How Cardiff City, Swansea City and Bristol City's average attendance this season compares | OneFootball

It currently looks as though Bristol City, Swansea City, and Cardiff City will find themselves outside the play-off places at the end of the campaign.

The three sides find themselves stuck in mid-table at the moment, with little momentum to help propel them up the table before the season ends in May.

The Bluebirds currently sit 13th in the league, while the Robins sit just one place and two points behind them. Meanwhile, Swansea are languishing in 17th place, although their 33 points leaves them five clear of the relegation zone.

FLW takes a look at how the average attendance differs between the two South Wales clubs and their rival across the Severn Bridge.

Swansea have one of the lowest attendances in the Championship

While they have spent a considerable amount of time in the Premier League in their recent history, Swansea have struggled to fill their stadium in recent years.

The Swans have had a tough few years in the Championship recently and fans aren't coming in their droves to the Swansea.com Stadium this season.

Welcoming an average of 16,210 fans each week, their attendance is the third-lowest in the entire division, with only Blackburn Rovers and Rotherham United having fewer fans at their games.

However, the Swansea.com Stadium, which was built in 2005 to replace the Vetch Field ground the Swans used to play in, only holds 21,000 fans, so it is not as empty as some other clubs in the division, percentage-wise.

Given the small population of the city (241,000 people), it is no surprise that their attendance is so poor compared to some of the big clubs residing in the Championship this season.

Cardiff have one of the lowest attendances compared to their Stadium capacity

While they boast a higher average attendance than their South Wales rivals, Cardiff's weekly numbers are much less impressive than they immediately look.

While they welcome an average of 21,844 fans through the turnstiles at the Cardiff City Stadium for each home game, the stadium shows plenty of empty seats regularly, with entire stands bare for a number of games.

With upgrades to the stadium in 2013 adding an extra 5,000 seats to the ground, the total capacity rose to 33,000, putting it among the largest grounds in the Championship.

However, when they fill on average of just 66% of the stadium on a match day, it makes the number look much less impressive, even though they boast the 13th-highest average attendance in the league.

Considering they boast a bigger stadium and a higher population in the city, the Bluebirds attracting just 5,000 more fans per game than their biggest rivals will be a disappointment for everybody at the club.

Poor football and bad results have caused fans to stay away from the stadium, with even manager Erol Bulut threatening to quit the club recently over the owner's refusal to invest in the club.

The Robins outsell Cardiff and Swansea

While none of the clubs mentioned are nearing the top of the attendance charts in the Championship, it is the Robins that have just pipped Cardiff in having the highest attendance of three.

They have not had much success in recent years but the Bristol club has still managed to attract an average of 22,442 fans into Ashton Gate on match days.

Considering they haven't played in the top flight since 1982, compared to 2018 for Swansea and 2019 for Cardiff, they command a loyal fan base that outsells the South Wales clubs on a weekly basis.

City's average attendance is 12th highest in the Championship, with just 600 fans the difference between them and the Bluebirds. Given the difference in stadium size between Ashton Gate and the Cardiff City Stadium, this is a big achievement for the Robins.

Some good, or bad, performances either way could alter that fact, and the rivals will be keeping an eye on those stats as they continue to fight until the end of 2023/24.