The Blue Union and Spirit of Shankly Joint Statement
Earlier this month members of the Spirit of Shankly and the Blue Union joined many other supporters at a march to the Premier League HQ in London. The message was clear – we are no longer prepared to accept the disgraceful prices that have been set in order to support our teams.
Ahead of the Merseyside derby, the Blue Union and Spirit of Shankly are uniting to ask that EFC and LFC reward the loyal supporters of both clubs by offering a reciprocal pricing arrangement for away supporters for the corresponding fixtures. “The friendly derby at a friendly price”.
The two fixtures will be broadcast live across the world generating millions of pounds for the participating clubs.
We have asked that away tickets be priced at £20 for Adults and £10 for Concessions with the discount being funded by the clubs and not taken from the £200,000 away fans initiative money.
Last season alone, a total of £182 million was paid to Liverpool & Everton in prize money and revenue from the new TV deal. If both clubs reduced their away ticket prices for these fixtures, the total cost would amount to less than 1% of additional revenue generated last season. Or in even simpler terms, 1 week’s wages for some of the first team players. This doesn’t even take in to account the sponsorship deals and partnerships in place with the two clubs.
The rising cost of attending a football match cannot continue and any such gesture would be warmly welcomed by the travelling fans.
The Blue Union and Liverpool Supporters’ Union will continue to campaign for cheaper tickets for home and away supporters of all clubs throughout the season and hope that both clubs can make this a starting point for a fairer deal for supporters on Merseyside.
Dave Kelly, Chair of the Blue Union stated “The Blue Union are proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with supporters from across the whole of the country, from all four divisions. Supporters putting aside their long-standing tribal differences for the greater good.”
Dave added “Merseyside football has always been innovative and led the way. We would urge both clubs to grasp the nettle and set an example to our competitors and make football affordable for all. The FSFs £20s plenty campaign and call for reciprocal goes some way to achieving this goal.”
Stephen Martin, Spokesperson for Spirit of Shankly said “The Merseyside derby is known throughout the world as the friendly derby and it is time that the ticket prices were affordable. The friendly derby at a friendly price.”
Stephen added “Supporters of both clubs spend a large amount of money throughout the season and the clubs should look to award those supporters by making the shortest away trip having the cheapest ticket price.
