It was in the House of Commons eight years ago that Justin Madders, the Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough, spoke of his concerns for football’s long-term health.
A private members’ bill put forward outlined the case for reform long before the notion of an independent regulator for the English game began to crystalise in 2021. There was a proposal to add a levy to all transfer fees to aid the grassroots game and another to offer matchgoing supporters greater protection against rescheduled TV fixtures.
Madders also warned of what he called a “demographic timebomb”. The Premier League, he argued, had become prohibitively expensive for young supporters and faced losing a generation of fans.
“We shall risk empty stadiums in 20 or 30 years’ time because the fans of the future will have been driven away by sky-high prices,” he said.
There is little to currently suggest Madders spoke as a prophet. The Premier League continues to boom, breaking new ground in its popularity year after year. The 2022-23 season, when average crowds across the division topped 40,000 for the first time, saw stadiums operate at a new high of 98.7 per cent capacity.
Most clubs now have thousands registered on waiting lists for season tickets and demand they cannot hope to meet as a new, hyped-up campaign begins this weekend. Sell-outs are the norm.
English football undeniably has enormous appeal in 2024, but Madders’ concerns over a changing demographic were not misplaced. Younger supporters have never known greater challenges in following their team, with prices climbing and availability diminishing. Elderly fans, too, are facing their challenges, with concession tickets under threat.
It all points towards the face of a Premier League crowd changing, with young and old both being squeezed. Traditional supporters increasingly face being marginalised.
“It’ll take time to notice it, but it will happen,” Tom Greatrex, chair of the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), tells The Athletic.
“If it proves unaffordable for people, then you won’t have a vibrant, young next generation, those loyal fans who will go week-in and week-out when things get rough.
“The atmosphere will eventually diminish and you’ll end up with a hollowed-out product. For the fabric of what makes football attractive and compelling, driving such affection and involvement, it’s a very dangerous game.”
The Premier League has not published the average age of its supporters since 2012-13 when it was said to be 41. It claimed 10 years later that 43 per cent — close to half — of matchgoing fans were aged between 18 and 34. There has been no indication of what proportion of fans are categorized as juniors since Premier League’s review of the 2013-14 season when it was listed at 12 per cent.
Madders’ concerns persist. “I can’t imagine it’s got any better,” he says. “These clubs aren’t thinking about 20 years down the line, are they? They’re thinking about the now. I’ve struggled to see what the succession plan is.
“The main concern was always cost. It’s beyond the reach of a lot of people. Football clubs are doing exactly as you’d expect. They want to maximise their revenues but we ought to hold clubs to a higher standard.”
The closing months of last season brought a spike in demand for tickets at Anfield. Liverpool were saying a long goodbye to Jurgen Klopp and fans were desperate to be there.
The 3-0 Europa League loss at home to Atalanta in April would be Klopp’s final European game at Anfield.
Neil Holmes had been among those who had hoped for more. It was the first time he had managed to get Liverpool tickets for himself and his three-year-old son, Hudson. They travelled from their home in Bolton 35 miles away.
Neil Holmes and his son Hudson at Liverpool’s game against Atalanta (Philip Buckingham/The Athletic)
“Ever since he was born we’ve been trying to come,” says Neil, outside the newly extended Anfield Road Stand. “It’s very, very difficult. If we could, we’d come a lot more. You can try every home game but you get on and see you’re number 27,000 in a queue. Then there’s no chance.”
This first visit came courtesy of a friend who was unable to attend. Both tickets were bought at face value but at adult prices. That meant Hudson’s first match cost £44 ($56).
“I don’t know what the solution is,” Neil adds. “If you really wanted to go to a certain game, you’re paying over the odds. It was £88 for both of us, no concessions. But I honestly don’t even think of it like that because it’s still an occasion.”
There are few Premier League grounds where securing a ticket is such a challenge. Liverpool’s vast global fan base has built an impossible-to-satisfy appetite in the past decade, even with capacity at Anfield increased from 45,000 to 61,000. Every single home game last season, cup ties included, was a sell-out.
