Top Five Most Watched Football Leagues
Join us as we explore and take a deeper delve into which football leagues are the best and most watched around the globe?
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Football is arguably the biggest sport in the world, as it is the most followed and watched game in number of participants and spectators.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 saw an incredible total of 3.4 million spectators in the stadium over the course of the competition. The final of the tournament alone was watched by around 1.5 billion people, FIFA has claimed. Meanwhile, around five billion people engaged with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, following the tournament across an array of platforms and devices across the media universe.
Nearly all nations on the planet participate in the sport and have a domestic league setup. But all leagues do not get the love and support the top leagues get.
While, the top five European leagues have been considered the pinnacle of club league football. But with Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr from Manchester United, the Saudi Pro League has boomed and the viewership numbers have skyrocketed and many other top players have also joined the league.
While, on the other hand, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has joined Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami, while the league’s worldwide telecast with Apple TV has also seen the league’s viewership numbers rise.
Join us as we take a look at the top five most watched football leagues.
The five most watched football leagues.
The five most watched football leagues.
| Rank | Name |
| 1 | Premier League |
| 2 | Bundesliga |
| 3 | LaLiga |
| 4 | Serie A |
| 5 | Saudi Pro League |
5. Saudi Pro League
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Cristiano Ronaldo joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr on 31 December 2022 on a free transfer from Manchester United. The Portuguese star signed a record $200 million per year deal with the club. The league has never looked back since that day.
The Saudi Pro League (SPL) secured a network of international broadcast deals across 130+ territories for the 2023-24 season. While in the 2023 summer transfer window, Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema joined the league, alongside multiple UEFA Champions League winners, such as N'Golo Kanté, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez.
Saudi Arabia also look set to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 and the country’s investment in football will only increase in the upcoming years, further progressing the rise of the Saudi Pro League.
4. Serie A
The Italian Serie A has a very rich history and is full of clubs with top European pedigree like Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan etc. The league was majorly dominated by Juventus since the turn of the century but with the Old Lady’s recent decline, Inter Milan and Serie A have emerged as strong contenders.
With loyal fans, historic rivalries and top-quality football, Serie A remains one of the most exciting leagues to follow for football fans around the globe. The Italian top-flight has more than 518 million fans worldwide, with 95% of them living outside of Italy.
3. LaLiga
A few years earlier, when the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo and the FC Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry was at its peak, the Spanish LaLiga was considered the top league in the world. But in recent years, the league has somewhat witnessed a downfall in viewership and revenue.
But the league has still continued to produce Ballon d’Or winners the likes of Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and possibly Vinicius Jr in 2024. With Kylian Mbappe joining Real Madrid from PSG in the summer 2024 transfer window, the league is starting to look strong again and will be looking to move back to the top of European football.
The Spanish LaLiga has a worldwide TV audience of over 3.2 billion people. An estimated 643 million people watch live broadcasts per match. During the 2022-23 season, La Liga clubs achieved a record-high aggregate revenue of €3.5 billion, averaging €177m per club.
2. Bundesliga
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The German Bundesliga is definitely the league with the most goals and attacking football in the world. While fans may argue that Bayern Munich’s domination in the league has made the league boring, the rise of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen has made the league exciting again.
Bayer Leverkusen went through the entire 2023-24 domestic season unbeaten, winning the league title and the domestic cup competition. The league is constantly home to the best youngsters in the world. The DFL’s constant investment into new technology, social media marketing, youth projects and grassroot programs promoting football has only helped the league reach the next level and a global audience. Bundesliga is almost telecasted in each country around the globe.
During the 2019-20 season season, the Bundesliga was the first major sports league to return to action after being suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The match saw a record audience of 3.68 million (vs. an average of 1.5 million for the entire season) on Sky Germany alone, and was one of the most-watched football matches around the globe.
1. Premier League
The English Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world. The league is home to some of the best players and managers in the world. The English top-flight is always near the top of the highest spenders list in any transfer window.
From great clubs to the best broadcasting and TV rights deals, the league is never dull and each match be it a top table clash or a relegation scrap is followed around the world. All the teams even outside the “big 6” boast great talent, either coming from their academy or from the transfer market, setting up exciting football week in and week out.
The Premier League is broadcast in 212 territories. The 2023-24 season was the most-watched Premier League season in the US, with an average audience of 546,000 and 2.9 million viewers on the final day. While in India, the league reached 7.1 crore viewers, which was a 63% increase from the previous season. With a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people, the English Premier Legaue is the most-watched sports league in the world.
With over a decade of experience in sports writing, Hardik Malhotra has built a distinguished career in the internet industry. His expertise spans across various domains including Art Direction, Web Content Writing, and Content Management, all underscored by a high degree of initiative. Hardik’s passion for sports is reflected in his professional journey and personal interests.