Football-related arrests rise in England, Wales; West Ham with most cases

Soccer-related arrests are on the rise in England and Wales, the UK government said on Thursday. The most cases were recorded at West Ham United matches for the third year in a row.

There were 2,584 football-related arrests in the 2023-24 season a 14% increase on the previous year, figures released by the Home Office showed.

The government said the rise was driven by arrests relating to the possession of class-A drugs and this year's European Championship in Germany.

The rate of arrests over the season was 5.5 per 1,00,000 fans attending matches in the top six levels of men's English soccer, the Welsh league and the top two levels of women's soccer.

Statistics also covered matches involving the England and Wales national teams, the Champions League final staged at Wembley Stadium, and age group matches.

It is important that these figures are put into context. Last season around 47 million people attended men's domestic and international matches, the highest number we have on reco