“There are people from all over the world at a Liverpool home game,” say Wayne and Lloyd, who travelled from west Wales for the Atalanta game, a fixture that saw two Liverpool fan groups protest over a four per cent rise to season ticket prices. Lloyd’s younger brother had to be left at home when a third ticket proved elusive. “It’s so hard to get tickets but we can’t complain when we’re here.”
Nothing captures the demand for Liverpool tickets better than the club’s waiting list for season tickets. In 2011, they closed that backup system owing to the number of fans already signed up and the negligible movement year after year. With dark humour, plenty of fans on the waiting list have already accepted that their life might end before the queue for a season ticket does.
Liverpool have a relatively small base of season ticket holders, with the vast majority renewing season after season. There are just 26,000 in that select group — less than half of Anfield’s capacity, with the rest made available for match-by-match sales.
Loyalty points awarded for previous games attended ensure a fan’s chances of securing a ticket are increased, but getting that first step on the ladder is increasingly difficult. Resale tickets, often at increased prices, become the best hope for those without a season ticket or membership.
Fans take in the pre-match atmosphere (Philip Buckingham/The Athletic)
Liverpool attempt to make provisions that keep Anfield accessible for all ages. An unspecified amount of tickets are ringfenced for concession groups, as is another batch for residents with a Liverpool postcode, a policy intended to retain local support.
The age of Anfield’s regulars, though, inevitably climbs. Season ticket holders and members — some of whom effectively have the same privilege — do not surrender something so precious.
Cup games bring the best opportunities for others to attend. Even the most unattractive cup ties now bring sold-out crowds as fans attempt to better their loyalty points.
Dan Austin, a 29-year-old Liverpool supporter, has reached a membership level that allowed him to buy tickets for every home game at Anfield before Klopp’s decorated reign sharpened the clamour.
His age means he was never able to sign himself up to a season ticket waiting list. The date of its closure means no one under the age of 31 is waiting on Anfield’s golden tickets unless added by a parent or relative.
“The vast majority of people who go to games don’t give up their season tickets now until they die,” says Austin. “That’s understandable. They can’t be made to give it up but it means there can’t be new seats magicked up for young kids or teenagers who want to go. You can use the term supply and demand, but there’s not even any supply anymore in season tickets.”
Austin typically sits on the Kop, a section of Anfield that would traditionally be where Liverpool’s youngest supporters would gravitate. The trend, to him, is clear.
“I would say the average age of fans is going up, certainly compared to when I would first go,” Austin adds. “The top clubs generally have a higher age. They’re charging prices that young people might not necessarily be able to afford and there’s also the accessibility of tickets.
“I don’t really see how anyone young would start going to Liverpool games unless they’ve got family and friends able to help.”
Liverpool say “thousands” of young adult and junior fans attend every home game, with the number varying on the competition. They add that as many as 30 per cent of tickets sold in the new Anfield Road Stand go to young fans, but were unable to confirm the average age of a matchday Liverpool supporter.
“The greatest problem, certainly at the top end of the game, is accessibility,” says Austin. “People can’t access a season ticket waiting list anymore, they struggle to even get a ticket to a League Cup game because the demand is so high. Even TV packages are behind a paywall.
Fans on the Kop at Anfield (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“Whether it’s deliberate or not, the biggest leagues and clubs are fencing the whole thing off to young people. You can’t then be bemused when they’re not there to give you money in the future.
“It has an impact on atmospheres, too. Young people are more likely to stand and make noise. If the young fans aren’t there to be brought through and replace the fans who aren’t able to go when they’re older, does it become more of an event that is just happening in front of people? That concentration of young people will inevitably become diluted.
“The energy inside the stadium is going to lessen and that should be concerning to a club like Liverpool, whose marketing is based around the passion of fans and the noise made at Anfield. There’s also the competitive advantage it brings.”
