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Premier League caps away tickets at £30

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Bournemouth fans back the FSF's Twenty's Plenty campaign

Premier League clubs have agreed plans to cap away tickets at £30 for the next three seasons.

The cost of watching football has been a hot topic of debate, with supporters at Liverpool organising a high-profile protest over proposed increases in season ticket prices.

Now the top flight’s 20 clubs have “unanimously agreed” that more should be done to help away fans.

The £30 away ticket cap will be introduced from next season.

In a statement, the Premier League said away fans were “essential for match atmosphere” and helped make the league unique.

Liverpool fans staged a walkout over ticket prices and won their battle with the club's owners<!–

It also recognised that away fans often had travel costs to pay on top of the price of a match-day ticket.

Eight of 18 Premier League clubs who took part in the BBC’s latest Price of Football study already offer away tickets for less than £30 for some matches.

But the study, published in October, also found that nine clubs charge more than £30 for their cheapest away ticket.

The change is likely to see travelling supporters paying more to watch second-tier football than top-flight games next season. The Price of Football study found 13 clubs in the Championship charge £30 or more for their most expensive away tickets.

The new measures will replace the Away Supporters’ Initiative.

This was introduced in 2013 and saw clubs individually implement a range of measures, including travel subsidies, reciprocal pricing and reduced admissions as well as improved facilities.

Does £30 reflect the wishes of the fans?

The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) has long campaigned for cheaper tickets and wanted prices for away fans capped at £20.

FSF director of communications Michael Brunskill welcomed Wednesday’s announcement, calling it “good news for fan groups around the country”.

He added: “This shows that clubs will listen to reasonable, well articulated mass movements.”

Labour’s shadow Minister for Sport Clive Efford gave the announcement a cautious welcome.

“This is a welcome step in the right direction, but it is still £10 above the level that fans have called for,” he said.

“The Football Supporters’ Federation must be congratulated on the effectiveness of their Twenty’s Plenty campaign.”

Liverpool fans group Spirit of Shankly, who helped to successfully lead protests against a proposed price increase at Anfield earlier this season, said the away ticket cap was “a very good step in the right direction”.

Spokesperson James McKenna credited the Premier League’s new £5bn television deal, which starts next season, as the driver for the cap: “We have been saying the price of away tickets was too much and this new TV deal presented them with an opportunity to lower them.”

What football is costing you
Full Price of Football results for 2015
Dan Roan on why protests will persist despite price freezes
Average cheapest Premier League match-day ticket above £30
Play with the Price of Football calculator and put a price on your support

What are the clubs saying?

Everton chief executive Robert Elstone said the move was “absolutely right for away fans and for the Premier League”.

He added: “Most clubs have recognised for some time that we need to do something for the travelling supporter.”

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes added: “[Away] supporters pay a disproportionately high cost to follow their team in terms of match tickets and travel and we are delighted the £30 initiative has been adopted.”

The away ticket price cap was announced on the same day Arsenal and Tottenham announced ticket price freezes for home fans.

Arsenal also said they would provide a further £4 discount for away supporters, meaning Gunners fans will only pay £26 to go to away games.

Kevin Miles, chief executive of FSF, said his organisation was “very pleased the voice of fans has been listened to”.

He added: “A maximum price of £30 for away tickets will save a lot of fans a lot of money, and for many will make the difference between attending away games or not.

“We hope many clubs will also follow the example of Arsenal and reduce away ticket prices for their fans even further.”

Most expensive single away match tickets in Premier League (2015-16 season)
West Ham £85
Arsenal £64
Chelsea £59
Manchester City £58
Tottenham £54
Everton £48
Source: Price of Football study 2015
*Cheapest away tickets offered by clubs above: West Ham £25, Arsenal £26, Chelsea £47, Man City £42, Tottenham £32, Everton £36
*Manchester United did not supply information; Swansea did not take part in study

Spotlight on the Championship?

The move could mean that in many cases it will be more expensive to watch an away match in the Championship than in the Premier League.

BBC Sport’s 2015 Price of Football study found that 13 of 24 clubs in English football’s second tier had a most expensive away ticket of £30 or over.

A Football League spokesman said: “The Football League has always determined that the issue of ticket pricing is a matter for individual clubs, particularly given that ticket revenue forms a far greater proportion of their turnover than it does for Premier League clubs.

“Overall, our clubs offer excellent value for money with the very best value being reserved for those supporters committing to a season ticket. Two-thirds of the 16 million admissions recorded by our clubs last season were season ticket holders and, as a result, the average ticket price paid per paying spectator was just £14.

“Nevertheless, today’s decision will give our clubs something to consider given that they are in a competitive market for spectators and therefore must be able to offer value for money.

“The Football League Board will also keep its approach to ticket pricing under review and will discuss any relevant matters with member clubs at an appropriate time.”

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