By Mark Baber
October 15 – The BBC’s fifth annual 2015 Price of Football survey reveals the cost of watching football in the UK has dropped or remained the same for the majority of fans.
According to the survey which looked at costs at 227 clubs in 13 UK leagues, of more than 700 tickets analysed, 70% saw a price freeze or reduction for the 2015-16 season. 51.91% were the same, 18.09% of tickets were reduced and 30% of tickets more expensive than last season.
However, the average cost of a replica football shirt is now £42.18 for adults and £33.78 for children. In the Premier League this rises to £49.68 and £38.42, marking a 4.82% increase in the average price compared to last season.
The figures are perhaps unsurprising given that inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, has been in minus territory for much of the last year.
As usual the survey reveals a lot of interesting stats including:
– Two-thirds of Premier League tickets were frozen or reduced in price.
– The cheapest match-day ticket in England’s top flight now costs more than £30 on average for the first time after 11 clubs put up prices in this category.
– The Scottish Premiership’s cheapest ticket now costs £20.17 on average after a 1.2% fall in price. This is less than England’s Championship and League One.
– In the Welsh Premier League and Irish Premiership, fans pay less than £10 per match.
– Tickets in the Women’s Super League in England, which saw attendances increase by 48% after the World Cup in June and July, cost less than £5.
– National League side Eastleigh has the cheapest season ticket in the top 5 English Leagues at £120 – but is still more expensive than Bayern Munich.
– Arsenal have the most expensive match-day ticket in the Premier League at £97 and the most expensive season ticket at £1,014.
– The most expensive shirt in the survey was Barcelona’s at £89.55
– Paris St-Germain’s season ticket for £2,113.46 is the costliest.
For those looking to reduce the cost of their football viewing, women’s football offers good value with the most expensive season ticket £48 at Manchester City and the cheapest £18 in the top two flights at just £18 at London Bees Ladies. London Bees Ladies also have the lowest priced adult shirt in the survey at just £20.90.
The results of the survey elicited a favourable response from Shaun Harvey, the Football League’s chief executive who said: “Football League clubs continue to offer compelling football at a price that is affordable.
“The significant numbers of season ticket holders at matches, along with ever greater numbers of young fans, has resulted in the average price paid per paying spectator being as low as £14 across the League’s 72 clubs.
“Clearly others, such as adults and those paying on the day, will usually pay more. Clubs therefore need to ensure that their ticketing policies provide the right balance between fair value for supporters and generating the income that sustains on-field performance, which overwhelmingly they do.”
However, Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters’ Federation was less impressed, telling the BBC: “It says a lot about modern football when it’s hailed as unusually good news that ticket prices aren’t rising even further. Last season, football was incredibly expensive, it remains expensive this season – particularly on match-day tickets, for away fans and young adults.
“Premier League clubs knew before they had even set their prices for this season that they would be due a substantial windfall from the new TV deal.”
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