Cost of attending matches falls

A survey of nearly 4,000 football fans representing all 92 league clubs by Virgin Money found that the cost of attending games has fallen by 6.8 per cent in the past year.   Lower ticket prices and reduced costs for replica kit meant that the average matchday cost has fallen to £89.09 compared with £95.60 in January 2009.

That is still 14.29 per cent higher than the matchday cost when the index was launched in January 2006 but is substantially lower than the all-time high of £106.21 in October 2008.   Average match tickets across all leagues peaked at £27.38 in July 2009 but have now fallen to an average of £22.59.

After the special case of Manchester United, Wolves are most at risk from fans deserting them with 54 per cent saying they were considering cancelling their season tickets.   Wolves had tried to pursue a prudent financial policy but this statistic shows that such an approach may have a downside.   Liverpool and Stoke fans were the most loyal with 9 per cent saying they were thinking of letting their season tickets go.