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Is the credit crunch impacting on the beautiful game?

Is the credit crunch impacting on the UK’s football fans and how much they spend on the game? These and other issues are to be explored in a continuing research project by Sport Studies lecturer Kevin Dixon.

Kevin first launched the on-line project in collaboration with Staffordshire University in November. It initially examined the lifestyles and attitudes of fans from all of the North-East’s teams: Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Darlington. Kevin received over 450 responses and the main findings include:

• When asked how much a match-day ticket should cost, fans of the North-East’s Premier League teams said on average the amount charged should be £17. Fans of the First and Second division teams suggested that £12 was a fair price. These figures are significantly lower than prices currently charged by the five North-East clubs.
• Only 46% of respondents said attending a live match was an important indicator of ‘real fandom’. The fans were seen to act like consumers in this respect, as they were choosing where to view the matches, for example on the big screen in the pub.
• 55% use the Internet to gather information about their teams, more than TV, radio and print media combined.

Kevin said: ‘I’d like to thank all the fans who took part in the first stage of this project.

Some of the findings were surprising, such as 54% not regarding match attendance as an important part of being a fan. Is this a start of a new trend or just a blip? Fans also clearly feel that ticket prices are too high.

‘I’d like fans from all over the UK, not just the North-East, to take part in the next stage of my research, where I’m exploring their personal experiences as supporters. The kind of questions I’m asking is, are fans affected by current prices? Are we likely to see more empty seats at premiership games? Will these trends continue? The survey will only take 15 minutes to complete on-line at

The project is part of a longer three-year study. The eventual findings will appear in the journal Soccer in Society.

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