The challenges for young supporters extend to other clubs in the Premier League. Manchester United, even with their recent struggles and a 75,000 capacity, continue to attract huge demand for Premier League games, as do Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
Arsenal are another unable to square the circle. A club that took a giant leap of faith when leaving Highbury behind for the 60,000 Emirates Stadium in 2006 now wishes it had gone much bigger in their plans. As many as 65,000 people apply for a tiny proportion of the available tickets for Premier League games. They also have a waiting list for season tickets that will likely take decades to work through.
There are no easy answers, but the demand stymies opportunity for younger fans.
“You don’t see the same amount of children as when I would first go,” says Tim Stillman, an Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) member.
“It’s a challenge and it’s my primary concern for why I’m involved in the supporters group. I grew up in a working-class school, 15 minutes from the ground. I know very, very few of the kids at that school now will be making it into the Emirates.
“If you added someone to the waiting list for a season ticket when born, by the time they got in, unless things are going to change dramatically, they won’t be a child anymore.”
Arsenal have attempted to address the issue for this season. A new family area has been introduced and discounted season tickets for under-18s, saving 50 per cent off an adult price, are now available in all areas of the Emirates Stadium. An allocation of up to 2,000 tickets is also being made available for junior supporters for every home game at a 50 per cent reduction. Young adults, aged between 19 and 24, will also retain a 25 per cent reduction on general admission.
Arsenal, however, are among the clubs to have heard criticisms from their fans in 2024. Price rises of up to six per cent for 2024-25 were called “unnecessary” by the AST, with the most expensive season ticket now costing £2,050.50, albeit with four Champions League games included.
Arsenal ignored calls for a freeze on ticket prices, instead doing what 18 other Premier League clubs did before this season by introducing rises. Crystal Palace were the only team to swim against the tide.
West Ham United are struggling to create a buzz around Saturday’s visit by Aston Villa. Changes to ticket prices and structures for the 2024-25 season have created resentment where there ought to be excitement.
The east London club announced at the back end of last season that prices would be rising across the London Stadium, but the cause of greatest consternation was the withdrawal of concession season tickets in large sections of the ground. Unless willing to sit in bands five or six, the seats furthest from the pitch, new supporters would have to pay a flat adult price.
All matchday concession tickets have also been ditched for the highest category games.
A planned boycott of the Betway Cup on Saturday meant about 15,000 fans attended the friendly fixture with Celta Vigo. This weekend’s game will see 20,000 leaflets distributed opposing the changes. Almost 16,000 fans have signed an online petition organised by Hammers United, the independent supporters group leading the campaign. West Ham stress that dialogue with fan organisations remains open and ongoing.
Around 15,000 attended West Ham’s friendly against Celta Vigo (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Former players are among those critical of West Ham. ”How can it be right that a five-year-old will now have to pay the same as his or her mum or dad?” Tony Cottee said to Hammers United. “The move will put thousands of loyal supporters off attending matches at the London Stadium and potentially kill off the fanbase of the future.”
Cottee is preaching to the converted. “I’ve never known the fanbase to be so united and determined,” says Paul Colborne, chair of Hammers United, who estimates he has been to 2,000 West Ham games. “Everyone is completely behind this. West Ham would say they’re the best for affordable, family football, but that’s now in tatters.”
The scramble for West Ham tickets is nothing like it is at Liverpool or Arsenal — some remain available for this weekend — but the opposition from fans illustrates the different end of the affordability/age shift. Costs have become a greater problem for any youngster and their family wishing to attend.
“It’s just the new season ticket holders (being denied access to concession tickets), but every year you’re going to have fans going over the concession age,” adds Colborne, 68, who knows eventually every ticket in the lower bowl of the London Stadium will become a full adult price unless West Ham alter plans.
“People like me are dying off or becoming too old to come and then their grandchildren come along and take their place. I’ve got mates whose family have been going since the 1920s, but that’s going to die out because if they want a concession for the youngster then it’s got to be in the very worst seats.
“The full price at West Ham now is so high that it’s prohibitive. There’s a lot of West Ham fans packing it in.
