Premier
League clubs have agreed to limit away ticket prices to a maximum of £30 for
the next three seasons.
The clubs announced the new deal on Wednesday after unanimously agreeing to
the new price cap at their last meeting in February.
The new initiative comes after a number of high profile protests against
ticket prices in the Premier League.
The league has enjoyed a record average attendance of 96.2 per cent this
season but a number of supporter groups have raised concerns about
increasing prices, particularly for away supporters.
The away ticket cap replaces the existing Away Supporters Initiative - a set
of travel and ticket subsidies originally introduced by clubs in 2013.
The new cap is set to run for three years and will apply from the start of
next season to the end of the 2018/19 season.
The Football Supporters' Federation's Michael Brunskill welcomed the new
deal.
"Every single Premier League club charges more than £30 for category A away
games so if you follow one of the teams that falls in to that category
you're guaranteed to save money," he said.
"Category B games and C games there is a bit of variation but again I think
most fans are going to see savings.
"Hopefully this will help towards ensuring that away ends look like vibrant
places and are a real spectacle at Premier League games - that at the end of
the day is what everyone wants."
Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis supports the decision and says the club
are "strongly in favour of doing more to help" supporters.
"We have fantastic support home and away. We know that following the club is
a commitment and are always seeking to strike the right balance in our
pricing," he said.
"These steps mean that we will have held general admission season ticket
prices flat for nine of the 12 years since our move to Emirates Stadium by
2018, and are also designed to make things a little easier for our
travelling fans who often face the highest prices when watching Arsenal play
away."
Everton Chief Executive Robert Elstone has also given the proposal his
backing, saying it is "absolutely right for away fans and for the Premier
League".
"Most clubs have recognised for some time that we need to do something for
the travelling supporter. That supporter makes a huge commitment to their
club, they are almost all Season Ticket holders and, as a consequence, they
go to support their team for a large proportion of the 38 Premier League
games in a season. It is absolutely right that football, as a family, looks
after that group of fans."
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