How Football’s Sky-High Prices Are Pricing Out Regular Fans: 

Written by Edson Russell  @EdsonRussellJourno

Football: a worldwide phenomenon beamed into billions of households around the globe, a sport loved by many. But some say our beloved sport is slowly being taken away from us. There is concern millions of fans around the country are slowly but gradually being priced out of the game they love.  

This seems mainly driven by club owners who only care for profit and not compassion for the loyal fans who sacrifice their time and hard-earned money for the team they love. However loyal fans will not back down in the face of the enemy and our beloved game will never be taken away from us. Prices are rapidly rising, and I want to know why. 

Fuming Man Utd fans protest against the rising costs of football outside of Old Trafford after Super League plot- 2021

“The loyal supporters are totally ignored” 

Since the creation of modern football in 1848 the costs of football have gradually risen slowly over the past 150 or so years. However, in the past 30 years football has seen a rapid increase in rising costs. Within a 30-year timeline (1990s to the 2020s) the beautiful game we love has seen an astronomical increase in ticket prices -using Liverpool as a data point, we can see an enormous 875% increase in the average ticket prices with a whopping rise from £4 to £39 according to the football supporter’s association. But with more and more fan protests opposing the surging financial costs the important issue of funds in football has come under the increasing spotlight of scrutiny by the general public and even the government. Many fans question what can be done to change the soaring price of football in England and why the clubs we all love are raising prices without explanation.  

English football was created to be a fair game for all, no matter the league, level or money pumped into one team. To make this happen trickle-down economics was introduced into the football pyramid: the idea that the wealth of top clubs will eventually ‘trickle down’ to benefit lower levels, therefore creating a fair league system for all teams involved in the football pyramid. However multiple studies show how research has failed to show convincing evidence of this, and this issue can clearly be seen with the naked eye as top league clubs thrive, and low-level clubs slowly but surely face the barrel of a gun aimed straight at them. 

Fans of Manchester United opposing the ascending costs involved in football

If you spend an afternoon outside Old Trafford speaking to fans about the cost of following their team, passions don’t take long to run high. “Football has gone beyond being just too expensive.” Neil, a 58 year old lifelong Man Utd fan, tells me. 

“You used to be able to come here as a normal person. Now it’s very, very difficult—and it’s getting harder.” Neil certainly isn’t the only one who feels this way. Almost every Manchester United fan who I spoke to voiced their anger at ticket prices, and this is backed up by my survey: 66.7% of football fans feel that tickets are becoming unaffordable. The average price of a Manchester united League season ticket has risen for the next upcoming season with a 5% increase on top the minimum ticket price of £66. A second fan called the increase an “absolute disgrace “and hundreds if not thousands of loyal supporters are threating to cancel season tickets if change is not made.  

It would be simple to say that all of this is driven by pure greed. But is the picture more complex than that?  I spoke to Daniel Fitzpatrick, a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Aston University Birmingham. He expressed the dangers of clubs increasing costs for revenue and financial gain, but he also gave a great insight on why clubs must make the hard decisions to stay afloat: “The culture of English football has changed. It’s not about the sport anymore, it’s about how much money can be made.”   

Football is more important than life or death, to some it’s all that they have left and that’s why we must never stop to save it. “Football used to be about families and community; now it’s about maximizing profit with little regard for the fans who have supported it for decades.”

Daniel expressed how the growing ticket prices sadly will bring repercussions, but however without them many clubs wouldn’t be able to survive in the rising economy in England.  Football used to be about ensuring the stadium was full, for the benefit of the team, but now it’s just about making money, regardless of who’s in the stands. “What clubs are doing now is deliberately excluding certain fans, not just through pricing, but through policies that make it more difficult to even keep a season ticket.”  

Finance is football has taken a huge turn in the past 20 years; clubs used to rely on matchday revenue (often referred to as gate receipts), but now broadcasting money has dwarfed all other sources leaving gate receipts in a tiny fraction of matchday revenue. Clubs still heavily rely on fan showing up to games.

Ticket prices are a small, almost nominal part [of income], but for clubs seeking to make money, there’s no justification not to raise them if it increases revenue.” Many fans are starting to question why clubs are massively increasing ticket prices, if they only count for 13% of a club’s total income. 

Less than 50 miles down the road from the gates of Old Trafford sits the non-league level club of Matlock Town FC. The former chairman Jay Beaumont knows all too well about finance in football and how the costs of even traveling to a topflight game may be putting fans off from regularly attending matches: “We were at Wembley last week, and even my 11-year-old daughter was laughing that her coach travel was more expensive than the match ticket. 

The family had travelled to London to see Nottingham Forest play premier league giants Man City – with the cheapest ticket at £45. “A typical family of two adults and two kids is finding it harder to afford.” Jay believes clubs must do everything in their power to keep football affordable for families but understands how clubs are not able to survive without rising prices. “The real skill and challenge for anyone running a club is making it so kids can attend. If the kids can’t go, the parents will stop going.” Football is all about community, friendships and family, and if the prices keep on soaring as estimated this valuable part of football will slowly but surely be lost forever.  

Football gives out a sense of belonging to all involved, but with the escalating costs associated with football whether in ticket prices, broadcasting fees, or club merchandise these important issues pose serious questions about the sport’s future of accessibility and inclusivity.  

What was once the “people’s game” risks becoming increasingly a game only available for the wealthy, excluding the very communities that helped build its legacy. If those with the the powers (from governing bodies such as the FA) to clubs and broadcasters fail to address these growing financial barriers, football may continue to lose touch with its very humble beginnings. 

Can football’s soul survive financial realities?