When choosing a football team to support, many fans favour a famous Premier League team, excluding the grassroots teams in their local area.
With the cost of living crisis on the rise, leisure activities such as attending football games are a low priority for many households.
Manchester City fan, Declan Chidgey said: “Prices don’t take into account the rising cost of living and that football is mainly a working-class sport”.
It is clear that Premier League ticket prices have increased to the point of being unaffordable for most. It might be a good time to look for smaller, local teams to support.
Rob Stewart, Commercial manager at Wythenshawe Football Club, who plays in the Northwest County League premier division, said: “As a club, we do everything we can to keep our ticket prices as low as possible to ensure that everyone is able to attend for an affordable price”.
Wythenshawe has the same win percentage as Manchester City at 89%, however, to watch them you would only have to pay £6 which is a huge difference to the £75 when attending a home game at Etihad Stadium.
“The high quality of city performances doesn’t change the fact that prices are too high,” Chidgey said.
With such a high win percentage Wythenshawe football team hardly ever lets their fans down, what makes a win sweeter is the fact they don’t have to pay a fortune for the ticket.
“I think a lot of people are losing the love of Premier League football, as it continues to become more and more business-driven, people are finding more enjoyment in grassroots football where they can get close to the pitch and the players and can positively have an influence on game,” Stewart said.
To ensure that Wythenshawe can keep their prices low and allow their fans to receive the best offers they “would never increase the ticket prices during a season,” said Stewart. The club is currently providing a half-season ticket for the remaining ten home games, at a price of £50 for an adult.
Stewart continued: “We believe this continues to offer fantastic value for the fans and will continue to increase the crowds watching the team which have increased dramatically on last year’s attendances already.”
Stockport Town Football Club have the third-highest winning percentage in Greater Manchester, behind Wythenshawe and Manchester City. Proving the point that although lower-league teams do not have as much funding they still play to a high standard that sells tickets and keeps communities together.
By keeping ticket prices low, teams like Wythenshawe and Stockport Town are allowing working-class people to carry on watching the game they love and are keeping the true spirit of football alive.
These more accessible Football clubs also inspire and influence younger generations to get involved in their local communities and create local heroes for them to support.
Stewart said, from his own experience within the club: “Players, staff and fans are so welcoming, when I first started attending it encouraged me to continue coming back and to even begin volunteering as a way of giving back to the club. You simply don’t get that at Premier League and EFL Clubs.”
