Fact Sheet 13: A Profile of FA Premier League Club Supporters in 2000

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1. Introduction

1.1 This paper is based on the outcome of a sixth round of research on supporters of FA Premier League clubs which has been underway since 1993/94. Information on research methods can be found in the Summary version of the report. Suffice to say here that 80,000 self-complete postal questionnaires were made available for distribution to supporters at the 20 FA Premier League clubs for the 2000 national fan survey and 5,000 were also distributed to fans of Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic. This produced replies, in time for analysis, from 29,411 supporters an overall response rate of 32.7%. Of the total sample we examine here, we concentrate on season ticket holders as a basis for a consistent sampling frame across the clubs. Based on average club attendance figures for 2000, a typical FA Premier League crowd is made up of 62% home season ticket holders, 30% home non-season ticket holders. The remaining 8%, on average, are away fans. In 2000, 41% of season ticket holders contacted provided responses, compared with only 18% of non season ticket holders who did the same. This means, as in previous years, the 2000 sample is over-represented with season ticket holder fans.

2. Who Are FA Premier League Fans in 2000?

Demographics

2.1 Our survey is aimed mainly at adult spectators, so it is no surprise to see that only 3% of our sample is below 15 years of age. This almost certainly under-represents the proportion of younger fans in a typical crowd at top football in England and Scotland. Less than one-third of the 2000 sample is under 30 years of age, and 25% is over 50 years old (only 17% in 1997). As in 1997, our sample shows a very strong strain of support for FA Premier League football among men who are in their 30s. 52% of FA Premier League fans in the survey are between 31-50 years of age.

Table 1: How old are you? (%)

2.2 For some time now, research on fans for top English football has indicated that females constitute between one in six and one in seven (14%) of all spectators. This is confirmed in 2000. In 2000, the smaller, 'provincial' clubs are, once again, near the top of the female fans 'table'. London clubs and the traditional northern strongholds (including Rangers) do least well in securing female support. In 2000 47% of all Bradford City season ticket holding female fans were 'new' fans. Table 2 shows some 'typical' differences between male and female supporters in the sample.

Table 2: Male and female supporters (%)

2.3 97.6% of the 2000 sample describe themselves as 'white British'. Arsenal shows most strongly in recruiting black British supporters, and by some measure, reflecting positive messages from Highbury on and off the pitch about the club's appeal, especially to black fans. Bradford City and Leicester City do slightly better than the rest, in terms of attracting Asian fans. Liverpool does better than most in terms of attracting travelling Asian fans. Only 0.9% of the entire 2000 sample describe themselves as black British or British Asian. Foreign Nationals seem to be increasing in number more strongly than British fans drawn from ethnic minorities.

2.4 Income levels in the 2000 sample reflect, at least in part, the continuing strong showing in the survey from season ticket holders and from fans higher up the occupational scales. The `cloth cap' image of fans at top football is with us no more. In 1997, around one in five (19%) of the sample earned over £30,000. In 2000, this was close to one-third (33%). 83% of the 2000 sample are employed; 2% are unemployed, rather below the figure in most football towns and cities; 2.5% are full time students, a further 11% are retired with 1.5% describing them selves as homemakers.

Table 3: If you are in full time work, how much do you earn? (%)

2.5 Social class data offers some tentative evidence for the 'gentrification' of the sport. This issue is made more complex by the changing class structure over time. But, more affluent fans, and also more fans from the higher social classes have been recruited to football recently than fans from manual worker backgrounds (Table 4).

Table 4: Social class and crowd change FA Premier League male fans (%)*

*'New' fans are fans who have started attending matches only in the past five years
'Returned' fans are those who stopped attending and have returned to football in recent years

3. Traditions of Club Support

Family Traditions

3.1 We asked our respondents if they would describe themselves as coming from a family which had a tradition of support for their chosen club. The results here are interesting. Nationally, fewer than six out of ten (54%) of the total sample now felt able to describe themselves in this way (56% in 1997). There is a strong local Scottish/north east effect here, as revealed in the season ticket returns. The top seven clubs whose fans have a 'family tradition' of support come from the North, the only exception here being the Midlands club, Derby County. Only Manchester United and Leeds United, with their national supporting bases, are missing from this list of 'family-based' northern clubs. London clubs, generally, are less likely than others to be clubs with a 'traditional' fan base of this kind, one linked across generations by kinship.

