December’s Affordable Football

What we have found so far for the month ahead.

2 December: The UEFA Women's Under-17 European Championship continues with four group games at Burton Albion, Hinckley, Telford and Chesterfield (where a very healthy crowd of over 2,000 watched England’s game on Friday night). Group stage and semi-final tickets are priced at £3 for adults. Semi finals take place on the 5th with the final on the 8th at Chesterfield (£5 for adults).

3 December: Students can take a break from their books and watch Cambridge United’s FA Cup replay with Bury for £6 from the Abbey Stadium terraces

5 December: Gateshead versus Oxford United finally replay their FA Cup 1st Round tie after an earlier postponement. Tickets are available priced at just £5 for the game for which the home side are hoping to break the 2,500 crowd barrier. Exciting times are ahead, it seems, for the North East club who also reduced prices for Saturday’s FA Trophy game and are pushing for a return to the Football League.

9 December: Manchester United play Shakhtar Donetsk at Leigh Sports Village in the UEFA Youth League, kick off 7pm, admission £3 (free for Under-16’s and United season ticket holders).

10 December: The Johnstone's Paint area semi-finals take place with reduced prices on offer at all four games (Swindon Town, Newport County, Fleetwood Town and Oldham Athletic are the host clubs) and £10 adult tickets available at both the Fleetwood and Oldham matches.

15 December: Under a reciprocal price deal agreed between the two clubs, tickets for Norwich City's game against Swansea at Carrow Road are priced at a maximum of £20 for adults. A similar price will be in place for the Canaries trip to South Wales in March in a bid to ease the cost of one of the most arduous journeys in the football calendar.

26 December: Buy a ticket for Sheffield United's home game against Oldham Athletic on this date and a ticket for the Bramall Lane clash with Tranmere Rovers on 29 December will cost you just £10

28 December: Thanks to sponsorship of the game by their supporter’s trust, Berwick Rangers home fixture with Peterhead is free to all fans. A donation of at least £2 is asked for to help the trust continue their excellent work.

There’s lots more out there. We try and keep things updated as much as possible on twitter @affordablefooty, please do get in touch.

Free Football Thanks To Berwick's Supporters Trust

The work of supporters trusts up and down the country, at many levels of the game, has been one of the more positive aspects of football over the past few years and an initiative from the Berwick Rangers Supporters Trust is well worth highlighting here.

Currently 240 members strong and having donated £50,000 to the club since its inception, the trust is sponsoring the league fixture against Peterhead on Saturday 28 December (3pm) to the tune of £1,000 plus the anticipated gate receipts in exchange for allowing all spectators into the game free of charge.

A suggested donation of £2 into buckets at the match will then be used to boost club funds so hopefully a bumper crowd can be attracted to Shielfield Park.

http://www.berwickrangers.org/trust-to-sponsor-peterhead-match-free-admission-for-spectators/

Premier League Under-21 Cup Takes Shape

The Premier League Under-21 Cup continues into December with the round of 16 ties scheduled to take place.

In September we wondered whether the new competition could fill a competitive gap for younger players while also offering a family friendly way of attending matches with early evening kick off times played in a club’s main stadium.

The early rounds have not quite lived up to that expectation with ties often played during the afternoon or switched to smaller or training grounds at short notice.

On Tuesday night, however, Reading offered free entry to their game against QPR at the Madejski Stadium while Aston Villa charged just £2 to adults (free for season card holders) for a 7pm kick-off against Fulham at Villa Park. Hopefully the latter stages of the competition will catch the imagination as the chance of silverware draws closer.

It's Cheaper Up North (In The JPT)

The Johnstone's Paint Trophy has reached the area semi-final stage with ties set to take place in the week commencing Monday 9th December and all four host clubs having reduced their prices.

Newport County take on Peterborough United with adult tickets purchased in advance costing either £13 or £15 and then varying reductions for concessions.

Swindon Town's game against Stevenage is priced at a maximum of £15 for adult tickets.

In the Northern Area, meanwhile, both Oldham Athletic and Fleetwood Town have capped priced at £10 for adults as they prepare to take on Chesterfield and Rotherham United respectively.

http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/article/20131121-chesterfield-1187096.aspx

http://www.fleetwoodtownfc.com/news/article/jpt-ticket-news-1183300.aspx

Gateshead, meanwhile, are hoping for a 3,000+ crowd for their re-arranged FA Cup 1st Round replay against Oxford United on Thursday 5 December for which ticket prices have been cut to £5. In the meantime, the club are also offering tickets priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for under-16's for their FA Trophy home clash with Hednesford this Saturday.

