Xmas football: Fans will travel more than 31,000 miles watching their team over festive period

• Match-going fans in the Premier League and the English Football League will collectively clock up 31,244 miles between Boxing Day and the New Year – the equivalent of three return flights from London to Sydney
• The average cost per fan for travel, matchday tickets, food and drink is £117.17
• Newcastle United fans will travel furthest with 880 miles on the road and spend the most – £282
• Grimsby United fans will face a 606 mile round-trip by car to Exeter – the longest single away trip over Xmas
• Southampton fans will only pay £20 for their away match at Chelsea on January 2 thanks to Virgin Media

There’s no rest for away football supporters over the festive season as they trek thousands of miles across the UK and spend hundreds of pounds watching their side in action. This is according to research carried out by Virgin Media and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF).

The analysis includes matchday ticket, travel and food costs, plus journey times for travel by car and train incurred by supporters of all 92 clubs across the Premier League and The EFL for festive fixtures between Boxing Day and 3 January 2019.

Long journeys for dedicated away supporters

The findings show that the total distance covered by all 92 clubs between Boxing Day and January 3 2019 is 31,244 miles. Newcastle United away fans will spend 14 hours and travel 880 miles by car for their away fixtures at Liverpool (346 miles) on Boxing Day and Watford (534 miles) on 29 December. This is 44 times further than Fulham whose away supporters will travel the least by car – only 20 miles – against Arsenal on New Year’s Day over the same period.

However, League Two Grimsby Town will make the longest single away return trip of 18 hours by road when they drive 606 miles to Exeter City on Boxing Day. A League One away supporter will clock up an average of 383 miles on the road – the most of any league.

In terms of travel by train and public transport, Morecambe fans will endure the longest journeys as they travel 19 hours to Tranmere Rovers (5hrs 20mins) on Boxing Day and Colchester United (14 hours) on 29 December.

Premier Prices

Football supporters commit a lot of time and money to watch their team in action at Christmas, a time when money can be tight. However, that won’t stop passionate away supporters from spending their money to follow their team.

Newcastle United away fans will have to part with the most money of any Premier League or EFL fan over Christmas, spending £282.30. This is more than six times the amount that Crewe Alexandra away fans will have to spend (£43.05) for their single away trip to Bury on New Year’s Day.

Overall, the average away fan will spend £117.77 to watch their team this Christmas, where supporters of 46 clubs will travel twice to support their teams away. In total, Premier League fans will pay the most (an average of £122) to watch top-flight football over the Christmas break.

Matchday tickets

The price for match-day tickets for away supports varies at football grounds across the UK. Blackburn Rovers fans will have to purchase the most expensive away ticket over the festive period when they travel to watch their side take on Leeds United at Elland Road, paying £39.

The cheapest away ticket can be found at Crawley Town when Colchester United visit the Broadfield Stadium on New Year’s day, with their supporters spending just £17.

Virgin Media subsidises Southampton fans’ tickets for Chelsea match

In the Premier League, where away tickets are capped at £30, Virgin Media will ensure Saints supporters go into the New Year in good spirit. The broadband provider will be subsidising the cost of their ticket by £10, meaning Saints fans will spend just £20 when they visit Stamford Bridge on January 2 to play Chelsea.

Kevin Miles, Chief Executive, FSF said:

“The Christmas and New Year period is one which fans love, and one which can really stretch the wallet – but we know supporters will continue to back their teams in amazing numbers.

“Travelling fans are a massive part of that tradition but their support should never be taken for granted and we’d like to see clubs and sponsors doing everything they can to ensure football is affordable for all.”

Jeff Dodds, Managing Director of Virgin Media, said: “We admire the level of passion and commitment that all football supporters have for their team as they travel up and down the country. As proud sponsors of Southampton Football Club, we will be contributing towards the cost of their ticket for the match against Chelsea in appreciation of their fantastic support.”

Key findings from the research:

ENDS

Note to editors

The costs incurred by away football fans are calculated based on the three rounds of fixtures between December 26 2018 and January 3 2019. 46 teams will play away twice, meaning 46 clubs will only travel once.

These findings have been calculated based on a range of factors:

• Total average cost figure is calculated based on costs incurred for match-day tickets, travel and food and drink.
• League-based averages and away attendance assumptions per league are based on Premier League data which showed 2015-16 average away attendance was 2,262. English Football League average away attendances based on 2014-15 (latest available): Championship: 1,400, League One: 668 and League Two: 473.
• Travel:
  • Football stadium postcodes were used as a proxy for point-to-point travel estimates. Driving distance and journey time were measured in miles, based on the shortest driving travel time from stadium to stadium using Google Maps. Due to lack of trains running on Boxing Day, coach travel price and distance to reach away ground was used for all clubs. Where a price could not be found on a clubs website, a flat rate of £20 was supplied.
  • Public transport travel time data was taken from Google Maps, extracted at the same time as driving information. Public transport costs were based on recommended routes as defined by Google Maps, extracted from Trainline.com on 14/12/17. Train ticket prices were taken on 14/12/17 for off-peak return tickets. Same day return travel assumed, therefore no cost of accommodation included.
  • Driving costs were calculated using return drive distance multiplied by a price per mile of £1.21 to reflect potential winter weather conditions, roads works and additional congestion
  • Typical football match travel data was used to calculate the split between passengers driving to games and those arriving on public transport. An effective average was then calculated for any fan travelling to each game which blended the different driving and public transport costs. This was discounted to account for car sharing.
  • The 31,244 miles figure is based on the total distance travelled by all 92 clubs playing away games over the festive period.
• Ticket Prices: Highest price taken for an adult ticket listed on clubs’ websites or, where not listed, price was quoted by clubs’ ticket office on telephone for match-day tickets.
• Food and drink: Costs are based on survey results by league, as reported in “Door to turnstile – improving travel choices for football fans” (page 15) Campaign for better transport 2013.
• Full table of all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs (ranked by average cost per fan)