The price of a matchday football ticket in Britain has risen by almost 12 per cent over the past year. But with comprehensive TV sport package deals available, are you better off staying at home?
The average price of the cheapest ticket in British league football is now £21.24, according to the BBC Sport Price of Football study.
This has risen from £19.01 a year ago - a 11.7 per cent increase which is more than five times the rate of inflation.
The research looked at the cost of tickets and other matchday essentials including cups of tea, pies and programmes across 166 British football clubs.
Cost of catering
Kidderminster Harriers may currently sit in the bottom half of the Blue Square Bet Premier division, but it charges the highest price for a pie at £4.
The most expensive tea in British football can be found in Manchester, where both City and United charge £2.50 per cup.
The cheapest cuppa, at only 50p, is to be found at Alloa and Brechin in Scottish Division Two.
At £4, Leeds United sells the most expensive programme in Britain, while Inverness CT's is the cheapest at 50p.
Premier prices
Chelsea is the most expensive Premier League club for a day out - the cheapest ticket plus a programme, cup of tea and a pie will set you back £49.60.
The cheapest day out in the Premier League can be had at Newcastle. Supporters of the Magpies can enjoy a match with the full trimmings for £23.
The table below shows all current 20 Premier League football clubs ranked in order of the cheapest day out – starting with the costliest at the top.
Premier League club
|
Cheapest matchday ticket
|
Programme
|
Pie
|
Tea
|
Cheapest possible day out
|
|
Chelsea
|
£41.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.60
|
£2.00
|
£49.60
|
|
Liverpool
|
£39.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.10
|
£2.20
|
£47.30
|
|
Reading
|
£37.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.20
|
£1.80
|
£45.00
|
|
West Ham
|
£36.00
|
£3.50
|
£3.00
|
£2.00
|
£44.50
|
|
Swansea
|
£35.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.00
|
£1.80
|
£42.80
|
|
Tottenham
|
£32.00
|
£3.50
|
£3.70
|
£2.00
|
£41.20
|
|
Everton
|
£31.00
|
£3.00
|
£2.80
|
£2.10
|
£38.90
|
|
Man Utd
|
£30.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.10
|
£2.50
|
£38.60
|
|
Norwich
|
£30.00
|
£3.50
|
£2.50
|
£2.00
|
£38.00
|
|
Southampton
|
£28.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.20
|
£2.00
|
£36.20
|
|
Man City
|
£26.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.50
|
£2.50
|
£35.00
|
|
Arsenal
|
£26.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.30
|
£2.00
|
£34.30
|
|
West Brom
|
£25.00
|
£3.00
|
£2.90
|
£2.20
|
£33.10
|
|
Stoke
|
£25.00
|
£3.50
|
£2.60
|
£2.00
|
£33.10
|
|
Sunderland
|
£25.00
|
£3.00
|
£2.90
|
£2.10
|
£33.00
|
|
QPR
|
£25.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.00
|
£2.00
|
£33.00
|
|
Fulham
|
£20.00
|
£3.50
|
£3.90
|
£1.90
|
£29.30
|
|
Aston Villa
|
£20.00
|
£3.00
|
£3.20
|
£2.10
|
£28.30
|
|
Wigan
|
£20.00
|
£3.00
|
£2.30
|
£1.80
|
£27.10
|
|
Newcastle
|
£15.00
|
£3.00
|
£2.80
|
£2.20
|
£23.00
|
Top TV sport packages
If you fancy watching football from the comfort of your own home, below are three of the best TV sport package deals currently available.
Click on the links for more information and to apply.
BT Vision+ with sport
● Sky Sports channels 1 & 2
● Free Vision+ digital box, catch up TV, free access to BBC iPlayer and more
● Free connection
● BT wireless Home Hub included
● Up to 38Mb fibre broadband from BT Infinity
● Inclusive evening and weekend calls to UK landlines
● FREE £50 Sainsbury’s Gift Card – online exclusive
● £36.20 a month for the first 12 months (£41.20 thereafter) + £14.60 monthly Line Rental
Sky: Three months' half-price Sky Sports
● Existing Sky TV customers can upgrade to Sky Sports and get three months half-price
● Sky Sports channels 1, 2, 3, 4, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports F1
● Watch Sky Sports anywhere with Sky Go – no extra cost
● £10.50 per month for 3 months, £21 thereafter on top of your current package
● Existing Sky TV customers can upgrade to Sky Sports and get three months half- price
● Sky Sports channels 1, 2, 3, 4, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports F1
● Watch Sky Sports anywhere with Sky Go – no extra cost
● £10.50 per month for 3 months, £21 thereafter on top of your current package
● TalkTalk Plus TV: TV from YouView, Unlimited Broadband and Anytime calls
● Add the Sky Sports TV Boost and get five Sky Sports Channels: Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and Sky Sports F1
● FREE YouView box worth £299 – Pause, rewind, record
● Unlimited access to 4,000 shows, box sets and films, plus 7 Day Catch Up On Demand
● Unlimited downloads and Unlimited Anytime Calls to UK landlines
● FREE Lovefilm Instant for 12 Months
● Just £44.50 a month for 18 months + £14.50 monthly Line Rental
● ESPN Boost also available for another £10 per month (Channels = ESPN & ESPN America)
What do you think?
Will TV sports packages kill match attendance? Or it that dubious honour simply down to football clubs pricing spectators out of the game?
We want to hear from you! You can leave your thoughts on the message board below.
