Hansard

Tapadh leibh, Oifigeir Riaghlaidh. In Scotland, football is more than a sport. It is a cultural anchor—a weekly ritual that is passed from generation to generation—that makes a significant economic contribution to society.

Gillian Mackay referenced the recent independent academic research by the Fraser of Allander Institute, which revealed that Scottish football contributes £820 million in gross value added to the Scottish economy and supports more than 14,000 jobs. The former figure includes fan spend that is related to matches across the country, with attendances at professional football matches involving a Scottish team in the 2023-24 season topping an incredible 6.8 million. Those figures clearly demonstrate the significant contribution that Scottish football makes to society, which is hugely encouraging.

Supporting a team regularly involves a significant commitment in time and money, whether fans attend only home games as a season ticket holder or they follow their team home and away every week. In Scotland, season ticket prices for home fans in the Scottish Premiership this season vary greatly, from £225 at Livingston to £608 at Celtic. Gillian Mackay is correct to say that there are no set ticket price caps for away fans, and that prices can exceed £30 a ticket, but that is not always the case, with tickets for five of the six Scottish Premiership games this weekend costing £30 or less.

It is important to note that the SPFL rules require that visiting supporters cannot be charged more than home supporters for a similar seat, and that pricing discrimination between home and away supporters is prohibited. It should therefore not be the case that visiting fans are being unfairly treated compared with home fans.

That is also not an issue below the premiership. Outside the top tier, it is commonplace for clubs to offer tickets below £25 to attract supporters. At Arbroath Football Club, for example, terraced away adult tickets cost £21 or £22 this season. Last Friday night, St Johnstone fans paid £24 for a ticket to see their team at Raith Rovers. In the women’s game, prices are much cheaper, with the average Scottish Women’s Premier League match this season costing £9.10 for an adult.

Scottish clubs already actively implement a wide range of pricing initiatives and incentives to ensure that football remains accessible to supporters of all ages and backgrounds. Those measures illustrate that clubs are responsive to affordability concerns, and it is in their interests to be so. This year, for a second consecutive season, Hibs ran its football for a fiver initiative for the club’s fixture against Motherwell in January, at which the offering of tickets at £5 to both home and away supporters led to a full stadium. St Mirren has a grass-roots and family offer. Aberdeen has had a season ticket price freeze for two seasons. Many clubs operate schemes to encourage family attendance, such as the one at St Johnstone that Brian Whittle described.

In the English Premier League, which is the richest league in the world and does not rely on gate receipts to anywhere near the same extent as the leagues in Scotland, there has been a price cap of £30 for away fans since the 2016-17 season, and Premier League clubs have agreed another extension through the 2026-27 season. However, that cap is only for that league—it does not apply to the tiers below in the English Football League, where away ticket prices vary significantly and can exceed £40 for higher-demand games. Interestingly, the cap does not apply for cup games, either, which would be equivalent to the ones that Ms Mackay mentioned.

It is also important to note that there is no price cap for home fans in the English Premier League. The cost of adult season tickets at Arsenal, for example, ranges from £900 to more than £2,000. At Everton, season ticket prices range from £640 to £900, and at Bournemouth this season, adult season tickets cost between £423 and £1,164, so although away ticket prices are capped in the Premier League, home fans pay a premium.

Football is substantially cheaper in Scotland than in England, but I absolutely appreciate that cheaper is not necessarily the same as affordable, and affordability is at the heart of the matter. Supporters’ groups have been vocal on the issue, and I have sympathy with the twenty’s plenty campaign. However, clubs have their own challenges. Operating costs have surged—from energy bills to stadium maintenance to the cost of improving squads. Simply lowering prices is not always economically sustainable for SPFL clubs.