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

Cross County Trek Eased By Norwich And Swansea Deal

One of the longest and most tortuous of awayday journeys in football must be that between South Wales and East Anglia but supporters of Swansea City and Norwich City making the trek to their team's games at the opposition venue this season will be cheered by the latest reciprocal price deal to be announced by Premier League clubs.

Tickets for the games at Carrow Road on Sunday 15th December and the Liberty Stadium on Saturday 29th March will be priced at a maxium of £20 for adults with various reductions for concessions.

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/swansea-h-1314-1162007.aspx

An Affordable Double Bill Of Sunderland Versus Chelsea

Rejuvenated by the appointment of Gus Poyet as manager recently, Sunderland face a crucial month in December as they try and climb out of the Premier League relegation zone while also aiming to reach the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup.

Poyet's former club Chelsea visit the Stadium of Light twice before Christmas and the Black Cats have introduced some special offers for both games.

SAFC season card holders can buy up to two extra tickets for the league encounter on Wednesday 4th December for £10 each, a positive move given that such deals are often introduced for the more unattractive fixtures and not the visit of such a star-studded side.

Just under two weeks later, on Tuesday 17th December, Jose Mourinho's side again make the journey north for a League Cup quarter-final. In keeping with their policy in this competition to date this season, Sunderland have reduced tickets for this game to £15 for adults and £5 for concessions in all areas of the ground with a priority period for season card holders to get a seat for just £10 if they buy before 5pm on Wednesday 27th November.

http://www.safc.com/news/ticket-news/2013/november/feast-of-festive-football-on-wearside

Middlesbrough Reject Bolton Request To Extend Offer

The last post on Affordable Football was about the reciprocal price agreement reached between Barnsley and Derby County for away ticket prices in the respective Championship games between the two clubs that are coming up over the Christmas and Easter periods.

That spirit of co-operation between clubs hasn't spread to everyone. We highlighted Middlesbrough's second cut-price ticket offer of the season recently after they announced prices of £12 for adults and £7 for concessions for what will be Aitor Karanka's first home game in charge against Bolton Wanderers on 30 November.

In response to a complaint from Bolton that such prices will not be available to away supporters, Boro have issued the following statement: "We felt it was appropriate to arrange a special promotion for the Bolton game as it will be the first home match for our new head coach Aitor Karanka.

"As such it has particular significance for our own fans.

"Under Football League rules, each club is is entitled to run up to four ‘local’ promotions each season in which home supporters are offered a discounted ticket price.

"Away supporters will be charged at our standard matchday rate. This also reflects the expected ticketing price level that will be set for our supporters when they visit the Reebok Stadium on New Year’s Day."

You can see Boro's point of view on this one. They are keen to whip up a positive atmosphere for the new manager and Bolton presumably wouldn't have been keen to reduce prices for a game held on a day that traditionally attracts a decent crowd.

But would charging the same price to away fans have made a huge difference to the number of Bolton fans who travelled to the Riverside? Maybe a little claiming of the moral high ground could have been done in this case.

Reciprocal Pricing Moves Into The Championship

Following the first successful agreements between Premier League clubs on the prices they charge to away supporters, fuelled by the Football Supporters' Federation's 'Twenty's Plenty' campaign, two Championship clubs have now announced a reciprocal ticket offer for their games against each other this season.

Barnsley and Derby County have pegged prices for their meetings on Sunday 29 December at Oakwell and Easter Monday at the iPro Stadium (Pride Park) respectively with the fact that both games fall during holiday periods a factor in the move.

Derby County President & Chief Executive Sam Rush told his club's official website: "I know Ben Mansford (Barnsley’s Chief Executive) very well and I would like to thank him and Barnsley for being so open to what is a great initiative to benefit both sets of supporters in following their team away from home."

Updates On Alfreton and Affordable Football At Christmas

Two updates from earlier posts here on Affordable Football.

Alfreton Town gained an excellent victory over Braintree in the Skrill Premier this weekend, backed by a crowd of 904 against 496 for the corresponding fixture last season.

