The cost of watching football is NOT rising for majority of supporters, says BBC study

The cost of football is NOT rising for the majority of supporters, according to an annual BBC survey.
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BBC Sport’s Price of Football study has analysed the costs at 230 clubs in 13 leagues across Britain.

And seven out of 10 tickets have either had a price freeze or reduction for the 2015/16 season.

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Football shirts, however, are more expensive on average with adults paying £49.68 for Premier League shirts and children £33.66.

The survey, in its fifth year, looks at the cost of the cheapest and most expensive match day and season tickets, as well as the cost of a pie, programme, cup of tea and adult and junior replica shirts.

Out of 230 clubs across the UK, only Swansea refused to take part.

It found that two two thirds of Premier League tickets were frozen or reduced in price, but the cheapest match-day ticket now costs more than £30 on average for the first time, after 11 clubs put up prices in this category.

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Fans are obviously still happy to pay the Premier prices, given that grounds were 95.9 per cent full last season, a record level.

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The average pie costs £3.35, up almost two per cent in price, while a cup of tea is falling in value, down to £2.09 on average.

Programmes are more expensive however, costing £3.42 on average, up 6.77 per cent.

Arsenal fans pay the most expensive match day ticket price at a staggering £97, while the cheapest in the top flight is at Leicester City, who charge £22.

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The most expensive season ticket can also be found at the Emirates, fans shelling out between £1,014 and £2,013 for a season ticket that includes seven cup ties.

Stoke City have the cheapest season ticket in the Premier, at £294.

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To put this into some European context, a Bayern Munich season ticket can be bought for £104.48.

Outside the Premier, Derby County, Reading and Huddersfield’s £10 match day ticket is the cheapest in all five of the top leagues in England, only matched by Southport in the Conference.

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And Reading’s £135 season ticket is the cheapest in the top four divisions in England

Meanwhile north of the border, the Scottish Premiership’s cheapest ticket now costs £20.17 on average after a 1.2 per cent fall in price.

This is less than England’s Championship and League One.

The most expensive season ticket in Scotland is sold by Celtic, at £559, although that price is down by £41 from last season.

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In the Welsh Premier League and Irish Premiership fans pay less than £10 per match.

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Tickets in the Women’s Super League in England, which saw attendances increase by 48 per cent after the World Cup in June and July, cost less than £5.

For supporters who want to wear their team’s colours, life has got a little more expensive, with Manchester United charging the highest prices in the study - £60 for adults and £45 for juniors.

Bournemouth’s £40 adult shirt and Norwich’s £28 junior shirt are the cheapest in the Premier League.

The cheapest adult shirt in the UK is at London Bees who charge £20.90.

Tell us what you think of the prices you pay to watch your beloved club play? Is it good value or a total rip-off?

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