Fan groups for Liverpool FC and Everton FC have joined forces with other supporters to continue the push for cheaper seats for supporters.
It comes in the wake of the record-breaking £835m spent by football clubs in the most recent transfer window.
The Liverpool supporters’ union, Spirit of Shankly, had already linked up with Everton’s Blue Union fan group to plead with their respective clubs to cut the cost of tickets (Click to find tickets) for away supporters at this season’s derby matches.
Now, the two Merseyside football fans’ groups have issued a joint statement with Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace Supporter Trusts to highlight the discrepancy between the vast sums spent on transfers with the small amount it would cost the clubs to meet fans’ demands for cheaper ticket prices.
The statement said: “Like us all, supporters around the country and across all leagues want their team to sign the best players. To win football matches. To win trophies. To see the best players win these trophies. It’s what football is about. Yet they won’t.
“Because increasingly, football is becoming unaffordable for many. More and more supporters face the choice – pay the extortionate prices or walk away from following their team.”
The fans’ groups said the figure of £200,000 set aside at each Premier League club for Away Fans Initiatives was dwarfed by the millions spent on transfer fees over the summer.
The Away Fans Initiatives represented just 0.15% of the £2.7bn revenue clubs made in 2012/13 or 0.13% of the predicted £3.2bn in 2013/14.
The statement adds: “It’s time that changed.
“We don’t need to tell the football authorities we are angry, they know we are. The politicians do too. They are failing to act.
“Those that pump money into football must realise the role they have to play.
“The TV broadcasters, the sponsors and the partners who want our custom must realise that it comes at a price.
“So between now and the next transfer window, our challenge is simple – work with us, the supporters, the lifeblood of the game. Help us to make football more affordable for all supporters.
“Use that enormous wealth to make it fairer on the millions who make it the game that it is.”
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