“We’re the only ones in the Premier League that offer no concessions on a matchday price.
“When we play Manchester City, for example, the cheapest seat would be £55. There are not many of those tickets, so if you look at a mid-range seat, that’s going to cost you £90 for a kid. Parent and child that’s £180. People just can’t afford that. It’s sad.”
Protests are planned. West Ham are not alone in that. Tottenham Hotspur announced in March that new senior season tickets would be scrapped from 2025-26, with concessions only available for over-65s on a matchday basis. The highest-price season ticket at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is now £2,367 after rises of six per cent were implemented for this season.
Tottenham cited a “significant increase in matchday costs” as a motivating factor, but it has been estimated the changes will raise as little as £3million per season at a club generating an annual turnover of £550million in its most recently published accounts.
Demonstrations were held at the end of last season, while the Tottenham Supporters’ Trust, who have called the alterations “disgraceful and unacceptable”, have written to the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters. “This decision must be reversed,” it wrote. Tottenham, meanwhile, say senior concessions have increased fourfold since leaving White Hart Lane.
Rule R8 of the Premier League’s handbook stipulates that concessionary tickets must be made available at every game for senior citizens and juniors but makes no reference to season tickets. Pricing and policy are ultimately left to individual clubs.
“The issue is that the Premier League are the clubs,” says Greatrex. “They decide the rules, so it doesn’t really matter what individuals at the Premier League decide might be the best thing to do. If the clubs don’t agree then it won’t happen.”
Tottenham’s protests against senior concessions being removed (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Revolts have come outside of London, too. Wolverhampton Wanderers had proposed raising the cost of one category of junior season tickets by 176 per cent, going from £105 to £290. “Commercial growth is vital for our club’s sustainability and competitiveness,” said chairman Jeff Shi at the point of announcement.
Yet the backlash was fierce, leading Wolves to back down. It was eventually agreed that under-14s would face no increase in a notable victory for supporters.
An uncomfortable truth shows itself in these moments, though. At West Ham, Tottenham and Wolves, adults paying full price are worth more to clubs than concessions, despite sitting on the same piece of plastic to watch the same game.
It also raises broader questions on the long-term direction of travel. Despite the 20 Premier League clubs raking in a combined £867million in matchday revenues during the 2022-23 season, they want to find more.
“If it’s not unchecked and it goes ahead, the lower tier where the more expensive seats are, they’re going to be filled with non-traditional fans,” says Colborne on the controversial changes introduced at West Ham.
“I don’t like using the word ‘tourist’ but the non-traditional fans, the ones coming to the odd game, are the ones they want because they’re the ones who will spend the most money on the day. Clubs would probably do away with season tickets if they could.”
The Premier League’s polished veneer has begun to crack on this issue. Manchester City and Liverpool fans protested over price increases at the back end of last season, while supporters of Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Aston Villa have also made their unhappiness clear. At the latter, according to the Birmingham Mail, season tickets are now 91 per cent more expensive than they were 10 years ago.
The FSA’s AGM, held this summer, saw a motion for “co-ordinated action on the cost of football tickets” put forward by Spirit of Shankly, the Liverpool fan group, and seconded by others from Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Manchester City and Bournemouth.
“What’s happened over the last few years is we’ve got to a point where almost every Premier League game is pretty much at capacity,” says the FSA’s Greatrex. “There’s more demand than supply.
“Clubs are confident now they can market it successfully to the one-off visitors. If you’re attending matches, you’ll see that. I went to Anfield last season for the League Cup semi-final (as a Fulham fan) and it was very different to what it was like 10 years ago. Very clearly international visitors, one-off fans. That changes what a crowd looks and feels like. That’s not just at Liverpool, that’s happening across the Premier League.
“The clubs, frankly, don’t care who is coming in but they should. The owners might’ve moved on in 10 or 20 years, but you’re potentially doing significant long-term damage to the fabric of that club and its capability to endure the rise and fall of their fortunes.”
(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
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