MP wants fans to go to smaller clubs

An MP has hinted that fans should switch to supporting non-league clubs because of the price it cost to support those teams in the top league.

This suggestion by MP Tim Farron has come after the ’BBC Sport’s 2012 Price Of Football’ found that the average price of the cheapest adult ticket in football has risen by 11.7% in the last 12 months.

Tickets in the Premiership are increasing as fans can be expected to pay between £35-£50 each match. This led to the Football Supporters’ federation warning clubs that they are risking alienating fans from live matches.

With the ongoing recession hitting many in society, prices in football could leave many fans with no alternative but to take up residence in their armchair to watch their team play. As a way to protest this Mr Farron believes that fans should look to go watch non-league matches if they want to watch live matches at smaller prices.

Agreeably watching non-league football live isn’t quite the same as watching a feisty Merseyside derby or a Chelsea v Man Utd match but watching those in the Conference won’t damage your wallet as much as a season watching a Premiership team would.

Watching teams such as Kendal Town and Barrow are reported to be up to 80% cheaper than watching Premiership football, another advantage to supporting lower league teams that the survey highlighted is that it would support local community football as well as putting pressure onto big clubs having to drop their prices to ensure fans came back to increasing their attendances.

Daniel Clark

@DanClincs