Scottish Football Should Seriously Look At Away Ticket Pricing

Date: 22nd August 2022

Supporters Direct Scotland have always campaigned for Scottish football to give the most important stakeholder, the fan, a greater say in what happens within our game. 

Too many times the supporters either get forgotten about, ignored or taken advantage of as clubs look to make an extra bit of coin. 

You’d think after the enforced Covid pandemic shutdowns when fans stood behind their clubs and ensured their very survival, in many cases, that way of thinking would have changed. In some ways it has and some football clubs in Scotland are a lot better when it comes to communicating with their fanbase but too many still don’t engage enough. 

Clubs will push forward with ‘think tanks’ that will look at ways that can enrich our game (their own pockets) financially but rarely will they all come together and discuss matters that directly impact the fans in the stands. 

For sometime now, fans have brought up the notion of limiting prices for away games. ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ is a campaign I heard about initially in England but you are hearing more and more about it up here now. It wants to restrict top flight away ticket prices to £20. 

Now I am not saying it is a perfect solution, maybe the cap could be £22 or at the most £25. But why is it something that the clubs themselves aren’t open to discussing or the SPFL for that matter? Can’t we do a study and see what’s feasible and weigh up the pros and the cons on such a scheme?

Fans like everyone else in the country are facing up to a cost of living crisis. They have constantly put their hands in their pockets to fund their teams, can’t they get something back for that loyalty? 

If you’re a football club then you shouldn’t and can’t truly budget for away supporters. If their team are in a decline or prices like petrol and shopping continue to rise then chances are you’ll see lower numbers compared to last year or five years ago. Your bread and butter will always be the number of home supporters you can get and keep at your ground. Having an affordable away price will hopefully see numbers in away ends rise and keep the home diehards happy too as they won’t feel ripped off when they go on away trips. 

For it to work it has to be done collectively and throughout the leagues too (not the same price throughout the leagues).

Our football clubs need to see that football truly is nothing without the fans and by at least listening and speaking to them about their concerns then that could be a major first step in the right direction. Acting on such calls would give something back and at such a critical time that would hopefully mean our game can remain open to everyone and not just the rich! 

By Scott Johnston (@TheFootyblognet)

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