A quarter of fans who have season tickets in the EFL, which operates the three football divisions below the top-tier English Premier League, are attending more matches than they used to, according to a new survey.
The EFL’s 2019 Supporters Survey of nearly 28,000 supporters covered a range of fan experience issues, with the 2018-19 season having generated the highest average attendances across the three divisions for 60 years.
According to the findings, 25% of respondents now go to more games than they used to – even though their status as a season ticket holder has not changed. These ‘extra’ games could be fixtures that are not necessarily covered by the season ticket, such as away or knockout competition matches.
However, it would appear that travelling to away matches could be the most significant driver. Interestingly, while 95% of supporters attended at least one home game during the season, a whopping three-quarters also said that they had attended an away game over the course of the campaign.
An EFL spokesman told TheTicketingBusiness.com that 15% of season ticket holders attend fewer matches now than before, while 60% attend about the same number.
The EFL added that the appetite for more football from season ticket holders was especially noticeable with under-35s, with 32% attending more games now than previously.
Without disclosing the underlying data, the EFL said that the “vast majority” of supporters said that their clubs made it easy to buy tickets, with 80% of respondents accessing information about match tickets via club websites.
Atmosphere and safety were ranked as the two most important factors for match regulars, while the survey found that 58% of respondents access content via a mobile phone during the match.
Image: Jon Candy
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