Posted on 20th October 2023
Supporters in the Championship overwhelmingly back a league-wide price cap on away tickets, according to a survey carried out by the Middlesbrough Supporters Forum (MSF).
Championship fan groups call for EFL away ticket price cap
Supporter groups at Leeds United and Huddersfield Town are calling on the EFL to implement a league-wide cap on away ticket prices.
Their calls come after the two West Yorkshire clubs eventually reached a £20 reciprocal price arrangement for away fans attending the derbies at Elland Road and the Kirklees Stadium.
The deal will protect Huddersfield Town fans from a potential £47 ticket at Elland Road while Leeds United fans will avoid paying £25 in March’s return fixture.
That reciprocal arrangement is the latest in a series seen across the Championship but Leeds United Supporters’ Trust (LUST) and Huddersfield Town Supporters Association (HTSA) are calling for league-wide rule as already exists in the Premier League.
“In recent years, the cost of an away ticket in the Championship has continued to rise,” both groups said in a statement released today.
“In some cases travelling fans are being charged up to 60 percent more than the £30 price cap introduced by the Premier League in 2016.
“To address this unfair trend we have had positive discussions with our respective clubs with regards to them a) formally backing an away ticket price cap in the Championship and b) lobbying the EFL to implement it.”
Following protests and supporter-led campaigning, the away ticket price cap in the Premier League has been running since 2016 and has been a resounding success, saving travelling fans millions of pounds in total while helping keep away ends full.
Months of campaigning and pressure from the FSA’s Twenty’s Plenty campaign eventually forced the Premier League to adopt a league-wide cap – read more about the history of that campaign here.
Prior to the introduction of the Premier League’s £30 cap, clubs were routinely lobbied by supporters to seek out reciprocal price arrangements with opposition clubs – eventually so many clubs did their own deals that a league-wide cap was adopted.
The cap remains a universally popular measure and there was strong support for an away ticket price cap in the EFL according to the results of our National Supporters Survey carried out earlier this year.
Almost nine in ten (88.2%) of the 10,000 supporters surveyed were in favour of league-wide away price caps in the EFL, and similarly in the FA Cup with 83.3% in favour.
“LUST and HTSA would like to place on record their thanks to HTAFC and LUFC for coming to a reciprocal deal and protecting their respective fan bases from unfair prices.
“Both trusts will continue to push for this and urge all Championship clubs to commit to an away price cap.”
