The cost of watching football in Britain this season has dropped or stayed the same for most fans, according to a study of 200 clubs.
The BBC Sport Price of Football study, now in its fifth year, assessed 200 clubs in 13 British leagues, and 27 European sides. It found 51.91% of ticket prices were unchanged this season, while 18.09% were reduced.
But while two thirds of Premier League tickets were frozen or reduced – including the average top-priced ticket, which fell slightly to £56.63 – the cheapest matchday ticket now averages over £30 after 11 clubs imposed rises at the bottom end of the scale. The study covered 19 Premier League sides, with Swansea City the only club who declined to take part.
In the season ticket category, both the cheapest and most expensive top-flight tickets rose 1% – to £513.95 and £886.21 respectively, or £27.05 and £46.64 per game. Arsenal again topped the list with their £2,013 highest-priced season ticket, while their cheapest, £1,014, is still £249 more than the next highest – though they do include seven cup matches.
Stoke City offered the cheapest season ticket in the Premier League at £294, while Reading’s £135 season ticket is the cheapest in England’s top four divisions.
Among Premier League individual match tickets, Arsenal’s £97 was the most costly, with Leicester the cheapest at £22. The lowest priced ticket at Chelsea, meanwhile, is £52.
There is better value in the Scottish Premiership, where the cheapest ticket is now £20.17 on average after a 1.2% fall – less than England’s Championship and League One average – while top-flight fans in Wales and Ireland pay less than £10 per match. Tickets in the Women’s Super League in England, where attendances are up 48%, cost below £5.
Shirts, pies and cups of tea
The study also gathered data on the associated costs of watching football live. The average cost of an adult replica shirt is now £42.18 (£33.66 for children) or, in the Premier League alone, £49.68 for adults (£38.42) – a 4.82% increase in the average. At Manchester United, it now costs £103 for a full junior strip, including a name and number.
The 20 Premier League clubs brought out 50 strips this season, with 10 clubs putting new third strips on sale.
Elsewhere, the average pie now costs £3.35 in the top flight, up 1.82%, while a tea is £2.09, down 2.84%. The average matchday programme rose 6.77% to £3.42.
Liverpool and Rangers now have British football’s most expensive cup of tea, at £2.50, while the dearest pies are the award-winners sold by Kidderminster Harriers, costing £4.50 each. Conference side Braintree’s £1 pie was the cheapest.
How Britain compares
Comparisons with some top European leagues remain stark. A season ticket at Bayern Munich can be bought for £104.48 – better value than the cheapest season ticket in any of the top four leagues in England and Scotland. A matchday ticket at Bayern can be bought for £11.19.
However, Barcelona’s replica shirt is more expensive than any other, at £89.55, while PSG offer a top-end matchday ticket for £186.57 – £89.57 more than Arsenal’s most expensive.
.jpg?w=600)
