Xanthi break unwanted five year record
Xanthi have broken an unwanted record after last weekend’s crowd attendance in their 0-1 home loss against lowly Levadiakos. A paltry 188 fans were there to witness it, making it the lowest attendance figure in the last five years of the Greek Super League.
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Pulling crowds has been a major issue for the club for many years, as the “Pigadia” is usually close to empty on most matchdays, in spite of the team’s generally solid results. They are well-established as a mainstay in Greece’s top flight and are set for another top half finish this season.
However, in this case, the figure of 188 can be excused due to a major mitigating factor - that being the atrocious weather conditions. The game kicked off on Saturday, but was postponed as a result of the horrendous weather in the form of heavy rain and storms which passed through the region. The match resumed on Sunday.
According to the official statistics from the Super League, it was the lowest crowd in five years. It was the smallest attendance since the match between AEL Kalloni and Xanthi back in October 2013 (Matchday 8 of the 2013/14 season) where the Akrites emerged as 1-5 winners. On that day, only 174 people went through the gates at the Kleanthis Vikelidis stadium (Aris’ home stadium).
For the sake of comparison, last season’s lowest attendance came on the final matchday where Atromitos thumped Kerkyra in a 4-0 rout at home in front of 383 people. The lowest figure from the 2017/18 season came when Veria lost 0-4 to Xanthi in front of 245 people.
The lowest ever attendance in Greek football history came in December 2005 where Athenian club Akratitos hosted Xanthi in front of just 26 people. In the same season, Akratitos also had a crowd of 38 in a Greek Cup match against Egaleo.
Sunday’s crowd figure at Xanthi now sits at 19th in the list of lowest attendances since the Super League era.
