Why is it so expensive to support a football club?

[54321nought]

Surely something so innate to our national culture and heritage should be more accessible?

Surely those top players don't need that amount of money? I bet most of them could halve their salaries and not even notice.

AIBU to think footballers salaries should be capped, club spending should be capped, a certain percentage of all clubs' games should be free to air, and ticket prices need to come right down.

Footballera are paid so much because that's how much money there is in the game. Premiership football is a huge business contributing c. £6bn pa in taxes. Those clubs are not what supporting a football club is about though IMO.

My L1 season ticket costs £300pa, that's less per game than a cinema ticket.

Don't be daft, the majority of people don't care about people kicking a ball round a field. I object to the large amounts of public money (BBC/UK sport etc) that subsidises a small group of people to do a hobby that is little more than entertainment.

"Small group?"

More than 2m people in England alone play regular football. Many from poorer backgrounds and funded by the football industry itself.

When the whole super league was touted a few months ago and there was an uproar amongst the fans, I couldn't help thinking that it was the action of the fans that contributed to the issue. They are the ones that spend £1000s on season tickets, the latest football shirts, Sky access. If they walked away and started supporting grassroots clubs then the flow of money would stop. So I can't help thinking that the fans have only got themselves to blame for willingly paying out more money year after year on something non essential.

Express, 7.3 million people knit in the UK but I don't see them getting millions of pounds of tax payers money to subsidize their hobby.

Does knitting contribute £6bn pa to the exchequer?

Football is very major taxpayer

Any wage cap would have to be wider than just the Premier League though though, otherwise if they started cutting or capping salaries in England, the best players would just go and play in France/Italy etc where they could still command thise salaries.

I believe that the Spanish La Liga does cap the oevrall wage bill, isn't that part of the reason why Lionel Messi has had to leave Barcelona and has gone to PSG?

Salary Cap Rules

Well Man City have just paid £100m for Jack Grealish. They have to recoup it somehow.

Those clubs are not what supporting a football club is about though IMO.
I agree. My dad supported a premier league team for years – his family had supported them since the year dot, long before the money got to its current ridiculous proportions –but got sick of feeling like a cash cow and now supports his local, much lower league team. They contribute to and are active in the community and he feels that it's much more meaningful.

@ExpressDelivery

Does knitting contribute £6bn pa to the exchequer?

Well there's the VAT on the wool. And needles aren't cheap and then there's the little counter thing on the end of the needle, I guess it all adds up?

There are caps, of a sort. Financial Fair Play regulations - which are the same; broadly speaking; as why Messi has had to just leave Barcelona, and why a couple of EFL clubs are under transfer embargos.

There are a certain amount of free to air games - certain cups, competitions etc - and there’s usually cheaper ways to watch your team if a season ticket is out of reach, albeit that I’d love if they came down in price!

But generally speaking, football has its own economy; and contributes a lot in tax.

My ST this season was £255, benefit of supporting a lower league team

Supporting a small team is the way forward.

Knitting has very positive effects on mental health.
Doing it in a group even more so.
Maybe we should be setting up knitting/ crochet groups on the national health.

Does knitting contribute £6bn pa to the exchequer?
Bit of a circular argument really. A lot of what football contributes is obviously what people pay for their tickets. If tickets were cheaper it wouldn't contribute as much.

If you can’t afford to actively support a big team then switch to a lower league or non-league club. Many have free tickets for children and very affordable match and season ticket deals. With a non-league team individual fans can really feel like a significant part of the club.

@IntermittentParps

Does knitting contribute £6bn pa to the exchequer? Bit of a circular argument really. A lot of what football contributes is obviously what people pay for their tickets. If tickets were cheaper it wouldn't contribute as much.

Well exactly. Why would we want that?

It's not true anyway though, a tiny percentage of Premiership income comes from ticket sales.

@titbumwillypoo grassroots football is fucking amazing. 2 million people running around for an hour 2 or 3 times a week. Just the savings for the NHS in reduced heart disease makes it a cost benefit to the treasury. Let alone the mental health benefits, social benefits of friendships made etc. I love playing football it has helped me physically and mentally in so many ways.

My season ticket is less than £300. I go to around 15 away games a year at an average cost of £25 so that's another £375 plus travel costs. I don't buy merchandise. I don't see that as an expensive hobby. It's also a lot more fun outside the Premier League.

Football is literally one of the most accessible hobbies in the world.

It's accessible to play for almost everyone in the world.

In England, you can watch it live for incredibly cheap at local level.

The reason watching top level matches is so expensive, and players are paid so much, is precisely BECAUSE it is so popular.

You can watch high level football on TV incredibly easily - yes it costs some money, but a eurosport/whatever subscription is still fairly cheap as far as "spending on hobbies" goes.

If you're that into football and you can't afford to watch top level stuff, watch lower level stuff that's cheaper?

And be grateful you like a sport that's big enough that is big enough that you actually can go and watch it locally, and you have the option to watch high level stuff on TV. For the VAST majority of sports neither of those are an option.

My championship season ticket was just over £400 and worth every penny. I've seen my club rise to the dizzy heights of the PL from L2 and then fall back to L1 so to be back up in the championship is amazing.

Not been a ST holder for a few years but am excited to be back in the ground, taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the sport.

I was in Manchester yesterday morning and saw hundreds of drunken fans at 9.30 in the morning being escorted by a large number of police. I think the biggest problem with football IS the fans, maybe if they were breathalysed before being allowed into the grounds, arrested for drinking in the streets and pubs being made more responsible for their clientele then maybe more families would want to go to matches.

The trouble with football fans is they are too working class. When footballers from humble backgrounds get paid huge amounts of money it gives the rest of the working class ridiculous ideas above their station.