£1.3bn... price of being a Premier League footie fan
LOYAL football fans will spend £1.3billion supporting Premier League teams this season, research shows.
Paying for tickets, merchandise, travel, match day programmes and food and drink while cheering on their heroes will cost supporters an average of £1,888 for the year, the report found.
The amount spent on replica shirts alone this season is expected to top £23.8million – up by nearly a third on the 2014/15 season.
Even the cost of being a basic supporter, with no travel to away matches, can add up to hundreds a year.
Arsenal fans spend the most with the cheapest season ticket at £891 plus a £3.50 programme, one adult replica shirt at £60 and one junior shirt at £45 still totalling £999.50 a year.
A Newcastle United CONCERNED Gary Neville supporter would pay £525 for the same items, with the cheapest season ticket at St James’ Park being £417.
The figures prompted Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville to call for action to make sure fans could afford to continue to support their teams.
The former England assistant manager said: “There are lots of positives about football: the stadiums are better, the quality of play is fantastic and the atmosphere is far more inclusive, but for me affordability is something that needs to be addressed.
“Football needs to check itself. It is about community, and we need to ensure we are doing all we can not to price fans out of the game.” The report by investment firm eToro and
accountants KPMG should serve as a “wake-up call” to the sport, he said. He added: “It is about the family that lives a mile from the club dreaming every weekend that they can afford to watch their heroes.” Iqbal Gandham of eToro, which sponsors six Premier League teams, said: “We hope to start a conversation about the future of football and how we can work together to bridge the gap between investment and value for the fans.” According to the report, Manchester City gave best value for money for glory-hungry fans last season, costing £16.30 per point won.
Liverpool were second in the table at £20.80 per point and Chelsea third at £28.50. Huddersfield Town gave their fans the worst value for money, costing £96 per point – and they were relegated. Expected rise in money spent on replica shirts in 2019-20 compared to 2014-15, up to £23.8m