We have travelled far and wide across Yorkshire and Greater Manchester experiencing many pies and pints that football clubs have to offer. 26 teams have been selected based on their matchday prices ranging from the Premier League down to the Counties Leagues. Besides football, the one thing all these clubs have in common is the need to provide supporters with the best matchday experience possible. The general trend is the lower down the leagues you go, the cheaper the matchday experience becomes. However, there are some surprising figures here.
In the higher leagues, it would be cheaper to watch Chris Wilders’ men, Sheffield United, in the Premier League than it would to watch Leeds United play Championship football under the lights of Elland Road. An average matchday at Sheffield would set you back £46.50 with a matchday at Leeds costing you £50.10.
Julie Trimble from Leeds United Supporters Group said, “It’s who you’d rather watch. Do you want to watch a team that struggles week in, week out, or do you want to watch an exciting team like Leeds?”
Full interview with Julie Trimble:
Further down the leagues, teams like Pontefract Collieries, £18.20, and Yorkshire Amateurs, £13.80, offer a much cheaper matchday experience. Yes, the quality of their football is lower but a day out at the football, no matter the level, helps bring the community together. Yorkshire Amateurs Chairman Will Bowler said, “The most important thing for us is that community feeling you need.”
Full Interview with Will Bowler:
Across the Pennines, Greater Manchester offers a plethora of football clubs at many levels with the Cityzens and Red Devils sitting atop of the tree in terms of Manchester sides.
Whether it is pie, pint, programme, or ticket, Manchester City lead the way in higher prices (£89.10). It may come as no surprise that the current English and European Champions are charging a premium price to watch Pep’s pragmatic play on the pitch.
But the further down the pyramid do the prices fall as easily as Anthony at Old Trafford? And how do the teams from across Greater Manchester compare?
The cheaper the matchday experience offered, the lower the position of the side in the leagues. Salford City, known for being the Class of 92’s project, offers a cheap matchday experience for a side that are in League 2. In fact, Salford (£24) offer a cheaper matchday experience than Oldham Athletic (£29.90) who sit in the National League, one division below Gary Neville’s pet football club.
Teams lower down will always need money to survive. It is a result-based industry, not just on the pitch but in the books as well. It is imperative for clubs like Cheadle Town, Ashton Town and Wythenshawe Amateurs to invest into their community in hopes that the return on investment boosts and benefits the club through ticket sales or cash going over the bar.
All the data collected above in both Yorkshire and Greater Manchester shows which county provides the better value-for-money matchday experience. To make it fair, the teams have been paired based on their prices. Overall, it is cheaper for a day at the football in Yorkshire, with the average matchday price coming in at £31.80 compared to the £33.80 it costs to go to a game in Greater Manchester. Despite this being a very marginal difference, in the current economic climate, people need as much money in their pockets as possible.
Not only is it in the community but lower league sides also need cash to keep ticking over. “It’s hard to get supporters, even at the cost we have at our club,” said Will Bowler, Chairman of Yorkshire Amateurs. “When we play at home, we are probably lucky sometimes if we break even.”
It’s tough to find a cheap day out at the football in Yorkshire or Greater Manchester these days, but what remains clear is that football clubs at all levels need financial support and investment to keep local communities thriving.
