As the globalisation of football continues to grow and the worldwide reach of football expands, BBC have today published their figures surrounding their independent investigation into 'The Price of Football'.
Rather unsurprisingly, the cheapest match-day tickets across the entire Football League have increased at an average of 4.4% from their previous investigations in 2013.
Manchester City offer the cheapest season tickets in the Premier League, at just £299, fans can attend every one of Manchester City's home game in what is arguably the greatest league in the World.
In huge contrast, the cheapest season tickets for fellow Premier League clubs, with far inferior success and financial power than Manchester City are relegation candidates Burnley. At £329, a whole £30 more than last years champions, Burnley have the second cheapest season ticket on offer as a Premier League club.
You could argue that Manchester City can financially afford to charge £299 for their cheapest season tickets as they simply are financially stable enough to do so, it is known, from Deloitte league statistics that Manchester City make over £30million from match-day sales alone in a season. Whereas a club like Burnley, with less financial clout available, simply have to charge more to stay afloat.
However, the season tickets statistics get more surprising the further down the league you go, the catastrophic gap between Premier League and Non-League semi-professional football in the Conference. Although some conference sides only charge a mere £170 for a season ticket, there is in fact a number of clubs who charge more for a season ticket than Premier League champions Manchester City.
Recently relegated Aldershot Town, who play at the Recreation Ground, which holds a mere 7,100 spectators of which 5,100 are forced to stand due to the stadiums limited 2000 seats. In stark contrast to the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City play their football, in a state of the art 60,000 capacity stadium with seats all around the ground.
It is extremely hard to understand how a club like Aldershot Town, who were recently relegated from the Football League last season, can be allowed to charge fans the same amount for their cheapest season tickets as a club in the Premier League, playing Champions League football and signing world-class players.
The harsh reality in the modern day football that is so dearly loved by fans across the World, is that it has to make money to continue being the super power in sport that it is today. However, there comes a line where future fans may not be able to pay £299 for a season ticket at non-league Aldershot Town, or for the same price at Manchester City.
It could also be argued that football has to continue charge more each year to extend its product life cycle. From the casual prices when the game was first played, to the dizzy heights of modern day football, the revolutionary steps it has taken throughout the sports existence have been huge to the product life cycle of the sport.
It isn't just match-day and season-tickets which have continued to catapult skyward, the price of a cup of tea has also continued to increase. Currently Stevenage, Carlisle, Newport County and a very few others of the Football League, can boast the cheapest cup of tea in the English Football League at just £1. With non-league side Braintree charging just 80p. However, Liverpool and Southampton hang their heads in shame at charging an extortionate £2.50 for the same cup of tea.
Finally, conference club Barnet charge £49.90 for an adult shirt - more expensive than the price charged by 11 Premier League clubs. The second most expensive across the entire Football League, with Championship side Blackburn Rovers charging nine pence more than the non-league side.
These are just a few of the eye watering statistics which are continuing to rise across the modern game, the average price of the cheapest tickets across English football has risen at almost twice the rate of the cost of living since 2011. The average match day ticket from the Premier League down to League Two has increased by 13% over a year. Which is forecasted to rise further in the coming years.
Although Arsenal have reduced their most expensive match-day ticket by £29, it still stands at £97 and the highest in English football for the best seats in the house at The Emirates. Unfortunately for Arsenal, fans the club also have the most expensive season ticket in the Premier League at £2,013, whilst the cheapest season ticket is £1,014. Yet still the highest amongst the Premier League, Arsenal are the most expensive team to support in the Premier League and entirety of the Football League.
To break it all down, the cheapest match-day ticket in the Premier League has increased by 15.8%, dropped by 3.2% in the Championship, whilst increasing in bot League One and Two by 31.7% and 19% respectively.
With the potentiality of English footballs top division clubs playing one of their domestic games abroad in the near future, with Richard Scudamore favouring a 38th or additional 39th game being taken abroad, fans across the Premier League and also the entirety of the Football League can expect to see prices increasing for a number of years to come.