3.2 In 2000, 70% of the whole sample were 'locally born' (within 20 miles of the club ground). There is a strong 'northern' effect here, with Middlesbrough, Bradford City, Newcastle United, Everton and Sunderland all having over 80% of season ticket fans who are locally born. At Liverpool and Leeds United, however, the figure is lower, and for this, perhaps unusual, Manchester United sample, it is down to just 46%. Wimbledon also has a very strong 'non-local' fan base accentuated, perhaps, since the club's move to play at Selhurst Park.

3.3 Fans at Celtic, for example, seem more likely than others to maintain 'family' support for their club despite being born away from Glasgow. Again, there is a north/south division here. Half of the total sample also follow the club their own father supported. 23% of respondents highlighted no particular person as being important in influencing them to support their own club. 44% identified their father/main carer, whilst 7% said their mother was the key influence, with that figure doubling for female fans.

New Fans and Returned Fans

3.4 Around 32% in the south east, and 16% in the north west of our sample in 2000 are either new fans (started watching within the last five years) or returned fans. Around one in three (33%) of all new fans in our sample are female. Significantly, too, only three out of ten new fans describe themselves as coming from families with a tradition of supporting football. New fans and returned fans are also more likely to be drawn from higher, rather than lower, income groups (£30,000+). This suggests a new audience for the sport which is disproportionately drawn from females and from traditionally 'non-footballing', higher income families. Table 5 points to some differences between new fans and longstanding fans.

Table 5: Some differences between 'new' fans and 'longstanding' fans (%)

4. Supporter Commitment

The Importance of Football

4.1 How important is football to the average fan? Is it a good or product like any other? What kinds of fan hold the game dearest? Are there regional differences in play here? 25% of the sample had their club as one of the most important things in their lives. 12% of fans described supporting the club as 'just one of the things I do'. Everton, Sunderland, Chelsea and the Old Firm had strongest support here. Wimbledon, Watford, and Southampton had the most fans who were relatively 'uncommitted'. The importance of the club also increases with distance travelled to home matches, a finding which rather challenges the view that it is, simply, locality and place which most strongly cements fans to their football clubs.

How many matches are watched by fans in a season

4.2 We also asked fans about their attendance habits. As FA Premier league matches are dominated by season ticket holders, 68% of the sample attend all home matches.. Higher earning and more geographically distant fans tend to be the season ticket holders who miss some home matches. 11% of the 2000 sample watch fewer than 10 games, and this represents our more 'casual' fanbase. On the away front, women attend nearly as strongly as men. Less than 23% of the sample attended no away games. In 2000, Sheffield Wednesday topped the list of clubs with non-attendees at away games (30%), with Chelsea showing the fewest fans who never travel away (13%). These figures of non-away match attnders tend to be smaller for the London clubs, of course, because there are more local away games here than for the rest of the league.

Formal Connections

4.3 Finally, in terms of more formal commitments to their clubs, our sample includes 9% of supporters who are club shareholders, as well as others who are supporters' club members and members of other club organisations. Our sample also includes a small number of FSA and ISA members (1.4%), but we think our 'alternative' supporter networks are reasonably represented in our overall sample, given the national strength of such organisations. Typical club shareholders are higher earning male professionals who are longstanding fans and who tend to follow the same club as their father. Shareholders are most prominent in 2000 at Celtic, Newcastle United and Aston Villa.

5. Travelling to the Match

Local and Travelling Fans

5.1 Most regular fans at top clubs in Britain (69%) live within 20 miles of their own club's ground, but around one in six live up to fifty miles away or more. Manchester United top the list of clubs who have fans living more than 100 miles away; while Bradford City has the largest proportion of fans who live within five miles of the home stadium. Generally, the more 'local' clubs in our sample tend to be from 'town' or smaller city clubs from the North and from the Midlands.

How do Fans Travel?

5.2 In previous reports we have pointed to the dominance of the car in spectator travel at home. Around six out of ten fans (60%) use their own car for travel to home matches. 29% get a lift with someone else. Only 10% walk or cycle to games. A substantial proportion who live close to the stadium use their own car on match days. Some room here, perhaps, for improvement in public transport options? Only the London clubs and the North East duo of Newcastle United and Sunderland have fans who find favour in the public transport option. Supporter coaches work best only in Scotland, where 32% of Rangers and Celtic fans use them for home matches.

6. With Whom do You Attend Matches?

Who Goes With You to Games?

