The chart illustrates the average number of people attending top-level football matches in three European countries between 1980 and 2004.
Overall, beginning the period with the highest level of attendance, Italy experienced a minor growth, before decreasing steadily. In contrast, England and Germany followed a broadly similar pattern, both exhibiting an initial decline and then surging to surpass Italy, albeit to varying degrees.
In the first year, Italy stood at almost 35 thousand people per match, which was the highest figure among all countries. After growing slightly to reach approximately 40 thousand people, the figure began to plummet to just above 25 thousand from 1986 onwards.
England and Germany showed a somewhat similar pattern of change throughout the timeframe. Attendance in England was about 25 thousand, which then declined moderately, before following a strong upward trend to reach nearly 35 thousand in 2004, thereby overtaking Italy’s figure. Similarly, Germany recorded exactly 25 thousand people in 1980, a year when its figure began to decrease noticeably to roughly 20 thousand. However, it rebounded in the next six years, surging consistently towards the end of the period and reaching approximately 35 thousand people, ultimately surpassing Italy.