The average cost of supporting a Premier League club in 2007 was £1,331, with 12% of fans spending up to £3,000 on tickets alone, new Virgin Money research has found.
While tickets were unsurprisingly the main outlay for the average fan (£614), travel (£358), alcohol (£149) and football merchandise (£114) all added significantly to the overall cost. Fans of lower league teams faired only marginally better, spending on average £1,080 a season. The research found that the cost of attending a match was up nearly 10% compared to 2006, pushing many fans budgets to the limit. And while things could get far worse this year, most fans will continue attending matches regardless, says Virgin Money spokesman John Franklin.
“While 2007 saw some tough financial conditions, the outlook for 2008 is potentially even worse. Football is a passion and regular fans will not sacrifice their love of the game, even in a tough financial climate.”
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Keep costs down
If you are on of the many football fans struggling against the cost of supporting your team, it’s essential you don’t spend any more than is absolutely necessary. How? By making sure you avoid interest on your expenditure like the plague.
Banks have recognised football is now big business and have looked to get in on the act by launching football-specific saving accounts and credit cards. While the saving deals are mostly useless, offering rates far below the market leading products, one credit card that might be worth a look is the Barclaycard Football Credit Card.
This allows you to purchase your season ticket interest free and pay it off over the year, and also offers a rewards scheme whereby you earn points on money spent at selected retailers to swap for football merchandise. There is also the chance to win tickets to other Premier League matches.
Unfortunately, any purchases you make on this card other than for the season ticket will start to earn interest. So if you plan to attend - and pay for - matches when you can, or if the perks on offer simply don’t interest you, then you’ll be far better served getting a standard 0% new purchases credit card. HSBC is best for this, offering 12 months interest free on all new expenditure.
| Type of expenditure | Average cost, lower league | Average cost, Premiership |
| Tickets | £474 | £614 |
| Merchandise | £102 | £114 |
| Programmes | £38 | £34 |
| Food | £57 | £62 |
| Alcohol | £123 | £149 |
| Travel | £286 | £358 |
| Total: | £1,080 | £1,331 |
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