Thirty years of squad numbers

Every number worn in eight leagues since 1993/94, and what changed. Pick a league or a club to ask the same questions of it.

EnglandPremier LeagueEFL ChampionshipEFL League OneEFL League TwoLa LigaBundesligaSerie ALigue 1All leagues

The drift away from 1–11

In 1993/94, 38.1% of the numbers issued were 1–11. By 2025/26 it was 29.7%, a fall of 8.4 points. The average number rose from 15.5 to 22.3.

0%25%50%75%100%93/9498/9903/0408/0913/1418/1923/2425/2693/94: 38.1% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 15.5)94/95: 38.7% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 15.4)95/96: 35.7% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 16.1)96/97: 36.4% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 16.4)97/98: 36.4% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 16.7)98/99: 32.7% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.9)99/00: 34.3% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.3)00/01: 32.9% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.9)01/02: 33.6% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.8)02/03: 33.8% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.8)03/04: 35.1% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.2)04/05: 35.1% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.2)05/06: 34.6% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.6)06/07: 33.8% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 17.9)07/08: 33.2% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 18.2)08/09: 32.8% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 18.5)09/10: 31.6% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 19.1)10/11: 32.3% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 18.8)11/12: 31.7% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 19.2)12/13: 31.4% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 19.3)13/14: 31.8% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 19.1)14/15: 31.4% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 19.5)15/16: 31.2% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 20)16/17: 32.2% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 19.6)17/18: 31.3% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 20.1)18/19: 31.5% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 20.2)19/20: 31.2% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 21.1)20/21: 30.4% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 21)21/22: 30.3% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 21.6)22/23: 30.6% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 21.3)23/24: 29.2% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 22.2)24/25: 30.1% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 21.6)25/26: 29.7% of numbers are 1–11 (average number 22.3)38.1%29.7%
See the numbers
Season1–11AverageNumbers
1993/9438.1%15.5598
1994/9538.7%15.4586
1995/9635.7%16.1561
1996/9736.4%16.4602
1997/9836.4%16.7563
1998/9932.7%17.9654
1999/200034.3%17.32,010
2000/0132.9%17.92,148
2001/0233.6%17.82,058
2002/0333.8%17.82,028
2003/0435.1%17.21,973
2004/0535.1%17.21,941
2005/0634.6%17.61,973
2006/0733.8%17.92,181
2007/0833.2%18.22,540
2008/0932.8%18.52,720
2009/1031.6%19.12,769
2010/1132.3%18.83,002
2011/1231.7%19.23,086
2012/1331.4%19.32,976
2013/1431.8%19.12,927
2014/1531.4%19.52,655
2015/1631.2%202,673
2016/1732.2%19.62,782
2017/1831.3%20.12,838
2018/1931.5%20.22,452
2019/2031.2%21.12,620
2020/2130.4%212,992
2021/2230.3%21.62,639
2022/2330.6%21.32,447
2023/2429.2%22.23,287
2024/2530.1%21.63,214
2025/2629.7%22.33,271

Which numbers get worn

#10 is the most-worn number in this selection, 2,273 times. The thinnest end of the tail is #85, worn 1.

