The top 10 best-supported clubs in EFL League Two | OneFootball

FLW looks at which League Two sides have brought in the most fans in the early stages of the campaign

Year by year, the support further down the footballing pyramid continues to grow, and crowds of 6,000 plus are being seen in League Two.

It's an old cliché that having good support in a packed stadium can be the difference between pushing towards promotion and falling just short, but will that be the case in the fourth tier this season?

The top two attendance averages in League Two last season earned promotion, while four of the top six in 2024/25 ended up securing their place in League One for the following year, with the other two finishing in the play-offs.

Football League World has looked at who the early frontrunners for the most supported club in the fourth tier are this season.

10 ? ? Gillingham

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Kicking off the list at number 10 are Gillingham, who have posted an early-season attendance average of 5,913, according to Transfermarkt.

Gills have been around the mid-table spots when it comes to attendance averages in League Two. Even when they were in League One during the 2010s, Priestfield never pushed further than 6,300 on average each game.

Gareth Ainsworth's side have usually been very strong to begin campaigns before sliding down the table as the season goes on. This year's been different, with the form to begin the campaign leaving them sat in mid-table with nine points from six.

The Gills boss will be hoping that the annual drop in form doesn't hit them too hard, if at all. Ideally, the opposite could happen, and Gillingham could potentially push for an outside play-off spot.

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The early stages of the 2026/27 campaign haven't seen Chesterfield kick on from their back-to-back play-off finishes. However, a 2-1 win away at Oldham Athletic last Saturday should hopefully kickstart the season for Paul Cook's side.

In terms of their attendance figures, they've not reached the highs on average as they have done at the SMH Group Stadium during the Spireites' rise from the National League to the brink of League One.

An average of 7,093 over three games is over a thousand less than what they brought in throughout the last two seasons, and 800 fewer than their title-winning fifth-tier term back in 2023/24.

It's still enough to rank them ninth, though, and it's bound to improve as the year goes on.

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It's a good time to be a Grimsby Town fan, with David Artell's side closer to a League One return for the first time since the third tier was called the second division back in 2003/04 than they ever have been.

The Mariners recorded their highest league finish since the 2005/06 campaign last season, breaking into the play-offs but falling short in the semi-finals against Salford City. If not for some lengthy cup runs, Grimsby could possibly have put more focus into the league and finished even higher.

What those big games against Manchester United, Brentford and Wolves have done, though, is build support, and those casual fans who turned out against the Premier League sides have come back for some league action.

A 7,165 average is close to 600 higher than their average last season, and with Blundell Park's capacity at 9,456, it's one of the fuller grounds in the division.

7 ? ? Tranmere Rovers

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The relationship that Tranmere Rovers fans have with their owners is complex, to say the least. What can't be denied, though, is the level of support they get at Prenton Park.

The 16,587-capacity ground is one of the largest in the division, so in comparison, only bringing in an average of 7,555 to begin the season means there are a lot more empty seats than at other grounds.

But it's still a loyal fanbase, especially given how dire the second half of last season was, winning just three of their final 23 league outings.

Life under Darrell Clarke seems to be going a lot smoother, though, and if results can at least be mid-table level, then the attendances will continue to be among the highest in the fourth tier.

6 ? ? Swindon Town

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Swindon Town currently sit just outside the top five in the early stages of the attendance table in League Two with a 7,898 average, but a crowd of 6,609 against Port Vale on a Tuesday night earlier this month hampers them massively.

Indeed, Ian Holloway's side have seen crowds well over 8,000 for the other two games at the County Ground, and as seen for big games last season, the Robins can push five-figure crowds, too.

Crowds have faltered over the summer, and understandably so, after a massive collapse saw Swindon fall from the automatic promotion race to completely outside the play-offs in the final months of the campaign.

But early signs are that Swindon are keen to continue being a side pushing for promotion, so it shouldn't be long before they breach the top five here.

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It's been a good start to life back in the EFL for York City, with attendances, on average, nearly 5,000 higher than they were back in their most recent League Two campaign before this year in 2015/16.

The LNER Community Stadium has been just shy of its 8,500 capacity throughout the opening three games of the campaign, and it's been brilliant to see the support that the newly-promoted Ministermen have received.

Scott Lindsay's side will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Wrexham and Bristol Rovers this season in earning consecutive promotions into League One, and a packed-out ground every other week will definitely help towards that.

4 ? ? Oldham Athletic

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In a similar way to York, it's refreshing to see the swell of support around Oldham, with the Latics selling around 4,000 more tickets on average than they were back in the 2010s.

The former Premier League side are one of the bigger sleeping giants in the EFL, and while the crowds at Boundary Park are getting larger, there's even more scope for improvement, too.

Indeed, the 13,560-capacity ground is averaging 8,374 through the gate over three games, but with over 9,000 in for the opening-day win over Port Vale, an Oldham side who looked like potential play-off outsiders late last season could go one further with bigger crowds this time around.

3 ? ? Port Vale

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Port Vale have not readjusted to life back in League Two all that well, finally getting that first win over the line on their sixth attempt on Saturday against Exeter City.

What's impressive in the meantime, though, is how the crowds at Vale Park have slowly begun to increase in the past few years, with more and more new fans coming through the gates as Jon Brady's side look to have a strong campaign in the fourth tier.

It's only early days, but an 8,833 average is the highest Vale Park has seen since the 1990s, and they sit third in League Two.

There's even more room for that growth, too, given the 15,695 capacity, but for now, the improvement is there to be seen, and Port Vale will hope that support can spur them on up the table as the campaign continues.

2 ? ? Rotherham United

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Rotherham United are a very good example of an EFL club whose stadium is quite perfect for their fanbase.

At just over 12,000, an average of around 9,000, or in this case, 8,909, still looks and feels full, but there's the potential for that to increase by being packed out for the bigger games across the campaign.

Even despite the recent slide of the South Yorkshire side, the Millers are still maintaining a decent crowd, and it's actually up on last season's numbers currently — albeit those will be skewed by lower crowds as relegation began to look more and more like a certainty.

Now Rotherham are expected to come out on the winning side a little bit more than they have been the last few years, perhaps attendances can find their way over the 9,000 mark regularly as the campaign goes on.

1 ? ? Bristol Rovers

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But, taking top spot in the attendance ranks for the opening stages is Bristol Rovers, who have averaged a nice 9,079 through the first few games at the Memorial Ground this season.

It's no surprise, either, as the Gas have been at full throttle at home under Steve Evans. They've won their last 10 straight home league games and 12 of their last 13, stretching back to last season.

The Memorial Ground is one of the happiest places in the entire EFL right now, and like with Rotherham, at 12,500-capacity, there's the potential for some sold-out games as the campaign goes on, especially if Bristol Rovers continue their strong form to begin the year.

No side in the division has won more games than Bristol Rovers so far this season, and with home support like this, they'll be a difficult side to beat at the Memorial Ground, too.