Protests greet Premier League bosses as fans demand price caps

When the club executives of the Premier League meet today at the Meridien in Piccadilly it won’t be plain sailing. Before they’ve even stepped inside the luxury 5-star hotel they'll first have to negotiate a passage through a protest by members of the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF).

FSF representatives from all 20 top-flight clubs will be outside the Meridien Hotel to greet the great and the good of the Premier League, calling for away tickets to be capped at £20.

According to BBC Sport, the Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has agreed to present a letter to shareholders during the meeting that contains a series of proposals to help ease the financial burden on fans:

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• Every Premier League club to put aside £1m per season for the purpose of subsidising ticket prices for their away fans
• A "structured engagement" with supporters at the 20 Premier League club to discuss how best to spend that £1m subsidy
• A stop to clubs categorising games for away fans and charging different prices depending on the appeal of the visiting team
• No reduction in the allocation of away tickets or the relocation of travelling fans to inferior accommodation

The FSF have decided to stage their protest following last month's record deal between the Premier League and Sky and BT Sport, which will earn the clubs a staggering £5.14bn in the three seasons commencing in 2016-17. That figure will rise still further once deals for overseas, online and radio rights are finalised.

With so much cash swilling around the Premier League, the FSF believe fans should also reap some of the benefits, as outlined in the letter that will be delivered by Scudamore.

"Away fans generate much of the atmosphere, often sparking the home support into life," says the letter. "Over recent years however there has been a general decline in the numbers of away supporters, and this has much to do with the high price of tickets. This is why the Football Supporters' Federation has campaigned around the idea of 'Twenty's Plenty', seeking a maximum ticket price for away fans of £20 a game."

The letter says that the cost to the clubs of implementing the 'Twenty's Plenty' initiative would be around £20m a season, "a modest figure in the context of the new TV deal."

While Premier League clubs have taken steps in recent seasons to reduce the costs for fans of following their teams – such as the 'Away Fans' Initiative' ­– FSF chief executive Kevin Miles believes more should be done in the wake of last month's broadcasting deal. "During the past 20 years, football has been flooded with money, delivering huge rewards for owners, agents, and players. This time we want to see fans benefit too," said Miles. "This colossal TV deal gives clubs a tremendous opportunity to give something back – they can easily afford to drop ticket prices and make football affordable for all."