Finding affordable football at university: A life ‘On the Loan’

Premier League football prices may be unaffordable for most students or anyone on a budget. But that shouldn’t stop fans from enjoying the beautiful game

Man City are champions, but can students in the city afford to watch Guardiola's side? (Reuters)

Being a university student in Manchester means two things: the chance to earn a world class education, and the chance to watch a lot - and I do mean a lot - of football. However, the primary thing both of these goals have in common is that they both cost a lot - and again I really do mean a lot - of money. But, unlike a university education, football doesn’t have to break the bank.

To attend a Premier League match at, say, Manchester City costs upwards of £35-£60 per ticket with a student discount, though cup games are subsidised for students to sometimes as low as £15. But young fans can reduce the cost even further –and afford to go to more games --by watching a lower league team for a fraction of the price.

On the Loan - named such because we are students who spend most of our maintenance grant on football matches - chronicles our successful attempts at watching football on a budget. A student - or anyone with only pennies to spare - doesn’t have to stop watching a match on a Saturday or every other Saturday, or sometimes a Monday night in Blackburn if you’re feeling adventurous.

To enjoy affordable football, you have to accept that you aren’t going to see Aguero versus Bailly, but you can see Tim versus Dave who both staggered out of bed after a heavy night, much like some of the student fans.

Recently, the On the Loan team attended F.C United of Manchester, a club designed, as Chair of the Board Adrian Seddon said, “to keep to a principle that we should be accessible to all.” With the £7 entry and £3 for a pie and mushy peas, the club is certainly sticking to this core doctrine, and in fact after purchasing a £2 programme, the total cost of the day out was less than most nights out in Manchester.

Watching on as Altrincham emerged 2-1 winners, unfortunately leaving FC United adrift in the relegation zone, it was worth marvelling at the exceptional cost and increasingly improving quality of football in the National League North (other divisions of the National League are available). Adrian Seddon’s comment that “hopefully others will see the benefits of encouraging a young support into their clubs” will truly resonate with students hungry for football. F.C United advocates putting ‘people before profit’ and that’s something that could, and certainly should, drive the modern game.

In terms of travel, which for many football fans can prove an obstacle to attending games, students can truly benefit. While it costs £26.40 for a return train ticket from Manchester to Birmingham to watch Aston Villa, students can often attend games with no travel costs thanks to their annual student bus passes. Fellow scholars should make the most of subsidised travel while it lasts. Attending FC United cost absolutely nothing on the day. Furthermore, having friends in other cities- see Aston Villa- saves on accommodation costs.

Another National League club whose tickets are affordable is Salford City. With £5 student entry for league games, they are a fantastic developing club to attend and they even care about students’ mental health. As a Salford City spokesman said, by providing affordable entry, Salford (like other clubs) is promoting “physical and mental wellbeing amongst young people”. With mental health such an important issue for students, it is true that affordable football helps people get out, get some fresh air, and feel surrounded by like-minded people. Lower league clubs care a great deal about their fans and young people in particular. Making football affordable and encouraging students to attend ultimately can benefit someone’s mental health (speaking from personal experience) and the club itself.

Selling inexpensive tickets also may be beneficial financially to clubs in the long run. Ashton United, for example, is hoping affordable football will make students ‘fans for life’, said the club’s spokesman George Clayton who is actually a student. “Non-league clubs are trying to offer a cheaper, but still exciting, alternative…. (Non-league) clubs up and down are trying new things to encourage more students to games.”

While the club is creating such an environment with an £8 concession entry, it’s also supporting student employees like George who’s been with the club’s media team for three years. “The club has allowed me and others to grow and improve their skills,” he said.

It is not just non-league clubs that are trying new things to help students spend less on football and more on tuition fees, rent and living costs (pints included). While Manchester City for a Premier League men’s ticket charge an average of £35 to £60 for ages 18-21 years (that’s discounted about £10 from adult prices) and up to 40% discounts to local universities on an ad-hoc basis throughout the season, the discounts pale in comparison to ticket prices for Man City’s women’s team.

“Our tickets (for the women’s side) begin at £2 and free hot and cold beverages are included in all ticket prices,” said a Man City spokeswoman. Charging £2 for a student ticket, coupled with free hot drinks on a cold December evening shows that football can be cheap.

If the light blue side of Manchester City doesn’t tempt you, Manchester United is also charging just £5 to watch their new women’s side. Okay, it may not be Premier League men’s standards yet, but with continued investment in the women’s game it soon could be a haven for students. Just so long as the investment and commercialisation of the women’s game doesn’t lead to the exponential rise in prices like in the Premier League men’s and students could become fans of the women’s side for life.

“On the Loan” has been known to splurge occasionally but only if it seems like a good deal. That’s why we saved up and spent part of our loan on a football holiday weekend to Germany last year. Once we realised that Dortmund was far too expensive, we booked the frankly ridiculously cheap flights (£33 return) to Cologne so we could marvel at the German second division. With free accommodation achieved through the Couchsurfing app, we were able to push the loan out on attending a Friday night game in the old West German capital of Bonn. The quality wasn’t great, but the beer was decent.

The following afternoon we attended 1. FC Köln, which with 50,000 fellow fans was a fantastic, affordable experience (tickets were €17). We returned to Manchester realising that two matches, accommodation, return flights and a trip to a cathedral - it’s gorgeous by the way - came to less than two of the cheapest tickets to the upcoming Manchester City v West Ham game.

So, while there is nothing students can do about tuition fees, it’s become clear that football doesn’t have to cost the earth. Go look at the fixtures for this weekend. There will be at least one affordable game that is within five miles of any university. ‘On the Loan’ was created to show you that while the Premier League becomes increasingly expensive, the lower leagues and women’s matches are the promised land for any football-hungry student. Why else would we go to Blackburn on Monday nights.