Prices had been cut for the game in a bid to determine whether Alfreton had the potential fan base to compete at the top level of the game outside the Football League and a 'bumper crowd' was the verdict on the official website although the club had been hoping for 1,000+ through the gates.

http://www.alfretontownfc.com/news/ALFRETON%20TOWN%203,%20BRAINTREE%20TOWN%201-2203.htm

Following on from our post about Affordable Football at Christmas, meanwhile, Tranmere Rovers have designated that tickets for their home game on Friday 20th December against Gillingham will be available for just £5 in all home areas of the ground.

Tranmere Chief Executive Mick Horton said: “It’s the last home game before Christmas and we want to make it as easy as possible for our fans to come to the match so we are pleased to be able to reduce admission to just £5."

http://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/news/article/gillingham-offer-181113-1180264.aspx?

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family
deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

All I Want For Christmas Is Affordable Football!

The 'hectic' festive period of football is nearly upon us, one that draws disbelief from those in the Premier League experiencing it for the first time but one that is looked forward to by the majority of supporters.

Looking at the fixture lists, most clubs who are at home on Boxing Day are also at home on Sunday 29 December with the other sides at home on Saturday 21 December and New Year's Day and facing a harder task to maximise attendances and revenue over what should be a busy period. That said, it is good to see club's already promoting their festive fixtures and not just banking on people, fed up of staying in the house on Xmas Day, coming out in force.

Little snippets we have found so far for the festive season include the following:

Oxford United are promoting their Boxing Day game against Plymouth Argyle extensively (players were in the city to promote it recently) in a bid to sell-out the Kassam Stadium. Discounted tickets were sold to season ticket holders on Tuesday and to other supporters on Wednesday with over 1,600 shifted by a club on the up after they hit the top of League Two this weekend.

Marketing manager, Gerald Kelly told the official club website: "The really interesting thing was seeing the full range of tickets purchased; families are bringing children, students, adults and over 65’s. This shows it really is going to be a great family occasion.”

Sheffield United are offering fans who buy a ticket for the Boxing Day game against Oldham Athletic one for the fixture versus Tranmere Rovers on 29 December for £10.

And family tickets for Plymouth Argyle's game against Bury on 21 December (traditionally a hard sell for clubs just before Christmas) are available for £15 in the family zone for 1 adult and 1 under-18 with additional children able to attend for just £1 each.

http://www.oufc.co.uk/news/article/00141113-big-match-1174563.aspx

http://www.sufc.co.uk/news/article/20131108-christmas-ticket-offer-548854.aspx

http://www.pafc.co.uk/news/article/a-very-merry-bury-christmas-1170456.aspx

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

Prices Cut Again As Middlesbrough Welcome New Boss

Just weeks after the successful 'Spirit of Teesside' event drew a season's best crowd of nearly 22,000 to the Riverside Stadium for Middlesbrough's game against Doncaster Rovers, the club are repeating their cut-price ticket offer for the visit of Bolton Wanderers on Saturday 30 November.

Adult tickets will cost £12 and concessions £7 in a move that is timed to coincide with the first home game in charge of new manager Aitor Karanka.

Head of supporter services Anthony Emmerson said: “Aitor has made it clear how delighted he is to be here and now it’s our turn to show how happy we are to have him.

“We’re hoping our fans will take advantage of this offer and get behind Aitor and the players to give him a really warm welcome as he looks to begin his home reign with a win.

“We know we can count on our loyal supporters to give the team fantastic support, but we hope this offer will also encourage those who haven’t attended games in recent years to come back and be part of what we believe is an exciting future for the club.”

It is quite unusual for an offer such as this to be repeated so soon and I imagine season ticket holders may have one or two grumbles but Boro have a big stadium to fill and if they can generate another good atmosphere and result like the 4-0 win over Doncaster then it will have been well worth it.

A Quick Plug For Gateshead FC

The Skrill Premier club have reduced prices for their televised FA Cup 1st Round replay against Oxford United next Wednesday night to just £5 for adults, concessions and students (£2 for under-16's).

Tickets must be purchased before 7pm on Tuesday 19th November.

A great offer indeed on what is a big night for Gateshead, one that will hopefully draw plenty of interest from the local population.

http://www.gateshead-fc.com/4672/oxford-cup-tickets-a-fiver

Arsenal And Birmingham Set To Progress In UEFA Women's Champions League

Birmingham City Ladies take on Russian side, FK Zorkiy Krasnogorsk in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second-leg, staged at St. Andrew's this Wednesday (13th Nov, 7pm) with Blues holding a 2-0 lead from the first-leg.

