Football is rapidly becoming unaffordable for many fans, but the issue has been thrown into even sharper focus in the past year, with ticket prices going up across the Premier League and concessions being cut.
Peter Hargreaves, 76, had been going to see Manchester United since he was five, but was forced to cancel his season ticket at the end of last season when the older seniors discount was slashed in half – effectively meaning a 57 per cent price increase.
“I was devastated when I had to cancel my ticket, it’s the only thing I’ve had in my life since I was a little boy and I had to give it up,” he tells The i Paper.
“I’ve had to [cancel it] because I haven’t got the money. It’s not just the price of the ticket is it? It’s getting there and paying for food, and it all adds up.
“Since the Glazers and Ratcliffe got involved, it’s just gone to the dogs, I’m so disappointed, not just on a personal level but for the club.”
Hargreaves says his family have been supporting the club since 1892, his grandfather attending his first match when they were still known as Newton Heath.
Why ticket prices have gone up
The i Paper understands Manchester United reduced the 50 per cent discount that some senior fans received to 25 per cent so it would be in line with other concessions.
The season-ticket price rise, averaging £2.50 per game, is close to inflation.
According to a statement from Manchester United, the price increase aims “to strike a balance between keeping tickets affordable for fans and keeping the club financially sustainable.” The statement also claimed the price rises were critical to allow them to freeze the price of U-16 season tickets.
The war on season-ticket holders
At the start of this season, 13 Premier League clubs raised their adult season- ticket prices despite protests from the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA).
The cost of a season ticket can differ massively depending on who you support, with Arsenal fans coughing up £1,127 compared to West Ham fans, who can spend as little as £345.
On the back of these prices, clubs also appear to have an incentive to get rid of the very supporters who show them the utmost loyalty.
An investigation by The Telegraph in August found that policies to cut down the number of “legacy fans” – meaning long-term attendees – include personal attendance targets, curbs on splitting usage with family and friends, increases in premium hospitality tickets and a refusal to issue new season tickets.
But for those who are locked out of season-ticket ownership by long waiting lists, football is an even more expensive hobby.
‘Football tourists’
James Young, 23, also tells The i Paper he is struggling to afford to go to games.
As a non-season ticket holder, Young explained that the issue for him is that United are increasing the prices of regular tickets.
There is often less pushback against this as some fans believe the majority of them are bought by “football tourists”, one-off visitors only attending an individual game who do not necessarily support the team.
While it does mean costs can stay lower for season-ticket holders, those fans who can’t afford one, or don’t have the time to attend enough matches to make a season ticket worthwhile, find their pockets further squeezed.
On top of this, Young pointed out that clubs are pushing towards the “premiumification” of many of the seats they offer.
“They know they can sell the tickets for six times the price to a tourist that’s got more money,” he says.
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The i Paper understands that Manchester United have converted some of the seats around the dugouts at Old Trafford into premium hospitality seats to create significant additional revenue and help minimise price rises on season tickets.
“I live about two miles from the ground, and I know plenty of people that sack it off and watch it in the pub, which is really sad,” he adds.
If loyal fans are being hit with ever-rising prices, attending games will become an increasingly unattainable luxury.
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