The cost of being a football supporter

[bowenjones]

I used to be an avid Swansea City fan many years ago and followed them everywhere. Once I started working (I'm talking over 20 years ago now), money wasn't an object as it didn't cost that mutch to follow them. Now though, it's a different matter. How on earth can you guys and gals who support a Premiership team manage to afford it? I beleive that the main reason why crowds are dwindling this season is mainly down to the fact that match tickets are so expensive.
Here's a breakdown of what it costs on average to watch a Premiership club for the whole season (home and away).....

Home season ticket: £453
Away game tickets: £532
Travel: £700
Programmes: £114
Merchandise: £100
TV subscriptions £347
Total cost: £2246

You can add an extra £400 if you're an Arsenal supporter as their cheapest season ticket is over £800, and deduct £125 if you support Wigan.
I went to watch Swansea play Nottm. Forest last Saturday and was dissapointed with the amount of support they had. I now realise how mutch it costs and it probably explains why some fans have to be selective when watching their team play. Do you think it's worth paying that mutch?

 

[oxygenuk]

thats all optional

 

[Ian182]

I've stopped going to watch Leeds this season for precisely this reason.

I refuse to pay between £25 and £30 to watch Championship football - our season tickets are more expensive than most Premiership sides !

And as our average crowd is down by around 7,000 from last season, it looks like I'm not the only one !

Ian.

 

[Mr Cat]

yeah, but whats the cost of being a av / hifi fanatic..?

 

[Kopite4Ever]

im a liverpool season ticket holder & put it this was i spent over £2246 last year probably including a certain trip to istanbul i dont go to all the away games but try to get to as many as i can. i will never stop spending money on following the club its just who i am.

do i think its worth it ? every penny trips to turkey will forever be in my memory and its cost is priceless

 

[bowenjones]

thats all optional

Granted, some might say that it's optional but I know that there are quite a few fans who do follow their team without fail. I feel sorry for the fans who now cannot afford to watch their teams every game as they are being priced out by the clubs. What I can't comprehend is the fact that the clubs themselves have agreed a package with Sky for tv rights and still increase ticket prices way beyond inflation like Man utd have done (over 50% hike compared to last season I think).

 

[bowenjones]

im a liverpool season ticket holder & put it this was i spent over £2246 last year probably including a certain trip to istanbul

Only just realised that european matches aren't included in the breakdown

 

[Kopite4Ever]

l,pool home CL games are £30 a pop. in fact liverpool's ticket prices for all things inc season tickets are fairly well priced compared to other clubs of our stature in the premier league. its disgusting that roman money bags chel$ki has so much money they still charge stupid prices for their tickets.

its definatly a few K a year for us die hards but we love it. looking forward to another win tonight

 

[GrahamC]

thats all optional

Is it though, If the clubs are that greedy that they make the ticket price so expensive that an ordinary working man can't afford to pay it then it's not by his choice that he doesn't follow his team but high ticket prices. It is getting to the stage where football is a corporate pastime and not the great sport ordinary folk created.

 

[Sick Boy]

I've stopped going to watch Leeds this season for precisely this reason.

I refuse to pay between £25 and £30 to watch Championship football - our season tickets are more expensive than most Premiership sides !

And as our average crowd is down by around 7,000 from last season, it looks like I'm not the only one !

Ian.

Think that's bad. It costs £14 to stand on an uncovered terrace at Bristol Rovers and watch basement division league football. Add to that the fact that their and can't play football.

I agree that it's optional though. Football is entertainment (see above for exeption ) and they will charge what the punters are willing to pay.

 

[chedmaster]

our chelsea season tickets are close to a grand each

edit: upon checking theyre actually £800, but add to that 3 home group champ league games at £46 each, home carling cup at £20 each and home fa cup at £40-£50 each and it is ridiculous. do any other clubs still include home domestic cup games in season tickets?

 

[RMCF]

The prices are so high mainly for one reason - the prima donnas' wages !!

With the top players earning £60,000 - £100,000 per week, they have to gather the money from somewhere.

I am an avid football fan but over the last few years I believe that the top players do not earn their wages any more. There are too many that are only interested in their next advertising deal, their next girlfriend, their next hairdo, etc etc. No doubt that they have the ability to perform but so many just turn up. If we could get performance related pay introduced into football it would help a lot.

But how anyone can earn £100,000 per week is obscene. Wages should have been capped a long time ago. I think that football is starting to die a slow death. We have heard so much this season about falling crowds, lack of entertainment, boring tactics, win at all costs, stroppy players. This current generation of players are going to be the ones responsible for the game heading back into the dark ages.

But then they'll not care, retired before 35 with tens of millions in the bank.

 

[NWhiteley]

The prices are so high mainly for one reason - the prima donnas' wages !!

With the top players earning £60,000 - £100,000 per week, they have to gather the money from somewhere.

I am an avid football fan but over the last few years I believe that the top players do not earn their wages any more. There are too many that are only interested in their next advertising deal, their next girlfriend, their next hairdo, etc etc. No doubt that they have the ability to perform but so many just turn up. If we could get performance related pay introduced into football it would help a lot.

But how anyone can earn £100,000 per week is obscene. Wages should have been capped a long time ago. I think that football is starting to die a slow death. We have heard so much this season about falling crowds, lack of entertainment, boring tactics, win at all costs, stroppy players. This current generation of players are going to be the ones responsible for the game heading back into the dark ages.

But then they'll not care, retired before 35 with tens of millions in the bank.

spot on,

i have been a season ticket holder at BWFC for the last 15 seasons or so, but prices have risen steeply and the quality of football has slipped over the last couple of seasons, so i havent bothered this time. i still go to most away games, and will go to the UEFA game in Portugal just before Christmas, but the home games are too boring and predictable. the players dont have the need or hunger to bust their guts on the football field any more, they are content in watching their millions accumalate, safe in the knowledge that if they where stop playing tomorrow they would be financially secure for the rest of their lives