FSF: Fans must benefit from Premier windfall

On February 10, a £5.136 billion deal was agreed by the Premier League with Sky Sports and BT Sport for the UK TV rights for three years from 2016-17.

Part of chief executive Richard Scudamore's announcement praised the ticketing policies used by the top 20 teams in English football after seeing record high attendances last season.

However, Kevin Miles, the FSF chief executive, believes more needs to be done by the Premier League to drive ticket prices down and ensure the game is more affordable for the fans who help make the Premier League so appealing to broadcasters.

"Generally I think our first instinct is that amount of money coming into the game could be a real force for good," Miles told Perform. "The big question obviously is where does it go and what's it used for? 

"The danger is that it comes into football, out of the clubs, out through players and agents, but has no lasting benefit.

"As a football supporters organisation, our main concern is making sure that match attendance remains accessible, and becomes again accessible for people, and have a big impact on reducing ticket prices."

Set up to fight the fans' corner within football, the FSF have been vocal on other issues such as safe standing and stopping Premier League matches being played abroad for further financial revenue.

Before the new TV deal was announced a campaign to introduce a £20 cap on away ticket prices was already underway, and now Miles believes the extra income can make it a reality.

"The new deal gives us an opportunity to have a massive increase in the money that's set aside for that [ticket price reductions]," he added. 

"We've costed it out, that if you were to cap all away tickets in the Premier League at £20, and this is assuming a full take-up of the away allocation at every game, that would still cost them only three per cent of the increase in funding that they've got in the latest deal. 

"So it's entirely financially possible."