6.1 Around 55% of respondents attend matches with friends, but family groups of various kinds are at least as popular at football, too. Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and Celtic seem most popular with those fans who want to bring school age kids; Newcastle, Sunderland and Rangers fans have rather different priorities. Blackburn Rovers fans are, clearly, more likely than others to attend matches with their spouse or partner. 9% of all fans in 2000 attend matches alone (Table 6).

Table 6: Who is usually with you when you attend home games? (%)

Gender and Match Groups

6.2 Women fans are increasingly the big news at top football these days. A clear sign of this is that only just under half (48%) of our total sample now watch in all male groupings at football. 41% attend in mixed groups. Interestingly here, twice as many female (11%) as male (6%) fans were influenced into supporting their club by their mother.

7. Matchday experience

Stadium changes

7.1 A key debate currently is that around the possible re-introduction of terraces at Premiership grounds. The issue has been around for some time among fans, some of whom argue that the atmosphere at top grounds now is too sedate, and that prices for match tickets in seats are too high. We first asked if fans generally approved of recent changes to top stadia. Almost half the sample (49%) do find the changes more attractive, with only 11% actively disapproving. Change is also more easily embraced, it seems, where their has been good fortune on the pitch, Sunderland, Bradford City and Chelsea, are obvious examples here of supporters whose clubs have done well in new environments. The Stadium of Light in Sunderland does seem to be a convincing answer to those who query whether seated grounds can ever by really atmospheric.

Do Fans Want Terraces?

7.2 In the 1997 survey, almost four out of ten (38%) favoured a general change towards terracing, with 52% opposing this position. Today, 76% of fans in our 2000 sample favour seats for themselves with the remainder (24%) preferring to stand. Supporters at more 'traditional', larger 'working class' clubs in urban areas, where female fans are likely to be smaller in number - or clubs where standing areas have until recently been a feature (for example, Bradford City) - are rather more in favour of standing areas than are other supporters. However, only 15% of Everton season ticket fans want to stand; the figure for Leeds United supporters is 39%.

Value for Money

7.3 We asked supporters to compare football to other leisure activities in terms of value for money. In 2000, 68% felt the football compared reasonably to other activities in this respect. 24% felt football was actually 'better value' than other activities.. Assessing value for money at football is a very subjective exercise, of course. High prices, by some measures, must be accompanied by a good product and facilities. 16% of the whole sample felt their clubs offered less than 'reasonable' value for money for home games. Wimbledon, Manchester United and Bradford City did best on the value for money issue, less so Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, a club which was about to move into a new stadium in 2001.

Home grounds and Crowd Atmosphere

7.4 Back in 1996, 38% of all supporters surveyed felt that the atmosphere at games was 'as lively and as enjoyable as ever'. In 2000 that figure was down to 30%. Recently promoted clubs tended to do best here, such as Watford and Sunderland. Generally fans at the larger 'big city' clubs in the North and the Midlands, are more unhappy, but there is no clear-cut pattern. Only 7% of this Manchester United sample thought the atmosphere at Old Trafford was 'as lively as ever'. Few fans thought going to football was now 'deadly dull'

Our Matchday Activities

7.5 This is an important issue: what do supporters feel about how they are treated at games? Are some clubs too restrictive with their stewarding, for example? In fact, some respondents felt that clubs should be stricter with some supporters (16%). Calls for action on stronger supporter management came most notably from supporters from Celtic, Leicester City, Watford, and Chelsea, whilst 30% of Manchester United fans felt the club was simply 'too strict' with fans already. Most supporters felt it was still possible to 'let off steam' at home matches, with the exception, again, of Manchester United fans.

7.6 When we asked about the efforts of clubs to add to the atmosphere of home games, 16% of fans positively liked their club's efforts, compared to 13% who didn't like what their clubs did. Most people here thought things were about 'okay'. When asked about what the fans actually want from a game - apart from a win and some reasonable entertainment, of course - a reasonably priced ticket topped the fan wish list with 82% opting for this. Comfort levels were also important (69%), as was a loud and partisan crowd (63%).

7.7 For fans who travel away from home in 2000, the best grounds to go to visit were Anfield, Old Trafford and Highbury, and the nominated worst were Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, and Elland Road. Old Trafford appears in both lists, presumably because fans from smaller clubs relish a trip to Manchester, while others with strong rivalries with United - from Merseyside and Leeds, for example - seem much less enthusiastic (Table 7).

Table 7: Best and Worst FA Premier League Clubs to Visit

8. The Health of the English Game

What are the Problems Facing the Game Today?

