Football Fans Pay the Price of Away Support

MANCHESTER, England, November 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- CFS research shows how much football fans are prepared to pay to follow their team around the country

With both the 2004/05 Premiership season and the UEFA Champions League well under way, 'die hard' Premier League football fans are preparing to travel thousands of miles to support their teams, but funding their dedication can be an expensive business - especially if they follow Newcastle United.

Leading financial services provider Co-operative Financial Services (CFS), has compiled a 'Cost of Travel' league table to see just how deep football fans' pockets need to be to follow their teams to away games.

Top of the 'Cost of Travel' league is Newcastle United. Any fan that attends each of the Magpies away matches will travel a total of 8,482 miles, equivalent to a round-the-world trip. For Newcastle supporters who travel by train it costs on average GBP2,053, or GBP957.07 in petrol for those who travel by car. Coach travel is the cheapest mode of transport, but for Geordie fans it costs more than GBP780 over the course of a season, more than any other Premier League club.

Steve Bruce's Birmingham City is the cheapest team to follow to away games. Fellow Midlanders Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion are also in the bottom four clubs in the 'Cost of Travel' league. Their geographical location in the centre of the country means fans pay less for their travel.

On average Newcastle United fans pay a staggering GBP543 in rail travel, or GBP465 in petrol costs more than Birmingham City fans. The figures in the cost of travel league only take into account the cost of travel to away games in the Premiership over the course of a season and do not include the cost of travel to Cup matches or European games.

This season the longest single journey for fans is that between Newcastle and Portsmouth, where a round trip of some 678 miles could cost GBP72 in petrol on average, GBP105 for a standard return train ticket and, for Newcastle United fans, GBP53 for coach travel.

Now that Portsmouth are enjoying a second season in the Premier League their neighbours Southampton will be happy that they finally have a local derby to attend. Plus the round trip between Southampton and Portsmouth is 21 miles costing less than GBP5 in petrol! However those Premiership clubs in the north won't be relishing another trip to the South Coast for a mid-week match in the middle of winter!

The shortest away journey is that between Everton and Liverpool. The great Merseyside rivals are separated only by Stanley Park, hence the distance between Anfield and Goodison Park measures less than one mile with the clubs sharing the same train station.

CFS Media Relations Manager Duncan Bowker said: "The results show the great financial lengths fans go to support their club on the road. When you consider added costs such as match tickets and sustenance it becomes clear that the cost of being a true football fan can be considerable. We strongly advise fans to plan for their expenditure and consider ways in which savings can be made to reduce their travel costs which would bring down the cost of being such a devoted football fan."

    
    CFS tips to help fans save on their travel costs:

    - Give your fellow fans a lift to the game. Sharing your car and your
      petrol costs will reduce the overall travel bill

    - Driving a car with a smaller engine consumes less fuel and can save
      money on your motor insurance and road tax outlay

    - Book train tickets for away games as far in advance as possible to take
      advantage of discounted fares

    - Join your football club's official travel club to make savings on coach
      travel

    - Budget for the season ahead, saving money if possible to cover the cost
      of following your team

    Notes to Editors:

    - Co-operative Financial Services was formed in April 2002 to bring 
      together The Co-operative Bank, smile (the Internet bank) and the
      Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) under the common leadership and
      management of Mervyn Pedelty, Chief Executive of CFS.

    - ISDN facilities are available for broadcast media interviews.

CALCULATIONS

Mileage:

The car mileage calculation is based on a fan travelling from the same postal code as his / her favourite club to the same post code as the ground being visited. The mileage has been calculated using the Green Flag route planner that calculates the best routes by car.

    
    The cost to travel by road is based on three criteria:

    1. Mileage

    2. Average MPG for a 1.6 litre 'family' car. This figure (33.5mpg) has 
       been taken from the RAC and is based on both urban and motorway
       driving in a loaded car i.e. More than one occupant.

    3. Average petrol price. This figure (GBP3.78 pence per gallon) is taken 
       from the AA's regular petrol price survey and is the average UK
       figure for unleaded petrol for July 2004.

Rail:

This has been based on purchase of standard open return tickets, travelling from the nearest train station of the away team to that of the home team. i.e. Finsbury Park to Horwich Parkway for Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers and was sourced from www.thetrainline.com using a Saturday morning as time of outward travel, returning after 6.30pm the same day. The same date was used for all calculations.

Coach travel:

This was sourced directly from each club's website, press office, official supporters club or travel club. Where a full list of pricing was unavailable a range of prices was requested and an average calculated.

    
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    Club                        Total        Cost of          Rail    Coach 
                              Mileage         Petrol        travel   travel
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Newcastle              8482 miles      GBP957.07   GBP1,163.10   GBP782
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Middlesbrough          7142 miles      GBP805.87     GBP999.90   GBP302
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Norwich City           6986 miles      GBP788.27     GBP946.10   GBP264
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Portsmouth             6710 miles      GBP757.13     GBP979.60   GBP470
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Southampton            6406 miles      GBP722.83   GBP1,015.60   GBP458
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Blackburn Rovers       5808 miles      GBP655.35     GBP820.20   GBP265
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Everton                5652 miles      GBP637.75     GBP756.30   GBP290
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Liverpool              5652 miles      GBP637.75     GBP756.30   GBP264
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Charlton Athletic      5512 miles      GBP621.95     GBP671.20   GBP235
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bolton Wanderers       5500 miles      GBP620.60     GBP748.10   GBP262
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Fulham                 5486 miles      GBP619.02     GBP736.20   GBP305
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Crystal Palace         5354 miles      GBP604.12     GBP736.20   GBP290
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Man Utd                5198 miles      GBP586.52     GBP706.50   GBP269
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Man City               5162 miles      GBP582.46     GBP706.50   GBP255
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Chelsea                5080 miles      GBP573.21     GBP736.20   GBP490
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Tottenham              5004 miles      GBP564.63     GBP736.20   GBP252
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Arsenal                4916 miles      GBP554.70     GBP736.20   GBP258
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    West Bromwich Albion   4478 miles      GBP505.28     GBP642.80   GBP244
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Aston Villa            4394 miles      GBP495.80        GBP620   GBP223
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Birmingham City        4354 miles      GBP491.29        GBP620   GBP218
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE Co-operative Bank