THE ANNUAL BBC Price Of Football survey has certainly got people talking, but how can Non-League benefit from the backlash?
The survey, which discovered that the cost of the cheapest adult ticket in the top four divisions of English football has risen by 11.7 per cent in the past 12 months, has even been discussed by MPs.
Liberal Democrat President Tim Farron said: “I would like to see a day of action where people punish their League club by going to watch a Non-League club.
“I’m not asking people to dump their club. I think fans should write a letter to their chairman, telling them why they are going to watch the other club.”
Non-League Day was held last month and was a rousing success once again with plenty of clubs seeing a great increase in attendance with a few records being smashed along the way.
Non-League is all about communities pulling together, which is why we should have days like that more often.
It’s easy to say that Non-League clubs should just reduce their admission prices to bring in new fans. We’ve seen how many clubs have struggled financially in recent times and gate receipts are an important revenue stream.
In my opinion, half the battle is getting people hooked on Non-League football. As we all know, it’s very easy to fall in love with the grass-roots game and once you are, it’s almost impossible to stay away.
Even Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, says fans should look to the lower divisions for value for money.
“The BBC’s excellent survey illustrated how the high price of watching football abuses the loyalty of spectators,” he said.
“We would strongly urge those supporters who can’t or won’t pay over-the-top prices to consider the idea of watching Non-League football.”
Once again, I feel as if top level football has shot itself in the foot. However, we can’t expect Premier League fans to walk out on the likes of Arsenal, whose cheapest season ticket is 985 pounds or Liverpool 725 pounds being the cheapest at Anfield, without a gentle nudge in the right direction.
It’s time for Non-League clubs and leagues to take the initiative and really sell themselves to their communities. The survey showed us that in the Blue Square Bet Premier, which is littered with full-time ex-League clubs, you can watch a game for as little as a tenner.
With the tough economic times we’re all going through at the moment, people just don’t have a hundred quid for a family day out at the football. And even if they did, that’s an extortionate amount of money.
Once you’ve tasted Non-League football, it’s extremely hard to lose the bug so here’s hoping that the grass-roots game can capitalise on this massive own-goal for the benefit of all involved.
