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Saturday 10 May 2014

Good Luck to Albion Rovers

Gaining plenty of attention north of the border, Albion Rovers' season tickets went on sale this week with chairman John Devlin admitting that the innovative 'Pay What You Can' scheme has a risk element to it.

Much of the coverage of the offer has focused on the fact that season tickets can be purchased for 'as little as £10' but of course the club are hoping that the initiative is taken in the spirit that it is intended with donations much closer to the cost of last season's tickets at £140, especially from existing ticket holders.

Mr Devlin has also been quoted as saying: "I’m of the opinion that Scottish football is over-priced at this level and we are trying to redress that now."

That seems to me to be a key point. What Albion are doing could help to break the assumption that prices must always stay the same or increase as the years go by and the link that seems to suggest that if a ticket for the top division is priced at £30 then you can charge £15 two divisions below even if the 'product' is not really worth that.

Rovers' squad are part-time so the comparison is perhaps more with the levels below the Conference in England but as a means of getting people back into the habit of attending matches, creating an atmosphere (Albion hope to bring back some closed terracing into use) and having a knock-on effect on sales of food, drink and programems they deserve to succeed.

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.

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