The Elland Road club's regular home crowds in excess of 20,000 - as well their big support and attraction on the road - helped lift average crowds in League One to 7,992 - up by 6.7 per cent on last season.

The Football League announced crowds broke the 16m barrier for the fourth consecutive season.

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

An average 17,022 people visited games in the Championship - down by more than 1,000 on last year's total - with 195 matches being watched by a crowd of more than 20,000 and six by more than 30,000.

League Two saw a 5.1 per cent increase with average crowds of 4,343.

Attendances also grew in the Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy and Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney said: "These are another set of impressive figures."