Sydney FC is now the most followed A-League Men's team in Australia, with a reported 640,000 supporters.  The findings were divulged in a new report published by Roy Morgan, the largest independent Australian research company.

Roy Morgan A-League Supporter Report

  • Sydney FC eclipse Brisbane Roar as most followed club
  • All A-League clubs saw Australian supporter increase
  • The market to increase television viewership for the A-League exists

Sydney FC has regained its most supported A-League club crown from Brisbane Roar, who according to the two previous Roy Morgan A-League supporter reports had been the most supported A-League Men's club in Australia. Sydney FC had last held the crown in 2018. 

Roar fell to third place in terms of supporters in the 2021 with 559,000 supporters while Melbourne Victory rose to second place with 632,000 supporters.  All A-League teams saw an increase in supporters in 2021, with Central Coast Mariners seeing the greatest percentage rise from 2020 with a staggering 90% increase in supporters.

On the lower end of support, new clubs Macarthur and Western United have the smallest supporters base.  Wellington Phoenix's Australian followership is also small at 42000 supporters, however this does not include the support they have in New Zealand.  

More than 3.6 million Australians are now supporters of an A-League club in 2021, an incredible one million person rise from 2020.  The rise in supportership was also seen for the AFL and NRL, with both leagues also seeing their supporter base grow by more than one million followers according to respective Roy Morgan reports. 

Over 1.5 million Australians watched the A-League Men's on television.  A greater audience is there for the taking by the A-Leagues, reports the research firm, as two million more Australians watched non-A-League soccer as well on television.

Julian McCrann, Roy Morgan's Industry Communications Director, says in the report:

“As we have seen across other football codes the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many sports to be played in front of empty stadiums but live on TV to supporters stuck at home in the many lockdowns we have seen over the last 18 months around Australia.

"Looking ahead, the challenge for the A-League will be to continue to grow the league in an increasingly competitive sporting market and find a way to connect with the millions of Australians who love their football but don’t presently engage with the A-League.

"There are over 2 million Australians out there who watch high quality football competitions, such as the English Premier League, who are yet to become fans of the A-League.

"This at-hand market of 2 million Australians is a significant market for the A-League to target during the recovery from Covid-19.”

Gen X had the greatest TV viewership engagement for the A-League Men's, with 8.1% of Gen Xers watching, followed by Pre-Boomers (7.8%), Baby Boomers (7.4%), and Millenials (7.1%).

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The summary of the Roy Morgan report can be found using the following link.