The 8 loudest stadiums in the EFL Championship named and ranked by AI | OneFootball

In many eyes, loudest often means best, and these are who Chat GPT believe will be the loudest grounds in the Championship next season

The new Championship season is under a month away now, and 2025/26 is looking to be one of the most competitive yet.

There are so many different clubs who could battle for the top two, fight it out for a place in the top six, and as the quality of the division continues to improve, the relegation battle is becoming even more and more difficult to judge.

Now more than ever, a strong home form is necessary for success, and the amount of noise that home fans generate often correlates to wins, with an intimidating atmosphere key to a club's identity and performances on the pitch.

With Leeds United, Sunderland, Burnley and Plymouth Argyle all departing the Championship last season through promotion and relegation respectively, a whole host of strong, loud stadiums won't be seen, or in this case heard, in the Championship this season.

But who will replace them? Football League World has asked popular AI service ChatGPT to rank the loudest second-tier stadiums ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Starting this list at number eight is Derby County.

John Eustace's Rams didn't have much to cheer about under Paul Warne at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign, but their late-season revival under the former Blackburn boss got Pride Park rocking, and you can see why it has a place on the list.

Carlton Morris' first interview at Derby described the atmosphere as "piercing for a player" when talking about his trip there with Luton in April, a game which the Hatters actually went on to win.

Ultimately, that was their only loss in their last six home games en route to survival. The atmosphere helped Derby get over the line last season, and they'll be hoping for plenty more to shout about as Eustace heads into his first season at the helm.

7 St Mary's Stadium - Southampton

A ground which may not have ranked on many lists last season due to the Saints' truly terrible time in the Premier League, people are preparing for St Mary's to once again be bouncing as Southampton look to recover under Will Still in 2025/26.

ChatGPT believes that Southampton are capable of loud, supportive displays, and the first game against Wrexham on a Saturday lunchtime will provide that in spades from both sides of the ground.

The first league South Coast derby with Portsmouth in 13 years takes place at St Mary's shortly after in September, too, so expect plenty of noise to be coming out of that ground almost immediately in the upcoming campaign.

6 MKM Stadium - Hull City

Despite boasting the worst home record on the pitch in the Championship last season, ChatGPT are still claiming Hull City to be the sixth-loudest stadium in the division.

This is mainly due to club ownership improvements, and there was no doubt that during the 2023/24 season under Liam Rosenior, when the Tigers boasted the likes of Liam Delap and Jaden Philogene in their line-up, the MKM was an intimidating place to go.

Last season, not so much, but with the club still averaging around 21,000 each game in their 25,586 capacity stadium, it still made for a loud atmosphere most of the time.

Hull's ownership improvements have seemingly gone too far the other way, with the club's ambition landing them in a three-window transfer embargo, but Acun Ilicali is certain that this can be resolved. He'll be hoping that it does before the beginning of the season, or else this loud atmosphere could turn sour quickly.

5 Carrow Road - Norwich City

Into the top five now, and we have another side ready to reignite a fierce rivalry at their stadium in Norwich City.

We have to wait until April for Norwich to welcome Ipswich Town to Carrow Road, but that doesn't mean that we will be lacking noise from Canary fans before then.

Norwich has always been an entertaining side, boasting some of the best attacking numbers in recent Championship seasons, so regardless of league position, they're always a fun team to watch and get behind.

A close-knit, consistent atmosphere at Carrow Road earns the ground a place on this list, and with Norwich looking like one of the few sides where improvement is expected in 2025/26 now with Liam Manning in charge, you'd hope that their already impressive atmosphere will improve next season, too.

4 The Hawthorns - West Bromwich Albion

Another side set to be on the up next season under a new manager after a down year, Ryan Mason, will be hoping to get West Brom back into the top six in 2025/26, and he'll be relying on the fourth-loudest home stadium to do so.

With the Baggies playing at The Hawthorns since it was built way back in 1900, it is often celebrated for its old-school aura, which ChatGPT describes as "enchanting and vibrant".

West Brom lost just four times at home last season, taking points off of five of the six sides who finished in the top six (Sunderland were 1–0 victors there in April) and Ryan Mason will be hoping that this home form can stick with him now in charge.

If it does, you can expect The Hawthorns to once again be one of the loudest grounds in the Championship.

3 The Den - Millwall

Millwall are well known for having one of the more intense and intimidating atmospheres in the entire EFL, so it's no surprise that The Den makes its way into the list, and is in the top three as well.

ChatGPT referenced Troy Deeney describing the ground as "intense, gritty and community-driven", which further drives home how hostile and passionate the Millwall fans are.

This atmosphere is yet to translate into any on-field success, however, with Millwall's last second-tier play-off appearance coming in 2001/02. Under Alex Neil, they'll be hoping that 2025/26 is the year that ends.

Birmingham City were loud last season in League One, and every Saturday was almost a sell-out at St Andrew's, so it's truly not that much of a surprise to see the newly promoted side in at number two on this list.

And this isn't a new thing in Birmingham. The Blues already have a hugely passionate fanbase who make plenty of noise regardless of how good the football is, averaging 21,180 through the gate during their relegation campaign in 2023/24.

That season actually saw Birmingham boast the ninth-best home record in the division, winning 10 of their 23 games. They may have been relegated in that campaign, but their home form and atmosphere weren't a contributor to that.

Championship atmospheres are definitely better when Birmingham are in the division, but Blues fans will be hoping that their stay in the second tier doesn't last any longer than a single year.

Many regarded Fratton Park as the ground with the third-best atmosphere in the Championship last season, behind Elland Road and the Stadium of Light. So it makes sense that, with Leeds and Sunderland both out of the division, Portsmouth take top spot here.

Pompey's first season back in the Championship started terribly, with the club failing to pick up a win until the tenth game, and a win at Fratton Park came even later.

However, after picking up that first win at home against Preston North End, there wasn't much stopping John Mousinho's side at Fratton Park, winning 10 of the following 16 league matches in front of their fans.

Wins against Bristol City, Coventry and Leeds at home were mainly put down to their rapturous home support, and there's every guarantee that the Fratton End will be as vocal as ever going into the 2025/26 season as they hope to experience more memorable matchdays.