8.1 We offered to our respondents a list of potential ailments concerning the game today, excluding the issue of foreign players, which was covered in the survey of 1999. Fans from the Glasgow clubs, Liverpool and Manchester United were most concerned here over changing match kick off times, which was identified as a real problem by 60% of all fans. Ticket prices were an issue everywhere, but especially at West Ham United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur. Big business worried Sheffield Wednesday and Everton fans. Hooliganism and racism generally seem less important issues for fans these days, in terms of their seriousness. Concerns about ticket pricing are illustrated by the fact that 50% of fans claim that it is not easy for 'ordinary' fans to attend their club's home matches at the moment. More usually it is at the more affluent and stock market listed club, that the feelings are more strongly expressed that its difficult for 'ordinary fans to attend matches.

9. Spending and Football

9.1 Top football in Britain, as we all know, is undergoing something of an economic boom at present. Demand for the game is at its highest, probably for at least 30 years, and money spent on football and its products by 'live' spectators and other followers of the sport is reputed to be rising all the time. We wanted to look here at trying to collate information about the current cost of attending top football in Britain, and at fan spend on football and its associated products.

Match ticket and merchandise spend

9.2 High and low prices for match attendance are bandied about regularly these days. The average season ticket cost in 2000 was £380. London clubs dominate the top of the list, (Chelsea £666), with the cheapest access being offered by Sheffield Wednesday and at price-conscious Wimbledon. As far as match ticket prices are concerned, in 1997 fans paid just over £17; in 2000 this average price has risen to £22. Linked with this figure is the average spend by season ticket holders on club merchandise. In 1999 this figure was, on average, £94. In 2000 this has risen, to £117. Rangers (£165) and Celtic (£176) in Scotland actually top this list, with more modest Southampton (£70) at the bottom.

Total Match Spend in 2000

9.3 Of course, ticket prices are only half the story; what of total spend by fans to watch their club play (including tickets, travel, food etc., but not merchandise)? Average total spend by fans in a season on all these items reached £961 for the total sample in 2000, up just less than £300 since 1997 For non-season holders this figure is around £600 in 2000. The 'fashionable' northern clubs and the London clubs harbour fans who are among the higher spending groups. With all costs added in, including merchandise spend, the average season ticket holder spend in 2000 is around £1100, but at Chelsea this figure is as high as £1746, compared to nearby Wimbledon at just £618. Fans earning £10 000 per year spend, on average, around 10% of their income on football compared to fans who earn over £50 000, who spend closer to just 2% on average.

9.4 24% of all fans in the sample say they have thought of giving up football recently because of cost. However, more than 60% of fans tend to buy a matchday programme, as well as food and drink in the ground. 55% of all fans now buy a club replica shirt.

Commercial policies at club?

9.5 We asked our sample to what extend their club's alone should be involved in making decisions over ticketing prices and merchandise. It has been proposed by critics of higher ticket prices that a new regulatory framework be set up to curb price rises. Our fans disagreed with a new regulatory framework, with 66% of fans preferring to keep these commercial activities as the preserve of clubs, although a strong minority (28%) of fans did call for some new regulation. Newcastle United fans were most keen for outside intervention - due in part, perhaps, to recent disputes between fans and officials at this club.

10. Football and Television

Are You A Live Football Subscriber on TV?

10.1 The intimate relationship between top British football and TV is one we have been exploring for some time in these surveys. In 1997, 55% of our sample were subscribers to live football coverage, namely Sky Sports. In 2000 the figure is 63% who have some sort of live football subscription link, including 7% who subscribe to On Digital. Long distance supporters, those under 60 years of age and 'new' fans are most likely to have a satellite/cable link to the game. Most supporters watch Champions League matches, and England Internationals 'live' on TV. TV followers are most prominent in London, the Midlands and the North East. Almost half of all fans watch Sky Sports' Sunday FA Premier League coverage, with only one in eight watching the Nationwide League coverage on Sundays. 64% of fans believe the balance of 'live football' on TV is currently okay, with 10% feeling there could actually be more coverage. The 26% of the sample who object to the amount of live coverage today, tend to be disproportionately drawn from the professional classes, and are also more likely to be male 'activist' fans and committed away attendees

Football and the Internet

10.2 The potential for huge growth exists here. Only 38% of Premier League fans now have no internet access. 45% of fans are connected at home, some way ahead of the national average. The least 'connected' clubs, in terms of supporter links, are Leicester City, Everton, and Derby County. Chelsea is the most 'connected' club. Out of all those fans who now have internet access, 14% use it daily for football information, with 60% agreeing they would be likely to use it more for information on the game in the future. Older workers, manual workers and those who are retired, are those who are least likely to predict more internet use for football.

