It’s never been more expensive to be a football fan. Most die-hard supporters enjoy attending multiple matches yearly and buying merchandise to pledge allegiance to their chosen club. However, the rising cost of living has impacted the already sky-high expense of being a football supporter, leaving many priced out.
In May, a survey by Saxo revealed that 46% of fans attended fewer live sporting events due to the cost of living crisis, and another 41% had cancelled at least one TV sports subscription.
It’s not just the match tickets becoming too expensive either. In another recent report, 31.9% of supporters had reduced their matchday spending, including food, drink and programmes. Further research also found that football shirts, a fan staple, have become less attainable, with 90.28% choosing against purchasing new each year.
To discover which football fans face the biggest bill, we looked into the key payments for supporters of the most-watched league in the world, the Premier League. In our analysis, we found the mid-range price of season tickets, club memberships and official kit tops for the 20 clubs. Continue reading to find out the 10 most expensive Premier League clubs in 2023.
10) Crystal Palace
Average cost per season: £833
Crystal Palace fans have the cheapest costs to stomach from this list but it’s still not a small fee. The biggest average expense is the season ticket which amounts to £720 following a 5% raise. However, this price increase didn’t get in the way of the fans’ devotion as the club experienced a record number of renewals for the 2023-24 campaign.
There is also a club membership fee of around £48 for supporters of The Eagles and for those who want to proudly display their fandom, £61 for the latest kit top.
9) Newcastle United
Average cost per season: £871
After the club achieved a top-four finish in the Premier League last season, the demand for tickets soared, and naturally, season ticket costs have increased by up to 5%, hitting £773 on average.
The BBC also recently reported that Newcastle United have changed a proposed ballot process for buying tickets. This system would randomly allocate seats at various prices and take payment automatically. After receiving backlash, fans can now select specific ticket price categories.
Fans can expect to pay around £37 to become a Newcastle United member and £61 on average for official club kit tops.
8) Aston Villa
Average cost per season: £872
Aston Villa fans can become official club members for £34 but season tickets can set supporters back by £737, following a 15% price hike.
While the club recognised their supporters’ cost of living struggles, the chief executive Christian Purslow said the team is not exempt from also experiencing the strain. The increase hasn’t stopped many fans from spending their money, though, with 28,000 supporters on the season ticket waiting list!
For those who would like to express their fandom publicly, the medium price of the club’s official football shirts sits at £100.
7) Bournemouth
Average cost per season: £878
Even though Bournemouth is the only Premier League club without a club membership scheme, it’s still the seventh most expensive. However, season tickets don’t come cheap, averaging £810. Fans can also expect to pay around £68 for an official kit top
Despite being one of the cheaper clubs on this list, The Cherries had the lowest turnout during the 2022/23 season — only filling 91% of the Vitality Stadium’s capacity. However, this may be due to the team having the second-most losses during the season.
6) Chelsea
Average cost per season: £884
Despite only making it to number 12 on the Premier League table in 2022-23, Chelsea has been cited as one of the world’s 10 richest football clubs. However, supporters still have to pay a hefty fee to attend matches with standard season tickets hitting £768 and mid-range club memberships costing £60.
Although, The Blues froze the amount for general admission 2023-24 season tickets, making it cheaper for fans to attend general admission areas than Arsenal and Tottenham. The average Chelsea shirt (£57) is also the cheapest from this list of the 10 costliest Premier League clubs.
5) Manchester United
Average cost per season: £897
Similarly to most clubs, the highest fee for Manchester United fans is the season ticket which averages £779. Additionally, fans can pay around £60 and £80 for a membership and football shirt, respectively.
Although fans don’t seem put off from buying tops as in 2022, Manchester United had the world’s best-selling football shirts.
Forbes also revealed that Manchester United (worth £4.8 billion) is the most valuable football team in the Premier League club and the second most valuable globally. A third of the club’s revenue comes from the commercial sector, which includes merchandising sales.
4) Liverpool
Average cost per season: £909
Most of the budget for Liverpool supporters falls to season tickets (£793), followed by a kit top (£85), and a membership fee (£32).
Following Manchester United, Forbes cited Liverpool as the second most valuable Premier League football club, valued at £4.3 billion. Yet, the club increased season and match ticket prices this year for the first time in nine years because of a hike in operating and utility costs, however, the raise for fans isn’t more than 2%.
This year also sees the completion of an ambitious new stand set to increase the overall stadium capacity to 61,000!
3) Tottenham Hotspur
Average cost per season: £1,571
Spurs fans have one of the most expensive season tickets and kit top costs to burden, with the former averaging £1,411 and the latter £110. The total of just over £2,000 also includes a mid-level membership fee of £50.
Tottenham Hotspur was one of three Premier League clubs to freeze season ticket costs — the second year in a row for The Spurs — to keep the 2023-24 campaign affordable for fans.
However, the club later informed The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST) of the decision to increase match-day ticket prices. The trust has criticised the move, labelling it ‘excessive’, and called for a freeze on match day tickets too.
2) Fulham
Average cost per season: £1,860
While only in second place, Fulham FC has the most expensive mid-range season ticket, which hits £1,728. Considering this astronomical charge, it’s no surprise that the club had the third-lowest turnout last season — filling 95.1% of its home, Craven Cottage.
Fans have recently urged the owner, Shahid Khan, to reconsider the exorbitant rate — with the most expensive season ticket reaching £3,000 and working out at £157 per match.
The remaining key costs for Fulham supporters are far lower, though, with memberships averaging £50 and the medium price for kit tops being £83.
1) Arsenal
Average cost per season: £2,348
Although Arsenal only made it to second place in last year’s season, they’re given the top spot for the most sky-high payments for fans! The total fee of £2,347 includes the most expensive membership fee, averaging £818. An Arsenal official kit top would also cost fans around £95.
Arsenal fans face a mid-range season ticket of £1,435 — the second highest from the top 10 — after announcing an increase of up to 6%. The club has also confirmed that the increased charge will include fewer matches for season ticket holders, dropping from 26 to 22 home matches per campaign.
However, reports state that decreasing the number of matches included with season tickets will make 150,000 more tickets available for members during the 2023/24 campaign.
As well as the tickets and memberships, football fans also have to consider the various travel expenses, parking tickets and food and drink while at the venues. Fans who can’t make the live matches can watch some games from home, but only if they pay for online sports subscriptions.
In the 2022-23 Premier League season, the average attendance hit a new record of 40,267 — despite the division having a handful of stadiums far smaller than that. As we go into the next campaign, with only three clubs freezing season ticket prices, will fans find ways to cope with the staggering costs or ditch the expense completely?
