How much does the average football fan spend on merchandise each year? How many supporters actually support their local team? And the big one – which club has the biggest fan base?
Those are just a few of the questions tackled in our latest research survey, with a total of 2000 football fans giving their thoughts on the financial state of the sport.
In addition, the survey collated some intriguing statistics regarding the most popular clubs in the United Kingdom, with Leeds United and Newcastle United doing particularly well.
While 27% of supporters admitted to following clubs not included in the initial 21 team list, we were able to find some very interesting figures relating to teams from the Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premiership.
Some of these clubs are prevalent in sports betting odds each year while others are in the doldrums – however that doesn’t stop fans attending matches every weekend.
Here, we provide some of the more interesting figures obtained from the survey and how football finances have impacted fans from all over the country.
For information purposes, the 21 clubs included in this research survey were as follows:
Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bradford City, Brighton and Hove Albion, Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Hearts (Heart of Midlothian), Hibernian, Huddersfield Town, Hull City, Leeds United, Luton Town, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Peterborough United, Preston Town, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wigan Athletic.
1 - Which of the aforementioned football teams do you primarily support, if any?
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Leeds United – 125 (6%)
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Newcastle United – 121 (6%)
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Blackpool – 100 (5%)
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Brighton and Hove Albion - 100 (5%)
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Derby County – 100 (5%)
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Hull City – 100 (5%)
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Sheffield United – 56 (3%)
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Sunderland – 56 (3%)
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Middlesbrough – 55 (3%)
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Luton Town – 49 (2%)
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Sheffield Wednesday – 42 (2%)
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Peterborough United – 40 (2%)
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Preston North End – 40 (2%)
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Wigan Athletic – 40 (2%)
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Huddersfield Town – 38 (2%)
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Hibernian – 37 (2%)
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Doncaster Rovers – 35 (2%)
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Bradford City – 34 (2%)
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Barnsley – 31 (2%)
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Hearts – 31 (2%)
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None of the above – 549 (27%)
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N/A (Don’t support a team / support multiple teams equally) – 194 (10%)
2 - How many home matches have you been to during the past 12 months to watch the football team you support?
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0 – 559 (31%)
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1 to 3 – 273 (15%)
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4 to 6 – 301 (17%)
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7 to 10 – 325 (18%)
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11 to 15 – 188 (10%)
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16 to 20 – 73 (4%)
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21 to 25 – 65 (4%)
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26+ - 22 (1%)
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Average – 5.9 home games attended.
3 - How many away matches have you been to during the past 12 months to watch the football team you support?
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0 – 692 (38%)
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1 to 3 – 235 (13%)
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4 to 6 – 258 (14%)
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7 to 10 – 358 (20%)
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11 to 15 – 167 (9%)
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16 to 20 – 44 (2%)
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21 to 25 – 39 (2%)
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26+ - 13 (1%)
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Average – 5.0 away games attended.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 18th May 2022
