Sports

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

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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.

A.

-Nov. 29, 2023 @ 1:04 GMT |

Tags: Manchester United Premier League