Crowds at matches in the Coca-Cola Football League have broken the sixteen million barrier for the fourth consecutive season.

In total, more than 16.2m supporters attended the 1,656 matches played during the 2007/08 campaign.

The Football League has enjoyed a sustained period of attendance growth since the mid-eighties with crowds more than doubling in that time. In recent seasons gates have reached their highest levels for nearly 50 years.

The Coca-Cola Championship is now the fourth most watched League in Europe, with its total audience of 9.4m fans being bettered only by the Premiership, Germany's Bundesliga and Spain's La Liga.

Audiences for matches in the League's top division averaged 17,022 during 2007/08 with 195 matches being watched by a crowd of more than 20,000 and six by more than 30,000.

The highest crowd of the season was at Hillsborough, where a crowd of 36,208 watched Sheffield Wednesday's final game of the season against Norwich.

In welcoming these figures Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney said:

"These are another set of impressive figures. I would like to offer my appreciation to everybody that has gone to watch League football this season. Our competitions thrive on the passion and loyalty that fans give to their clubs.

"I would also like to congratulate League clubs on the efforts they have made to fill their grounds. On the pitch, they have provided another season of exciting, competitive football."