Arsenal Ladies, meanwhile, take a 3-0 advantage to Scotland for their second-leg game at Glasgow City and both English clubs will be confident of putting a quarter-final place in the bank with the competition taking a break until March before concluding with a one-off final played two nights before the Champions League Final and in the same host city, Lisbon.

As we have highlighted with women's football at all levels this season, from England games through the WSL to the upcoming UEFA Under-17 Championships, games are attractively priced to get families and children attending.

The game in Glasgow is heading towards a sell-out with only standing tickets (£5 and £3) remaining while there are some excellent special offers on for local teams wanting to go to the game in Birmingham and experience what should be a good night of football under the floodlights.

http://www.birminghamcityladiesfc.co.uk/news/fantastic_group_ticket_bundles.html

http://www.glasgowcityladiesfc.co.uk/

'Pay What You Can' Moves North To Scotland

On Affordable Football we have posted a couple of items recently about Brentford's 'Pay What You Can' initiative for the recent game against Shrewsbury and the positive outcomes it generated for both fans and club.

Now, a link between the Bees' chief executive and Albion Rovers' chairman John Devlin has seen the Coatbridge side adopt the idea for their first home league game of 2014 when Montrose are the visitors.

A minimum of £1 must be handed over at the turnstiles but obviously the club are hoping that, in addition to increased numbers coming through the gate, those who can will pay a bit more.

“The initiative will also be open to Montrose fans and hopefully that will encourage more of them to attend,” Devlin told his club's official website while, responding to a tweet on the subject he said: ‘Gate receipts not the reason behind this. Recognition of our community position more important.’

Good stuff and good to see Albion rewarded for their Scottish Cup win against Deveronvale recently with a plum home tie against Motherwell which will easily see a season’s best gate through the Cliftonhill doors.

http://albionroversfc.com/?p=4242

Alfreton Town Cut Prices And Challenge Supporters

In an extremely open and honest statement on their official club website, Conference club Alfreton Town have detailed in full the reasons behind a cut in prices for their next home fixture against Braintree on November 16.

It gives an interesting background to previous price rises and asks the question of local fans who feel the pricing structure is wrong to ‘back up their argument’ and help the club decide on their future plans as they look to maintain their current status or even push for the Football League.

Adult prices will be £12 for the game, Concessions £10, Young Adults £5 and Under-16’s free when accompanied by an adult.

http://www.alfretontownfc.com/news/FANS-TO-HAVE-SAY-IN-FUTURE-OF-CLUB-2189.htm

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

November’s Affordable Football

An update for the month ahead…

The UEFA Women’s Under-17 final tournament kicks off on November 26, lasting until December 8 with games taking place at Burton Albion, Chesterfield, Telford and Hinckley and prices pegged to a maximum of £3 for the group stage and semi-finals and £5 for the final.

More games of an international flavour include England ‘C’, the national team for players outside of the Football League, taking on the Czech Republic Under-21’s at Woking FC on 19 November at 6pm with admission free for all.

One day before that, Yeovil Town utilise Gary Johnson’s connections for a friendly with the Latvian national team which takes place at Huish Park at 7:30pm with tickets £5 for adults.

The FA Cup reaches the 1st Round stage this weekend and Preston North End have cut prices to the maximum allowed by the FA for their home game with Barnet.

Speaking of Barnet, buy any ticket for one of their November home games against Welling United or Cambridge United and get one for the other game free.

And sticking with the Bees, they host Arsenal Ladies against Glasgow City on 9 November in the UEFA Champions League with prices £5 for adults and £2.50 for Under-16’s and Bees members.

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

Brentford Boosted By 'Pay What You Can'

Last weekend's game at Griffin Park between Brentford and Shrewsbury attracted over 9,000 home supporters after the Bees repeated their 'Pay What You Can' initiative following its success last season.

Tickets were available from as little as £1 but, despite that, the club exceeded their revenue target for what ordinarily would have been a low-key fixture.

Some interesting comments from chief executive Mark Devlin appeared this week in which he said that spending in the club shop was higher than any other game apart from the season opener against Sheffield United while catering revenue was the best of the season to date.

“We were pleased with the numbers and the plan is to look at the people that we’ve added to the database and come up with some offers to try and attract them again to Griffin Park.”

As a one-off this offer seems to have ticked all the boxes (including a donation to charity) and the innovative nature of it may not have upset season ticket holders too much, especially as Mr Devlin has been quite clear in outlining the benefits that it has brought to the club.