The Premier League continues to be watched by millions across the world, with its popularity surging and the latest record broadcast deal pointing to an interest that never seems to wane.
But despite record income for clubs from TV deals, supporters who attend matches every other week — the ones who have had the virtues of their support extolled by clubs consistently in their marketing literature — are facing an ever-increasing cost to their loyalty.
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All but one of the 20 Premier League clubs have increased the price of their season tickets to watch their men’s teams in the 2024-25 campaign, much to the annoyance of many supporters’ groups.
Clubs continue to reference the cost of living crisis and the squeeze on household budgets as well as the importance of supporters, but in the same breath speak of a need to increase revenue to remain competitive, with fans bearing the brunt.
Last season, 17 clubs had price rises. The season before, 11 clubs put up the cost of attending every week. This year, Crystal Palace are the only outlier, choosing to freeze prices despite operating a small waiting list.
In some cases, clubs have not only increased prices directly, but by also altering the qualification for concession brackets, they have risen through stealth. With all but one of the clubs operating a waiting list, there is less incentive to keep prices lower.
But as a result, many fans, often via supporters’ groups, have spoken up vociferously in opposition to the rises.
Research by The Athletic shows:
- Only one club has frozen season ticket prices and none have lowered them
- Eight clubs have breached the £1,000 mark ($1,295) for their most expensive adult season ticket — one more than last term
- Some clubs have again either scrapped certain concessionary categories entirely or implemented less generous criteria on who qualifies as a senior or junior
- Every club offer a finance scheme to spread the cost of a season ticket, although some do so via a third party that comes at an additional fee
- Seven clubs offer the option of physical season tickets, compared with 11 last season
With attendance figures as strong as ever despite the continued moving of games for broadcast and those widespread financial pressures, clubs have little incentive to act charitably. Of the 20 clubs in the 2024-25 Premier League, only Brentford do not have a season ticket waiting list. Last year, there were five clubs.
All season tickets entitle fans to attend every one of their club’s 19 home fixtures. It is cheaper than purchasing individual match tickets, which have also been subject in many cases to price rises for the new campaign.
We have taken a look at our survey’s results in more detail. For clarity, this survey was based on the prices of a new purchaser (where applicable) buying a general admission season ticket.
Which clubs are charging the most?
There are some eye-wateringly high prices once again, with Fulham charging £3,000 for the most expensive season ticket in the Riverside Stand. Even discounting that new stand, they still breach the £1,000 mark, with the costliest adult ticket elsewhere in the ground coming in at £1,024.
Arsenal’s most expensive adult ticket is £2,050.50, although this includes four European group-stage matches. Had they not qualified for Europe, it would have cost £1,903. Their north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, are charging £2,367 for their most expensive adult season ticket. Chelsea’s most expensive ticket for most people is £1,015.
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But in the Westview area, which is effectively still only a general admission ticket, a season ticket will set you back £3,980. That includes all domestic home cup games and European home matches in the play-off or league stages and access to a more premium experience, albeit one that falls short of corporate or hospitality offerings. For £1,745 in the Westview, season ticket holders can buy a ticket with a seat location in line with the goal and all domestic home cup games are included.
Brentford similarly have a slightly more premium option in their ‘Dugout’ section, but this still only offers access to a lounge and a padded seat near the halfway line. An adult ticket here costs £815, while concessions and juniors are £640.
Manchester United (£1,064) and Manchester City (£1,030) are charging more than £1,000 for their most expensive offerings. West Ham United and Newcastle United also hit that mark.
In most cases, prices have risen broadly in line with or slightly above inflation, with some notable exceptions. Some supporters groups question whether that cost should be passed on to fans given the sums paid out by clubs in fees and wages.
And the cheapest?
Promoted Ipswich Town are the outliers here, with their most expensive ticket costing £595, while Brentford — outside of the Dugout — are second-lowest with £605. Leicester City charge £730 for their priciest offering.
Newcastle (£345), Bournemouth (£397) and Ipswich (£372) are the only clubs to sell season tickets for below £400 — their cheapest seats.
Which clubs have increased prices and have any frozen prices?
Only Palace have frozen prices. Brentford have increased theirs by 10 per cent, Ipswich and Chelsea by eight per cent and Nottingham Forest by around 24 per cent — although changes to the banding and eligibility make this higher in some cases. Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters have faced rises of between 17 and 23 per cent for adults, with some under-21 prices rising by as much as 46.6 per cent. At Southampton, there has been a hike of 15 per cent. The remaining clubs have increased theirs by lower amounts.
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How have clubs’ supporters reacted to the prices?
It is a mixed picture. Some have begrudgingly accepted relatively small percentage increases, but at clubs where there have been more dramatic changes, many supporters voiced their anger.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust said: “We felt there were good arguments for another freeze this season, so we did argue against the increase but ultimately it is a club decision and we recognise that this is roughly in line with inflation.“
West Ham fans have been critical. One described the increase as “unreasonable”, while another said a rise in the senior concession age from 65 to 66 has “annoyed fans to the extent some are going to boycott the club shop”. “I just worry there’ll be a time when I can’t afford to watch West Ham at all,” was the view of one fan.
