The cost of watching football in Britain has dropped or remained the same for the majority of fans, a study by the BBC has found.
The Price of Football, the largest study of its type in Europe, looked at costs at 227 clubs in 13 UK leagues.
More than 700 tickets were analysed, with 70% seeing a price freeze or reduction for the 2015-16 season.
Some 51.91% were held, 18.09% of tickets were reduced and 30% of tickets more expensive this season.
The average cost of a replica football shirt is now £42.18 for adults and £33.78 for children. In the Premier League this rises to £49.68 and £38.42 thanks to a 4.82% increase in the average price this season.
Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, was -0.1% in September and has been almost flat since hitting a then-record low of 0.3% in January.
The Price of Football surveys the cost of the cheapest and most expensive match-day and season tickets, as well as the cost of a pie, programme, cup of tea and replica shirt.
Now in its fifth year, the study found:
*Two-thirds of Premier League tickets were frozen or reduced in price.
*However, the cheapest match-day ticket in England’s top flight now costs more than £30 on average for the first time after 11 clubs put up prices in this category.
*Conversely, the Scottish Premiership’s cheapest ticket now costs £20.17 on average after a 1.2% fall in price. This is less than England’s Championship and League One.
*Tickets in the Women’s Super League in England, which saw attendances increase by 48% after the World Cup in June and July, cost less than £5.
What are clubs charging?
Arsenal again have the most expensive match-day ticket in the Premier League at £97.
The cheapest match-day ticket in the Premier League is offered by Leicester City at £22.
At £52, Chelsea’s cheapest match-day ticket is the highest priced of the Premier League’s least expensive.
Derby County, Reading and Huddersfield’s £10 match-day ticket is the cheapest in the top five leagues in England.
Arsenal have the most expensive season ticket in the Premier League at £2,013. Their cheapest season ticket remains £1,014, and is still the most costly in the Premier League – £249 more than the next highest. However, both Arsenal season tickets include seven matches in cup competitions.
Stoke City have the cheapest season ticket in the Premier League at £294.
Reading’s £135 season ticket is the cheapest in the top four divisions in England, with only Conference side Eastleigh (£120) cheaper.
The most expensive season ticket in Scotland is sold by Celtic, at £559, but that fell in price by £41 this season.
20 Premier League clubs, 50 new shirts
Manchester United’s £60 adult shirt is the most expensive in the study, while the cost of their junior shirt, at £45, is also the highest priced. It costs £118 for a full adult strip, including shorts, socks and a name and number at the Old Trafford club. A full junior strip is £103.
Bournemouth’s £40 adult shirt and Norwich’s £28 junior shirt are the cheapest in the Premier League. Aberdeen’s £55 shirt is the most expensive in Scotland and the joint second highest in the UK, while their £43 junior shirt was the costliest in Scotland and third highest in the study.
What about food and drink?
National League side Braintree’s £1 pie is the lowest priced in the study, while the cheapest tea can be bought at Scottish League Two side Elgin City for 60p.
What about the European teams in the study?
You can buy a season ticket at Bayern Munich for £104.48, less than the cheapest available in the top four leagues in both England and Scotland.
The reaction of the leagues
The Premier League: “Clubs are working hard to keep grounds as full as possible, with the past two seasons showing they are doing a good job with record occupancy at 96%. This is borne out by the BBC’s research that shows 70% of tickets available are either the same price or cheaper than last season.
“However the BBC’s focus on single match tickets is misleading as the vast majority – two-thirds – of Premier League match attenders are season ticket holders. The raft of away supporter offers has seen travelling attendance go up by 6%.”
Expensive or value for money?
Kevin Miles, Football Supporters’ Federation chief executive: “It says a lot about modern football when it’s hailed as unusually good news that ticket prices aren’t rising even further. Last season, football was incredibly expensive, it remains expensive this season – particularly on match-day tickets, for away fans and young adults.
“Premier League clubs knew before they had even set their prices for this season that they would be due a substantial windfall from the new TV deal.”
Robert Elston, Everton chief executive: “I think there is a great danger when you look at price lists and what is the highest and lowest price. The reality is that doesn’t affect pricing across the board in the stadium.
“When you work out what average fans are paying for an average home game, I think season tickets holders get value for money. People will have different expectations of what is fair or value for money. Here, adults with a season ticket pay between £23 and £31 per game and you have to feel that is value for money.