11. Player Behaviour and the Referee

Player behaviour on the pitch

11.1 The increasing number of foreign players in the FA Premier League is often connected now -perhaps unfairly - to issues of player behaviour. Only 11% of fans felt their players 'sometimes' behaved badly on the pitch. Fans at Arsenal, Sunderland, and Chelsea identified most behaviour of this kind, with Bradford City, and Leicester City fans most likely to see only saintliness in their own stars. Player behaviour does appear to be changing in our respondents' eyes, however, with 39% of fans claiming to notice a worsening in players' behaviour.

11.2 What was it that fans especially disliked about what players' did? Almost nine-out-of-ten (89%) pointed to players who pretended to be fouled, and 64% to players who argued with referees. Just over half (51%) picked out the high wages of players. Players visibly swearing worried only 18%, and players who go for nights out seem more a concern for the new generation of continental football managers in England than they do for our football supporters - only 16% objected.

Refereeing

11.3 A vexed issue, , tending to result in a 'no win' situation for referees. Only 8% of the sample said that referees had been generally 'good' in 2000, with 63% accepting that there was some variance in quality in the 2000 season. Of concern here, however, is that 29% of all fans saw all referees simply as bad officials. Manchester United fans were the most supportive of referees, while Everton supporters offered the least positive ratings for officials. In terms of suggesting improvements in refereeing, 67% of fans saw new technology as the best way to decide important goal-line incidents, with 57% arguing for its use for controversial penalty incidents. Fewer than three out of ten fans (28%) now argue that referees alone should make decisions, a real sway towards the preferred use of new technology.

12. Supporter Behaviour

What misbehaviour have fans witnessed at matches?

12.1 In 1997 and 1999, around one-quarter of the sample had reported racism aimed at players in those seasons, and this figure is up to 31% in 2000. Is this a real rise or the result of increased sensitivity among fans?. It is difficult to tell. Reported fighting is less of a problem in 2000, compared to 1997 or 1999. Close to four-out-of-ten fans felt their club had 'strong' policies on racism, with most fans thinking their club did 'at least enough' to deal with this problem. Only 7% of fans were 'unhappy' at the lack of local activity concerning racism - perhaps more a measure of fan apathy than of the amount of anti-racist work occurring in football. We introduced a new fan 'incivility' to test this year, gay/sexuality abuse. 16% of all supporters reported such incidents, with highest figures coming from fans at Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham United.

13. Community Issues

How well do the clubs do in the local community?

13.1 As part of new Customer Care Charters at all FA Premier League clubs, fans were asked how well their clubs fared on a number of issues. Most FA Premier League fans felt their club did well on community links and on giving a positive image of their town/city/area. Contrastingly, most clubs did rather poorly in actually involving supporters in their activities. Sunderland and Bradford City did the best here. Newcastle United and Manchester United did poorly in terms of meeting with supporters. Leicester City did best in terms of providing link between players and fans. 67% of all fans thought their own clubs did poorly in terms of allowing 'less well off' fans to attend matches. Newcastle United and Chelsea came bottom of the pile here. Derby County topped the league of clubs who offered activities 'involving children'.

14. Summary

14.1 Most respondents in the FA Premier League Survey for 2000 seemed quite optimistic about the future of their clubs and about the general health of the English game. Most prefer to sit, and most feel the rash of new stadia have not substantially worsened the atmosphere of attending a match, though a growing number of supporters are registering a negative change in match atmosphere. The game is doing well at attracting females and high earners, less so with respect to ethnic minority fans. Most fans in the sample who have school-age children now take them to matches, but there is a rising concern, it seems, about the behaviour of players. TV kick of times, ticket pricing and a relative lack of 'atmosphere' inside some larger grounds, are of concern to fans of the top clubs. There is a wide range of views on the 'effectiveness' of the clubs' community roles, and club/supporter links in this respect.

References and Further Reading

Copies of the National FA Premier League Fan Surveys (1996-2000) are available from the Sir Norman Chester Centre, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH. Consult our website for prices: http://www.le.ac.uk/fo/publications/publist.html

Orders with cheque made payable to 'University of Leicester' to: Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Sociology Department, University of Leicester, LEI 7RH, UK

Tel: O116-2522741 for further inquiries

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