New season ticket holders at the London Stadium can only purchase concession tickets in bands five and six, the furthest areas from the pitch, meaning they will have to pay full price elsewhere. A petition launched by supporters opposing the price rises and changes to the pricing structure has attracted more than 10,000 signatures.
Several supporters groups at Manchester City criticised price rises and other changes. A spokesperson for the 1894 Group told The Athletic in March: “They’re making a huge profit and this would have been an easy win to keep fans onside (by freezing prices).”
At Tottenham, prices will rise by six per cent, no new senior concession season tickets will be available starting from the 2025-26 season and the concession discount offered to its existing senior season ticket holders is being reduced by five per cent a year until 2029-30. “We’re completely dismayed by that five per cent increase,” Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust chair Martin Buhagiar said previously.
The Newcastle United Supporters Trust called their club’s five per cent rise “disappointing” after urging a freeze. “These increases all add up,” it said. “In a region of the country with less disposable income than others, the increased financial burden is felt keenly.”
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There is significant anger at Forest, where major changes have been made and hefty price rises announced. The age bracket for youth season tickets has been adjusted from 12-19 years old last season to 14-17. The cost of child season tickets has risen from £90 to a blanket £190 price — a 111 per cent rise.
The Nottingham Forest Supporters Trust issued a statement saying it “bitterly regrets” the changes and says it was “not properly consulted in advance”. It said, “The average price increases actually imposed are totally disproportionate to the current inflation rate.”
At Liverpool, supporters’ groups Spirit of Shankly and Spion Kop were critical of a two per cent price rise and flags and banners were removed from the Kop end for a game in April in protest.
The Football Supporters’ Association said: “There’s a sense from supporters’ groups that clubs have held hands and jumped together to spread the blame for price rises.
“The clubs will also point to PSR (profitability and sustainability rules) but price increases will generate £1million ($1.3m) to £3m at best, which is not especially significant when set against media revenues and prize money.
“Football has a spending problem, not an income problem, and matchday revenue is only about 10 per cent of a club’s overall income, so squeezing fans dry is not the answer.
“On top of this, we see clubs eroding concessionary pricing and constantly implementing new policies that seem designed to benefit daytrippers, not regular matchgoers.
“There is genuine anger on these issues from supporters’ groups — if the clubs and Premier League don’t listen, they’re only storing up problems for the future.”
Is there anything unique about clubs’ policies?
Most clubs operate a buy-back scheme for supporters who cannot attend matches, allowing them to sell their tickets back to the club with a small administration fee deducted from the pro-rata total. The club is then free to resell that ticket at full price to non-season-ticket holders.
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Last season, Brentford introduced their ‘Every Seat Counts’ scheme, designed to reduce the number of seats left vacant. That has proven successful in reducing the number of vacant seats but they say the ground remains at only 93 per cent capacity, although that is up from 89 per cent last season — equivalent to around 500 seats.
If a season ticket holder fails to use their ticket for a league match, they receive a ‘yellow card’ from the club. If they accumulate four yellow cards by the next renewal date in March 2025, they lose the automatic right to renew their season ticket for 2025-26. There are exceptions for people re-selling on the ticket exchange, under-18s and people with carers. An appeals process is also in place.
If a ticket is listed seven days in advance, then the pro-rata total is credited regardless of whether it ends up being resold on the ticket exchange.
Bournemouth offer the option to add on two individual match tickets for their women’s team’s matches hosted at the Vitality Stadium.
Brighton & Hove Albion provide free travel on public transport for all ticket holders within a certain proximity of the stadium.
At Manchester City, a new ‘flexi-gold’ ticket, which allows supporters to opt-in to every match rather than opt-out, will be made available to existing official members. This has replaced the ‘silver’ ticket, which offered supporters access to 14 home league matches per season and provided an opportunity to buy tickets for the five other games for more expensive, non-season ticket prices. The flexi-gold ticket is available for an initial £150 fee and allows supporters to buy tickets for individual home matches. Supporters must attend at least 10 games to keep their spot for the following season.
Can fans pay by direct debit or through a finance option?
Every club offers this facility. A handful continue to use V12 Retail Finance to manage the process, with ‘arrangement fees’ or ‘administration fees’ varying between 6.64 per cent and 10 per cent. Most, however, have taken the process in-house and allow supporters to spread the cost over several months, in some cases as long as a year. For new season ticket holders, there is no extra cost but for some renewals, it might mean not receiving an early-bird discount as a result.
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Do I still get a physical ticket or am I forced to go digital?
Covid-19 accelerated the move from physical season cards to digital ticketing. Clubs were free to make their own decisions but the guidance was to move towards a digital-first approach. Many clubs have since moved to a digital-only approach and disposed of physical tickets. Environmental concerns are cited occasionally but more prominently, they argue it is to better determine who is in the ground and reduce touting.
Everton allow fans to pay £10 for a physical season ticket and at Leicester, the cost is £25, although there are cost exemptions for seniors aged 65 or over, under-12s and supporters with a registered disability. There is no charge at Forest, Wolves, Ipswich, Chelsea or Brentford. Some clubs provide supporters with cards in certain circumstances at their discretion but many are moving to digital-only.
Overall, the direction of travel is clear. Clubs are searching for ways to maximise revenue and this has come at the expense of supporters. This year, though, the moves have been met with more resistance.
(Top photo: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
