West Ham have a strange relationship with UEFA after three seasons in Europe and now they’ve been named in a huge new report.
UEFA have fined West Ham and even banned fans from their first European away game of last season.
European football’s governing body also infamously chose a 20,000 capacity venue for the club’s most important and memorable match of the last 43 years.
West Ham emerged victorious in that Europa Conference League final at Slavia Prague’s home ground last summer.
But only around 6,000 Hammers fans could be inside the ground to witness such a special moment.
Regardless of that West Ham loved their European adventures, which came to an end in the Europa League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen a few months ago.
And the club takes great pride in letting everyone know they’ve been the champions of Europe.
The Hammers belt that out as they also highlight the fact they’re massive everywhere they go too.
West Ham may not always have the best team on the pitch.
But the club’s fanbase takes some beating off it.
Now West Ham have conclusive proof of that fact.
Elite West Ham named in new 105-page UEFA report
Because elite West Ham have been named in a new 105-page UEFA report for two very different reasons.
UEFA has released it’s second ever European Club Talent and Competition Landscape report.
The report is put together by UEFA’s Intelligence Centre has showcased the shape and format of the European football landscape and the successes and challenges of the talent and clubs competing within European football.
“It goes beyond the headlines to provide granularity on subjects such as the impressive extent of match attendances, the current transfer trends, and details about player usage and head coach career pathways,” UEFA states.
“The UEFA Intelligence Centre landscape reports have long brought transparency to European football with the aim to support evidence-based planning and policymaking.”
Hammers News has pored over the huge report and there are two mentions for West Ham.
West Ham truly are massive as part of UEFA’s 1 million club
The first comes under UEFA’s analysis of attendances. And it puts West Ham into a very select group – showing just how massive the Hammers truly are.
UEFA have a group they call “the 1 million crowd club”.
Only 16 clubs feature in the elite group and West Ham are among them.
It factors in capacity and a percentage filled of capacity for all games from league to domestic cups and European competition.
And West Ham, with an official capacity of 62,549 listed, are eighth in the table with a 97 per cent full capacity ratio and a whopping total of over 1.5million.
The Hammers sit behind only Roma, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Manchester United.
So as far as fanbases go, West Ham are officially the eighth biggest club in Europe.
Man United top the list with over 1.8 million total attendance. Meanwhile West Ham are above other Premier League rivals including Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City.
West Ham capacity: 62,569, % capacity full: 97%, league total attendance: 1,188,818, domestic cups total: 124,631, European competition total: 259,548, combined total: 1,572,997.
Substitution statistic shows Hammers had to make change
There’s another mention for West Ham in the report.
And it is proof, if it were needed, that the Hammers had to make a managerial change in the summer.
Because West Ham are also named among the clubs using the fewest substitutions across all of Europe.
The club using the lowest number of substitutions of all 324 clubs assessed was Sweden’s Halmstads BK, making just 2.8 of the allotted five substitutions per match on average.
They were followed by two English clubs: West Ham (2.9) and champions Manchester City (3).
It was one of the biggest bug bears among Hammers fans that David Moyes was so reluctant to make subs.
Julen Lopetegui has already proved to be the polar opposite in that respect, hauling players off at half-time and regularly making all five changes.
It also highlights West Ham lack of squad depth under Moyes, which has also now been addressed.
What UEFA said about attendances
In the 2023/24 season, 16 clubs enjoyed home league attendance of more than 1 million;
six clubs in England, three each in Germany and Italy, two in Spain and one each in Scotland and
France. Manchester United narrowly had the highest aggregate league attendance, but a good UCL
run helped Borussia Dortmund report the highest total competitive match attendance. Borussia
Dortmund also enjoyed the highest average league attendance of 81,305.
Attendance is of course influenced by stadium capacity; FC Barcelona are notably absent from the
clubs with the highest attendance during the 2023/24 season having temporarily relocated to allow
for stadium refurbishment. Three clubs – Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern München and Arsenal FC –
maxed out their stadium capacity, while Real Madrid CF, Club Atlético de Madrid and AC Milan’s
average league match attendance used less than 90% of the capacity. However, these clubs still
maintained their position in the ‘one million home crowd’ club.
If domestic cup and UEFA club competition match attendance is added, a further 16 clubs join the
list. Outside the Big 5 leagues, SL Benfica, Rangers FC, AFC Ajax, Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe SK all
welcomed more than 1 million supporters to their stadium if all competitive matches are included, as
did FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC Berlin – the only second-tier clubs to have aggregated attendance
levels exceeding 1 million, highlighting the strength of the European football pyramid.
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