Is the Premier League still the best league in the world?

With all footballing activity in Europe now having come to an end for the season, we take a look back and review the recent Premier League season: the highs and the lows, and ask whether it can still be regarded as the best league in the world.

There are many different ways to view a league: and no factor is more important than the other, but one’s interpretation of a league will depend on how they prioritise these factors. To assess this, we have assigned Dan Culyer.

Here at ‘The Sports Lowdown’ we will categorise certain factors contributing to the success of a league, and conclude where each of Europe’s top five league’s (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1) fit in through a ranking system, which will help us decipher which European country boasts the best league.

Atmosphere:

It is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a league: it is what drives players on during matches, and what motivates fans to travel hundreds of miles to watch their team play. So which league has the best atmosphere?

One way to judge atmosphere is by looking at the average attendance to football matches. In the 2014 – 15 season, the Bundesliga had an average stadium attendance of  43,502 on a weekly basis, Premier League were next highest on 36, 657 and La Liga third with 26, 955. Serie A and Ligue 1 were fourth and fifth, with an average weekly attendance of 23,385 and 22,368 respectively. Therefore, it is clear that, in terms of stadium sizes, the Bundesliga leads the way, and this would likely indicate that the atmosphere generated by these greater capacity of fans is greater than in other European League’s.

The reason behind this gulf between the Bundesliga and other top European league’s comes down to several determining factors:

– ticket prices are lower meaning more fans are able to afford to watch their team play, with fewer fans priced out.

– a greater proportion of the money generated by the league is allocated towards stadiums and youth systems, instead of players and advertisements.

– standing crowds – in order to encourage a greater atmosphere (eg. the Signal Iduna Park), the Bundesliga dissuades seating in stadium, preferring allocated standing areas, whereas the Premier League for example, enforce seating in their stadiums for safety reasons.

Ranking:

1. Bundesliga
2. Premier League
3. La Liga