Drop In Football Crowds Is A Big Story - 18/09/2005

A relatively small drop in football crowds this season has attracted widespread attention. I did a Radio 5 interview on the subject on Saturday morning, then had a television crew from Central News at my home and finished with an item on Sky News from their Central London studios. How serious is the crisis? In part it was highlighted by the poor attendance for Chelsea's Champions League match against Anderlecht and an even more disappointing crowd attracted by Middlesbrough in the Uefa Cup. Attendances at Premiership matches have dropped below 90 per cent of capacity this season and four clubs (Fulham, Villa, Sunderland and Blackburn) have been attracting crowds that are less than 80 per cent of capacity. Average attendances are down by about 700 although ground capacity is up by 25,000 compared with last season. To put this in perspective, top flight attendances have been rising consistently since the late 1980s (see our stats section for the figures for the last ten years) but have levelled off over the last two seasons. If one looks at those matches which were also played last season in the top leagues (i.e., excluding promoted and relegated teams) then the drop in average attendance in the Premiership is 1,500 or 4.5 per cent. In the Championship, crowds are down by about 1,400 or 7 per cent. Despite their on pitch success, Manchester City have suffered the biggest fall in attendances in the Premiership with an average of 4,800 fewer people watching their opening matches against West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth. Middlesbrough have experienced the second largest drop of 3,500. How can we explain these trends? The biggest factor is undoubtedly price. It costs a lot more to watch a Premiership match than matches in comparable leagues in Italy, Spain and Germany. It can easily cost and adult and child £100 to attend a top Premiership fixture after one has factored in travel costs, food and a programme. This differential with the European continent has been there for a long time, but what has changed is that the UK economy is softening. Real disposal incomes are being eroded by higher utility and petrol prices and the fall in house prices (in real terms) is undermining consumer confidence. The predictability of the Premiership, widespread television coverage, poor transport infrastructure which inhibits travel to away games and disgust at the high salaries of players and the behaviour of some of them, are also factors. Media coverage has tended to hype this into a crisis, but there is a problem which the football authorities need to think about.