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With an exciting end to the Scottish Premiership in sight, and with Scotland set to play in the first World Cup since 1998, it’s time to bring football closer to fans, says Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay.
The party will start by working with football clubs and fan groups to review ticket costs, with a view to agreeing a price cap of £25 for travelling away fans.
A cap has been in place in England for over a decade and means travelling fans do not pay more than £30 for a ticket. There are also price caps on Europa and Champion’s League matches. No such cap exists in Scotland.
This is part of a package of steps that the party is calling for, including working with the UK government to ensure that all major sporting events are broadcast on free-to-air channels and empowering fans to have an ownership stake in their football or sports clubs.
Gillian led calls for Scotland games to be shown on free-to-view TV in the lead up to world cup qualification and wants the change to be made permanent.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said:
“Scottish fans are some of the best and most dedicated anywhere in the world, but in the current environment too many are being priced out of our national game.
“For away fans in particular, it is getting increasingly expensive to follow their teams.
“We will work with fans, clubs and other parties to look at the impact of capping prices and making football more affordable for people at a time when bills and costs are soaring.
“Price caps are already common in European competitions and in the English Premiership, and have had clear support from fans across Scotland. We will do anything we can to make them a reality.
“With Scotland set to play in the world cup, one of the most fitting legacies we could leave is embracing the excitement that so many are feeling and making our sport more affordable for the people who follow their teams through good and bad times.
“I’ve already met with supporter groups and have written to clubs. I’m looking forward to meeting with them after the election and seeing how we can work together.”
Gillian added:
“Bringing football closer to fans isn’t only about the price of tickets. It’s about how our clubs are structured and who they work for.
“Fan-ownership is thriving in Scotland with 3 out of the 4 top flight clubs in the top 6 and the other winning the league cup.
"We will work to ensure that fans have their voices heard by football governing bodies to prevent the loss of our historic game to big business profiteers.”
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