110203040506070809099#1: worn 2,204 times (2.9%)#2: worn 2,184 times (2.9%)#3: worn 2,221 times (2.9%)#4: worn 2,244 times (2.9%)#5: worn 2,218 times (2.9%)#6: worn 2,239 times (2.9%)#7: worn 2,259 times (3.0%)#8: worn 2,266 times (3.0%)#9: worn 2,240 times (2.9%)#10: worn 2,273 times (3.0%)#11: worn 2,249 times (2.9%)#12: worn 1,949 times (2.6%)#13: worn 1,403 times (1.8%)#14: worn 2,197 times (2.9%)#15: worn 2,129 times (2.8%)#16: worn 2,077 times (2.7%)#17: worn 2,187 times (2.9%)#18: worn 2,161 times (2.8%)#19: worn 2,162 times (2.8%)#20: worn 2,146 times (2.8%)#21: worn 2,062 times (2.7%)#22: worn 2,107 times (2.8%)#23: worn 2,090 times (2.7%)#24: worn 2,004 times (2.6%)#25: worn 1,869 times (2.5%)#26: worn 1,875 times (2.5%)#27: worn 1,833 times (2.4%)#28: worn 1,708 times (2.2%)#29: worn 1,665 times (2.2%)#30: worn 1,634 times (2.1%)#31: worn 1,396 times (1.8%)#32: worn 1,340 times (1.8%)#33: worn 1,428 times (1.9%)#34: worn 1,145 times (1.5%)#35: worn 1,016 times (1.3%)#36: worn 863 times (1.1%)#37: worn 882 times (1.2%)#38: worn 749 times (1.0%)#39: worn 738 times (1.0%)#40: worn 643 times (0.8%)#41: worn 472 times (0.6%)#42: worn 479 times (0.6%)#43: worn 320 times (0.4%)#44: worn 491 times (0.6%)#45: worn 375 times (0.5%)#46: worn 242 times (0.3%)#47: worn 261 times (0.3%)#48: worn 197 times (0.3%)#49: worn 194 times (0.3%)#50: worn 159 times (0.2%)#51: worn 98 times (0.1%)#52: worn 85 times (0.1%)#53: worn 84 times (0.1%)#54: worn 66 times (0.1%)#55: worn 68 times (0.1%)#56: worn 56 times (0.1%)#57: worn 42 times (0.1%)#58: worn 47 times (0.1%)#59: worn 47 times (0.1%)#60: worn 27 times (0.0%)#61: worn 32 times (0.0%)#62: worn 42 times (0.1%)#63: worn 24 times (0.0%)#64: worn 33 times (0.0%)#65: worn 17 times (0.0%)#66: worn 26 times (0.0%)#67: worn 25 times (0.0%)#68: worn 19 times (0.0%)#69: worn 12 times (0.0%)#70: worn 12 times (0.0%)#71: worn 9 times (0.0%)#72: worn 14 times (0.0%)#73: worn 9 times (0.0%)#74: worn 5 times (0.0%)#75: worn 17 times (0.0%)#76: worn 15 times (0.0%)#77: worn 19 times (0.0%)#78: worn 7 times (0.0%)#79: worn 3 times (0.0%)#80: worn 10 times (0.0%)#81: worn 9 times (0.0%)#82: worn 9 times (0.0%)#83: worn 4 times (0.0%)#84: worn 6 times (0.0%)#85: worn 1 times (0.0%)#86: worn 2 times (0.0%)#87: worn 4 times (0.0%)#88: worn 1 times (0.0%)#89: worn 2 times (0.0%)#90: worn 1 times (0.0%)#91: worn 2 times (0.0%)#92: worn 4 times (0.0%)#93: worn 2 times (0.0%)#94: worn 3 times (0.0%)#95: worn 3 times (0.0%)#96: worn 1 times (0.0%)#97: worn 3 times (0.0%)#98: worn 2 times (0.0%)#99: worn 8 times (0.0%)

1–11 in green, 12 and above in blue.

Who leaves out 13

Share of squads that issued 13 at all, since 2000. English lower-league clubs skip it most often.

EFL League TwoEFL League Two: 49.5% of 428 squads used 1349.5%EFL League OneEFL League One: 58.2% of 493 squads used 1358.2%EFL ChampionshipEFL Championship: 62.6% of 609 squads used 1362.6%Ligue 1Ligue 1: 64.7% of 419 squads used 1364.7%Premier LeaguePremier League: 65.5% of 510 squads used 1365.5%BundesligaBundesliga: 75.1% of 382 squads used 1375.1%Serie ASerie A: 75.6% of 505 squads used 1375.6%La LigaLa Liga: 93.6% of 392 squads used 1393.6%

La Liga is shown in a different colour because it isn’t a choice there: Spanish clubs register a first-team squad numbered 1–25, so 13 is issued unless the squad is unusually small. For the same reason, Spain barely appears above 25 and shouldn’t be compared with the rest on the chart above.

The one-number men

Longest unbroken runs in the same number at the same club.

PlayerClubNumberSeasons
Ryan GiggsManchester United#1121 (1993/94–14)
Dean LewingtonMilton Keynes Dons#321 (2004/05–25)
John TerryChelsea#2619 (1998/99–17)
Jamie CarragherLiverpool#2317 (1996/97–13)
Séamus ColemanEverton#2316 (2010/11–26)
Lewis DunkBrighton#516 (2011/12–27)
Paul ScholesManchester United#1815 (1996/97–11)
Gary NevilleManchester United#215 (1996/97–11)
Mark NobleWest Ham#1615 (2007/08–22)
Ledley KingTottenham#2614 (1998/99–12)

Numbers nobody keeps

Most different players in one number at one club since 2000.

ClubNumberPlayers
Port Vale#2526
Port Vale#2024
Port Vale#2724
Colchester United#2723
Port Vale#2623
Colchester United#2222
Hull City#2322
Millwall#1422

When the big numbers arrived

The first season each of these turns up anywhere in the data.

#69 · 1996/97#66 · 2000/01#77 · 2000/01#99 · 2000/01#50 · 2003/04#88 · 2004/05

How to read this

  • The season in progress is left out of the trends. Squads fill up as a season goes on, and the numbers added last are the high ones.
  • Leagues run different rules. Spain numbers its first-team squad 1–25, which decides both how high its numbers go and whether 13 is used, so it is never averaged in silently.
  • The data is compiled from Wikipedia and is thinner for some seasons than others; a season with fewer than 100 numbers on record is left off the trend.

Why players choose their numbers →