country on our opening two weekends of the league season."

"Scottish football fans are renowned for their incredible support, so it's great to welcome more than a quarter of a million supporters to league games across our four divisions already this season.

"Our game has enjoyed record yearly attendances for two consecutive seasons now in the SPFL, and these strong opening weekend crowds are more good news for Scottish football."