§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people watched professional(a) rugby league, (b) football, (c) rugby union and (d) cricket in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [175480]
§ Mr. CabornIn 2003, around 1.6 million people attended professional Rugby League matches: 1.4 million at Super League matches; 100,000 at Challenge Cup ties; 100,000 at National League matches.
In the 2003–04 football season, 29 million people attended Premier League and Football League matches: 13.3 million at Premier League games; 16 million at Football League matches (Divisions 1, 2 and 3).
In 2003, around 4.5 million people attended Rugby Union matches in Britain: 3.4 million attending international matches; 1.1 million at Zurich Premiership matches.
In the May to September 2003 cricket season around 1.9 million people attended cricket matches in England: 630,000 attending international games; 1.3 million attending domestic cricket matches.