Away fans from all Premier League clubs will see their tickets capped to £20 for the first time, in a pioneering move by Virgin Media and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF).
As part of the ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ campaign, Virgin Media through its partnership with the FSF, is reimbursing the costs of supporters’ tickets above £20 for a single away fixture at all top-tier clubs – with the majority of matches held between 15 and 23 April.
The ground-breaking initiative recognises the loyalty and commitment away fans show their club throughout the season. It follows the FSF’s call to the Premier League and clubs to make ticket prices more affordable for visiting fans.
Virgin Media, the official shirt sponsor of Southampton FC, already subsidises every visiting supporters’ ticket to St Mary’s stadium to £20.
The company is fighting for fans to enjoy all the football by making games cheaper for away fans, and by being the UK’s only pay TV provider to offer all the football on Sky Sports and BT sports in one package.
On the side of fans
As away Premier League tickets are capped at £30, fans will receive up to a £10 reimbursement from Virgin Media following their team’s match.
Fans can claim their subsidy after their team’s match by visiting www.virginmedia.com/twentysplenty, downloading a form, and posting it along with their ticket. A cheque will be sent to them in the following weeks.
Brigitte Trafford of Virgin Media said: “We want to be part of a positive change for Premier League football fans across the country and are stepping up by subsidising away tickets to £20.
“Away fans are at the heart of the game and their tickets need to be affordable. Without them, the atmosphere in grounds is reduced and their teams don’t feel supported.”
Kevin Miles, Chief Executive of the FSF, said: “The Football Supporters’ Federation has a long-standing rally cry – Twenty’s Plenty for Away Tickets. We’re delighted that Virgin Media has helped make that a reality at many upcoming top-flight games.
“Thanks to this Twenty’s Plenty deal, tens of thousands of top-flight fans could potentially save hundreds of thousands of pounds in the coming weeks. It’s a great idea.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
· Virgin Media and the FSF will subsidise fans’ tickets for one away fixture per Premier League club for the majority of matches played between 15 and 23 April.
· Virgin Media will also reimburse the cost of a 2nd Class stamp, to account for the postage of the ticket and form.
· However, Virgin Media will also honour the terms of the initiative to fans whose teams’ matches are postponed during this period due to FA Cup semi-final matches. Fans of these clubs (West Bromwich Albion, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and Sunderland), can apply for a reimbursement following these rescheduled matches.
· Further information and terms and conditions can be found at www.virginmedia.com/twentysplenty
· Manchester City fans visiting Southampton on 15 April will not need to claim their subsidy as their ticket will already be reduced to £20 as part of Virgin Media’s existing Twenty’s Plenty arrangement with Southampton. This also applies to Southampton fans who travel to Chelsea on 23 April.
About Virgin Media
Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.
The company’s dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely available broadband speeds to homes and businesses. We’re expanding this through our £3bn Project Lightning programme, which will reach 17 million premises by the end of 2019.
Our interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones.
We launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and services. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.
Through Virgin Media Business, we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest speeds and tailor-made services.
Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries.
About the FSF
The FSF is the national supporters’ organisation for all football fans from England and Wales comprising more than 500,000 individual fans and members of local supporters’ organisations from every club in the professional structure and many beyond. Find out more about the FSF and its campaigns via www.fsf.org.uk or on Twitter @The_FSF
For all Virgin Media press enquiries please contact;
simon.feldman@virginmedia.co.uk / 0333 000 2900 @VirginMediaCorp
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