Hopefully it will create more interest in local womens football?
July 31, 2022 by Stefano Hatfield.
The England v Germany Euro 2022 final proves that football really has – to deploy the cliché – come home. Never mind the two outstanding teams, the record crowd for the Wembley final and unprecedented level of media coverage during the whole tournament; it is the reminder of what football is all about that has been the real revelation of this hugely successful event.
Coming as the arrogant, bloated and blasé men’s game returns for what may be a make-or-break season, the women’s tournament has been a welcome breath of fresh air in an overheated summer.
Why “make or break”? This genuinely feels like the season in which loyal fans’ patience may finally be tested beyond endurance. The laughably patronising lockdown mantra of “football is nothing without fans” echoes extremely hollow. As the irresistible forces of broadcast rights money and eye-watering player salaries meet the immovable objects of many clubs’ financial malaise and the economic crisis engulfing so much of its fan base, this might be the season where that ultimate taken-for-granted consumer group – the football fan – belatedly becomes mad as hell and vows not to take it any more.
How does even my little local club, Fulham, reward us long-suffering fans for promotion back to the Premier League? One hundred pound single match ticket prices, mere five per cent discounts for the elderly and new season shirts starting at £70 (lettering is extra). The new shirt sponsor is a Chinese betting firm, W88, not even operational in Britain. Who wants that? The fact that neither the single match tickets, nor the shirts, are anything like the most expensive in the league tells you just how priced-out the average, more traditional, football fan now is.
To be fair, my season ticket at Craven Cottage is only £550: relatively good value, despite four fewer home games in the Premier League than the Championship. However, many families can only do those single matches; they can’t afford four season tickets. The cheapest Arsenal season ticket is now £927, while Tottenham’s most expensive is an astonishing £2,025. For Spurs?
Yes, the Premier League has an away fan price cap of £30, but you still have to travel, sometimes now to games where there are no public transport options back home because of altered game times for TV. Championship away fans can pay more than £30. Add in travel costs, and terrible stadium food options and you can pay £80 plus a head for a family of four.
Can’t afford to go a game? At least you can watch on Sky – as long as you’re in the Premier League, right? Not so simple now that many games are now only viewable, not only on BT, but also Amazon Prime Video (with its recent 12.5 per cent price increase). When families are axing Netflix because of the cost-of-living crisis, is this sustainable?
The women’s Euro has proven that at its best, football still has those captivating elements of passion, skill, grace, determination, agony and ecstasy. It is compelling and addictive. But £300 to £400 for a family to see your team beaten by a top six side, plus £30 a month on TV to watch the league won by Middle Eastern Oil City, again? Let’s see how long that Lioness-inspired euphoria lasts