No, ladies & gentleman, this is NOT photoshopped (sadly). This is a genuine matchday home ticket for Arsenal VS Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclay's Premier League. For £94.50. Over a pound a minute of a football match.
This picture came up on my twitter feed yesterday evening, and, to be honest, I wasn't surprised. This is the club that have their cheapest season ticket priced at £985! The same club that have the most expensive possible price in the league at £126! The same club that only last month charged the most expensive standard price for a Premier League game in history at £65...
I have no idea what band/bracket/category etc. that this ticket is in, I'm sure people will point out to me that this is a top band, or category A match, or whatever. The thing is, it should NEVER have been allowed to get to this stage in the first place.. It's sickening.
Football (to my knowledge) is a sport that was created BY, and existed FOR the working class of Britain. Nearly every club has a long history stretching to the 1800's. Generations of supporters stretching over decades. Dedicated supporters whether it be from birth, or by choice make each club individual. These supporters (mostly) have carried their clubs through highs and lows; financial difficulties, years of poor performances etc.. It is no secret, that without the fans, a football club is nothing.
Yet, over the past 10-20 years, many football clubs have regarded the situation conversely: that we are nothing without them. And to this end, it means they can treat us as such. The average football fan is being priced out of their own support in favour of richer people with more disposable income. I'm not saying that if you're wealthy you automatically aren't a 'diehard' supporter because that's not true. But what is true is that the unwavering support of regular fans is being taken for granted, as these clubs continually raise prices (WELL above the rate of inflation) year on year expecting that fans will pay up without a thought. I know many friends that used to have seasontickets to Manchester City but haven't been able to afford to take their whole families every year, and City have the 2nd cheapest season tickets in the league at £275! Compare that to Arsenal..
I'm probably just going on, but its an issue that's becoming more and more apparent all the time. And finally there is a concerted effort to highlight this issue and stop it damaging the sport, the lifestyle we grew up with. You may have seen the hashtag #amf or #againstmodernfootball on twitter. It's been used pretty widely over the past 2 months in regards to ticket pricing, seating/standing at games, foreign ownership.. the list goes on. It's a movement that's been started by the people behind 'STAND - The Fanzine Against Modern Football', which is exactly what it says.
So far they've made 2 issues of this fanzine, and its been welcomed by almost everyone who's encountered it. I've bought it, just like many others, and it details everything I've mentioned in this post and much more (to a far better standard than I could hope to!). Considering the only publicity the publication has received is via the social networks in which many of us moan about modern football, it has been a massive success. Their Twitter is simply @standamf follow them. Also, please look on their website http://www.standamf.com/ to find out more on how you could get involved, for more news about the movement, and to buy the magazine yourself. Considering the prices we are forced to pay to watch our teams, £2 an issue isn't bad hey?
Thanks for reading my 1st proper post and I hope the standard gets better!
Cheers,
The Burnage Blue
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