More than half the Premier
League clubs have been accused
of “excluding families from
poorer backgrounds” after a
Guardian study found that a
few of them are charging as
much as £450 for children to be
mascots, with West Ham
United’s the most expensive
package at £600.
With the average price of a
replica kit for a junior fan
costing £65, according to the
study, parents faced with
forking out for matches over
the festive period are having to
count the increasing cost of
following a top-flight club.
Eleven Premier League teams,
most of whom have spent time
in the Championship in the past
10 years, ask a fee for being a
mascot on matchday. Queens
Park Rangers and Swansea City
both charge £450 plus VAT for
their packages while West
Ham’s prices range from £350-
£600 depending on the fixture.
The packages vary between
£250-400 at Tottenham,
£300-400 at Leicester City,
£150-425 at Crystal Palace and
£330-390 at Stoke. Burnley,
West Bromwich Albion and
Hull City also charge, while
Newcastle United’s corporate
hospitality packages of
£3,000-4,000 include mascot
places.
Some clubs, including Spurs,
QPR and Newcastle, do,
however, offer a number of
free mascot places through
competitions and charities.
Others do not charge at all:
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea,
Everton, Liverpool, Manchester
City, Manchester United,
Southampton and Sunderland.
Clive Efford, the shadow
minister for sport who is
campaigning for fans to be
represented on club boards,
said: “I find it extraordinary
that clubs which are getting so
much money from TV rights
then exclude kids from poorer
backgrounds by imposing a fee.
“It means that a certain class of
kids will never be able to be a
team’s mascot, and that doesn’t
seem fair when their clubs are
earning so much money. It
seems ridiculous that some will
be excluded because their
parents can’t afford to put them
on a waiting list.”
The majority of the mascot
packages include hospitality
places at the designated match,
a free kit, signed footballs,
photos of the day, match tickets
and other benefits. Some clubs,
including Swansea and Stoke,
describe the deals as “great
value for money” and say that
there are long waiting lists, yet
supporters have questioned the
need for Premier League clubs,
many with super-rich owners,
to charge such prices.
A spokesman for the Swansea
City Supporters’ Trust said:
“The pricing of mascot
packages is higher than we
would like as a trust and we are
pressing to get this price
reduced.” Tottenham Hotspur
Supporters’ Trust added:
“There is a general feeling that
it’s a poor show to charge for
being a mascot.”
A spokesman for the QPR1st
fans’ group said: “£450 to be a
mascot … We think it would be
much better if the club used
mascot opportunities as a
chance to get local schools
involved more with the club.
For a club like QPR, which
really relies on community
support, that is poor.”
The survey also found that the
average cost of a full Premier
League junior kit – including
shirt, shorts and socks – is £65,
while a number of clubs charge
more than £250 for an under-16
season ticket. Matchday ticket
prices vary significantly from
club to club and while reduced
prices can be found, the burden
on parents to fund a child’s
burgeoning support is evident.
An average full kit for a junior
fan, which most clubs regard as
under-16 and others as
under-18, costs £65. Newcastle
offer the cheapest kit at £50.50,
with Chelsea’s being the dearest
at £77. A small number of
Premier League jerseys are
available at a discounted rate
via the retailer Sports Direct –
the former Newcastle sponsor –
yet most fans have to purchase
strips through official channels
and there are significant
additional costs for names,
numbers and Premier League
badges to be printed on the
shirts.
The founder of Mumsnet,
Justine Roberts, said: “Mumsnet
users when surveyed said
overwhelmingly that they think
football merchandise is a rip-off
and with an eight-year-old’s
replica kit costing over £65 you
can see why.” Kevin Miles, the
chief executive of the Football
Supporters’ Federation,
described the costs as “counter-
intuitive”.
“So many of the trappings
around football, like junior
replica kits and mascot
opportunities are designed to
win a place in the hearts of
children for the football club. It
then seems counter-intuitive to
make those things themselves
extortionately priced,” said
Miles.


http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/18/premier-league-clubs-charge-600-children-mascots

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