Exclusive: Pundit name-drops Sunderland AFC in "best atmosphere" debate - it was a "non-stop party" | OneFootball

Joe Jacobson has reminisced on a painful day for himself and Wycombe at the Stadium of Light - it was an unforgetful atmosphere

Many EFL fans will claim that their stadium has the best atmosphere and sets of fans in the entire pyramid - but only some will hold up as legitimate contenders.

It's not just about the sheer amount of people inside the stadium, with the likes of Sunderland and Leeds United getting the biggest crowds and at times very noisy atmospheres, but there are also smaller clubs and arenas that will have rightful claims to be up there too.

And ex-Wycombe Wanderers defender Joe Jacobson has shared his thoughts on which club has the best atmosphere at their ground from his experiences as a player.

Joe Jacobson names Sunderland & Stadium of Light as best EFL atmosphere

Jacobson has gone for one of the biggest EFL clubs in the form of Sunderland as the best noise he has experienced during his playing days.

The veteran left-back was on the end of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Black Cats during the 2019-20 season in January 2020, and he has seemingly never forgotten the noise the Mackems made on the terraces.

"The best atmosphere I've played in, as an away player it's normally when you're not doing very well - you're probably losing quite heavily," Jacobson said when speaking exclusively to Football League World.

"We played Sunderland at the Stadium of Light a few years ago and went 4-0 down quite quickly and 3-0 down after half an hour, and it was between two teams in Wycombe and Sunderland that were fighting at the top end of the division.

"It was an important game, and from the first minute they were just on top, and because they were three or four up, it was just a non-stop party atmosphere for the whole game, so that was a tough one to play in."

Sunderland were just outside the play-off spots of League One going into that match, as they looked to push for promotion under Phil Parkinson, whilst Gareth Ainsworth's Chairboys were top of the league before the drubbing took place.

Charlie Wyke opened the scoring within six minutes of the match starting, and 10 minutes later Denver Hume doubled the lead for the Black Cats - it only took another five minutes for Chris Maguire to slot in a third goal from the penalty spot.

Maguire wrapped up the win in the second half with a stunning free-kick, and the result summed up a tough period for Wycombe, who hadn't won in their previous four league matches before heading to Wearside to be on the end of a thumping.

It was Wanderers who got the last laugh in the end though, as they were promoted in the play-off final at Wembley after defeating Oxford United, whilst Sunderland missed out on the top six after finishing just shy in seventh position.

It's hard to argue that Sunderland aren't among the EFL's best fanbases and atmospheres

Even though Sunderland were struggling at the time as a League One club, compared to most of the 2000's and 2010's that they spent within the Premier League, they still managed to attract a strong number of fans to the Stadium of Light on a game-by-game basis.

In 2019-20, Sunderland's average home attendance was over 30,000, and that figure has increased since returning to the Championship in 2022, with their first season back seeing them average a massive 39,140 - still some way less than the 49,000 stadium capacity, but an admirable number nevertheless.