Alienated fans fear money-driven ticket exploitation is pricing out regulars

The Guardian

22-03-2025

It is the time of year when season-ticket holders receive an email from their beloved club spelling out how much it will cost to follow them through thick and thin once again. The email often lands without warning of an increase, that bit saved for lower down after explaining the financial challenges and how the owner wants to invest to bring success. Generally it will say it was a 'tough but necessary decision' to charge for loyalty. For many fans this is becoming harder and harder to swallow.
In the Premier League, amid increased TV and prize money, chiselling extra out of those who almost feel obliged to attend seems unnecessary. The owners and directors who do this are well aware that fans, on the whole, will keep coming back. Football is such an integral part of many people's lives that they cannot imagine not making every possible trip to a place they regard as a second home and are willing to cut back elsewhere to prove their commitment.
Eleven Premier League clubs have announced their prices for next season. Five have frozen prices (Liverpool, West Ham, Tottenham, Leicester and Brentford) and six have upped the cost. There has been an average 5% increase at Newcastle, Brighton and Manchester United, while Nottingham Forest have gone as high as 8.5%. Arsenal's prices have gone up by 3% or 5% depending on the location of the seat. Everton are increasing prices – but at a new stadium. The UK's annual inflation rate was 3% in January.
Season-ticket holders were previously viewed as the lifeblood of clubs across the pyramid, the income from renewals in the spring allowing teams to plan for summer recruitment. But in the Premier League the money raised from TV deals has changed the picture: a good amount of focus now goes on selling single match tickets at higher prices and some clubs do not offer lapsed season tickets for sale again.
Premier League rules say clubs must have concessionary tickets but the category is not defined and some clubs are manoeuvring to offer them only in certain parts of the ground to ensure premium seats can be sold at the highest value. A rewriting of the stipulations would help young fans, and the game needs the next generation to have access to matches.
There are factors that clubs may give little thought to because they are out of their control but the rising cost of transport, food and drink make a day out at the football more expensive than ever before entering the ground.
Clubs are adept at exploiting loyalty and give the impression they do not understand fan culture, paying for light and pyrotechnic shows when most people attending matches only want affordable football. The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) has a long-running campaign, Stop Exploiting Loyalty, that aims to unite fans and give them a stronger collective voice.
'Whilst some clubs do have really good dialogue with their supporter representatives, either their supporter organisations or fan advisory boards, we do have some concerns that clubs are not providing key information in adequate time to allow for proper feedback and dialogue,' an FSA spokesperson says. 'Fans across the league feel there is a move away from the traditional culture of English fans and fear clubs are using money-driven agendas that will ultimately impact a club's support.'
There will be changes at Old Trafford next season when certain longstanding match-goers will be moved so their seats can be repackaged as hospitality spots, which will be far more valuable. United have been open about it, saying: 'Some of the general admission tickets directly adjacent to the home and away dugouts will be converted to hospitality seats, reflecting the high value of this unique location.' They are not the first to monetise seats in that area of a ground. The Etihad Stadium has the Tunnel Club and Chelsea are selling seats in the equivalent position for £12,500 for certain fixtures.
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It may be difficult for many people to accept the increasingly corporate nature but most fans understand how the Premier League has evolved. Eye-watering fees for certain people might have brought the lowering of prices elsewhere but this is not the case.
When a new stadium is built it offers a blank canvas and in the coming years there is the potential to redesign the traditional plans and have season tickets, about two-thirds of capacity, sold cheaply in specific blocks and premium seats being made more expensive. These sort of suggestions are being heard in meetings at clubs who are planning a new stadium but it would take a bold decision-maker to go away from the status quo.
Concentrating one-off visitors in particular areas could bring additional financial benefits for clubs. Different in-stadium merchandise or food options, for example, could be made available to such fans, whose wants tend to differ from those of supporters who attend every match.
Clubs need to be careful. The football experience is not only about the action on the pitch but what happens in the stands. The attenders who come for a solitary fixture want an experience to remember and part of that is a lively atmosphere. It is often up to the regulars to create the noise but if they are priced out, quiet stadiums could follow and that would harm the product for day-trippers and TV audiences.
'Clubs benefit massively from huge broadcasting and sponsorship deals, income that is way above and beyond the income of ticketing,' the FSA says. 'Small increases here and there impact the supporters way more than it benefits the club. Cash-grab agendas will only damage the atmosphere and that core local support that the Premier League has built itself on. As fans, we also love being the best in the world. We helped build it – it is important this isn't exploited.'