UEFA/European Cups: 2.5 million spectators for the first two matchdays of competitions in 2022-23

Around 2.5 million spectators attended the first two matchdays of UEFA's three men's club competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League), including nearly 1.5 million for the first 32 matches of the Champions League, announced the European Confederation on 16/09/2022.

The first 32 matches of the 2022-23 Champions League drew an "an extremely healthy average of over 45,700 per game - an increase of more than 60% compared to the opening nights of the 2021-22 campaign (just over 900,000). That figure represented a dramatic achievement in itself, given that Covid restrictions had meant that an aggregate crowd of just over 80,000 were permitted to attend the first 32 games of the 2020-21 edition," said UEFA.

Attendance figures were also high for the two Thursday night competitions, the Europa League and Europa Conference League: "A 74,000+ turnout for Manchester United FC's (Premier League) 1-0 home loss to Real Sociedad (LaLiga Santander) helped bring the combined Europa League total up to around 700,000 (an average of just over 22,500 per game, with Arsenal…