Supporters count the cost of following a Premiership footie club

How much would you spend to be a loyal supporter of Premiership football club? New research highlights just how much it all costs.

The average regular fan of a Premiership football team spent £1,331 supporting their side in 2007, according to new research from Virgin Money.

This breaks down as follows:

Tickets - £614
Merchandise - £114
Programmes - £34
Food - £62
Alcohol - £149
Travel - £358

The research was based on a poll of over 2,000 regular supporters.

The new Virgin Money figures – published as part of its regular Football Fans Inflation Index – show that the average British football fan across all divisions spent around £1,080 following their team in 2007. That amounts to almost five per cent of the UK average annual salary.

However the expense of following a Premiership team was for some significantly higher – the average Premiership fan paid £251 more for tickets and matchday essentials in 2007 compared to the national average.

And a significant proportion of Premiership fans paid much more than the average. One in eight fans (12%) paid out as much as £3,000 for match tickets alone, and around one in fourteen (7%) spent between £300 and £500 on club merchandise such as scarves, posters and strips.

Publicising their report, Virgin Money has warned that fans’ reduced disposable income could discourage fans from attending live games and might reduce spending on merchandise.

As the economy enters a period of lower growth and consumer spending comes under pressure, it will be interesting to see how demand for Premiership football matches (as measured by attendances) changes. The most recent auction of broadcasting rights for Premiership football highlighted a product that was in great demand around the world. However, following a team on TV is one thing. Actually going to see them play live is another. From the consumer point of view, just how elastic will demand prove to be if disposable incomes come under pressure?