Will Clark - Inverness Caley Thistle playing in League One compared to Championship is shown by the lack of away fans compared to last season

ATTENDANCES predictably have fallen at Inverness Caledonian Thistle since their relegation to League One this season.

However, one thing I have noticed is that it is not really a result of the number of home fans turning up to the Caledonian Stadium.

The biggest difference is the amount of empty seats in the away section this season compared to playing in the Championship.

Last weekend’s 2-0 win over Dumbarton was the third biggest crowd of the season at Inverness with 1894 fans in attendance.

The previous weekend was the biggest crowd of the season with 1974 fans watching them lose to Cove Rangers.

However, the number of fans that are in the Main Stand and in the North Stand are comparable to last year.

But not being in the division as some bigger clubs is having an impact in the number of fans coming through the turnstyles.

The average attendance in the 2024/25 campaign for all 14 home games in all competitions so far is 1453.

However, this number has been impacted by three figure crowds in the two League Cup group games between Bonnyrigg Rose (684), Arbroath with (754) and their Trust Trophy Third Round clash against Stirling Albion which saw 774 fans in attendance.

Their lowest attendance for a League One match was their opening game of the campaign against Dumbarton which drew 1439 fans.

That is compared to last season in the Championship when the average attendance for 25 home matches in all competitions was 2168.

Last season, when Caley Thistle played in the Championship, their highest league attendance was against Dundee United when 3503 watched on Saturday, September 23, 2023.

The lowest attendance at a Championship match at the Caledonian Stadium last season was against Arbroath on Saturday, December 16 with 1842.

Reaching the later stages of the Scottish Cup can also have an impact. The Scottish Cup fifth round clash with Hibernian in February last year drew an attendance of 3837.

With Inverness Caledonian Thistle out of the Scottish Cup and the lack of playing any clubs with traditionally big supports, it is unlikely that the Caledonian Stadium will attract anywhere those sorts of numbers this season.

It reinforces the importance of playing at a high level and welcoming visiting fans as well as trying to encourage your own supporters to fill seats.

In the Championship last season for the majority of games, Inverness attracted over 2000 supporters, with only four matches, Arbroath on December 16 (1842), Queen’s Park on Februrary 3 (1962) Dunfermline Athletic on February 27 (1958) and Ayr United on March 16 (1979) dipping below that number.

Despite the fall in attendances, efforts made to attract home supporters have to be widely applauded. In particular, the work done by the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust has been outstanding. They have played a major part in reigniting the city’s enthusiasm for the club. They have played a major part in the running of Bar 94 at the stadium, where fans are now flocking to before and after the game. Players and management are also meeting with fans after the match which has been a great success.

In addition the Supporters’ Trust also negotiated a deal with Stagecoach to allow a new bus service from the city centre and the stadium to allow the fans more options to arrive and leave matches.

Inverness still have a lot of work to do to try and finish in the play-offs this season in their attempt to get back to the Championship. But their home fans seem to still be backing them

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