Known for its great live atmosphere, English Premier League matches spark kids’ enthusiasm for football from an early age. With an estimated 1.5 million junior tickets sold per season, Premier League clubs are dedicated to offering tailored football experiences for young fans, attracting more kids to be part of the football family.
With the Premier League’s ticket prices increasing across the board, Voetbal Travel was interested in finding out which club offers the most affordable junior fan experience, determining the most/least kid-friendly club of the season! To do so, they scraped the junior ticket and merch prices for memberships, stadium tours, match tickets and home kits for all 20 Premier League clubs in the latest 2022/23 season and gave each a score out of 10 ranked on their affordability.
Premier League Clubs Ranked by Junior Fan-friendly Score
| Teams | Membership affordability score /10 | Stadium Tour affordability score /10 | Home kit affordability score /10 | Match ticket affordability score /10 | Final Junior Fan- friendly Score |
| Chelsea | 3.16 | 0.53 | 1.05 | 3.16 | 1.98 |
| West Ham United | 3.16 | 5.79 | 0 | 0 | 2.24 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4.74 | 1.58 | 1.05 | 1.58 | 2.24 |
| Fulham | 9.47 | 1.58 | 2.63 | 4.21 | 4.47 |
| Arsenal | 9.47 | 0.53 | 5.79 | 2.11 | 4.48 |
| Manchester United | 1.58 | 4.21 | 5.79 | 7.89 | 4.87 |
| Crystal Palace | 1.05 | 8.42 | 8.95 | 1.58 | 5.00 |
| Newcastle United | 3.16 | 6.84 | 5.79 | 5.26 | 5.26 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 3.68 | 7.89 | 8.95 | 0.53 | 5.26 |
| Aston Villa | 9.47 | 4.21 | 5.79 | 2.63 | 5.53 |
| Liverpool | 5.79 | 5.26 | 2.63 | 8.95 | 5.66 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4.74 | 4.21 | 9.47 | 5.26 | 5.92 |
| Manchester City | 9.47 | 4.21 | 2.63 | 7.89 | 6.05 |
| Everton | 9.47 | 5.26 | 5.79 | 4.21 | 6.18 |
| Leeds United | 0.53 | 9.47 | 5.79 | 10 | 6.45 |
| Nottingham Forest | 0 | 9.47 | 8.95 | 7.89 | 6.58 |
| Southampton | 9.47 | 4.21 | 8.95 | 7.89 | 7.63 |
| Leicester City | 5.79 | 7.89 | 8.95 | 8.95 | 7.90 |
| Brentford FC | 9.47 | 6.84 | 10 | 7.89 | 8.55 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 10 | 10 | 8.95 | 9.47 | 9.47 |
* Cheapest Category A junior (under 16) match tickets price was selected.
Top 3 LEAST affordable
1.Chelsea – 1.98/10
Voetbal Travel can reveal that Chelsea is the least affordable Premier League club for junior fans, recording a Junior Fan-friendly Score of only 1.98 out of 10! The Blues also ranked joint last position in the Stadium Tour Affordability Score (0.53), charging children under fifteen £18 for the cheapest 60-minute tour at Stamford Bridge. Family tickets for a luxury VIP private tour are available for a staggering price of £360!
2.West Ham United – 2.24/10
West Ham United surprisingly came second as the least affordable Premier League club for young fans with a Junior Fan-friendly Score of 2.24 out of 10! The Hammers scored 0 points in half of the four categories for charging £65 for the latest 2022/23 season home kit and £45 for the cheapest Category A ticket option for junior fans, the highest among all 20 teams. However, if you are committed to go to matches regularly, then their £99 Under-16s Season Ticket is a good deal.
= 2.Tottenham Hotspur – 2.24/10
Notoriously priced at £2025 for adult season tickets, Tottenham Hotspur junior fan experiences are not very affordable either. For example, if a 15-year-old teenager toured around the Spurs’ stadium and went to one game in their favourite home kit, they would need to spend at least £125, even without the price of the accompanying adult. With low affordability in match tickets (1.58/10), stadium tours (1.58/10) and home kits (1.05/10) for junior fans, the Spurs placed joint second least junior fan-friendly in the Premier League (2.24/10).
Top 3 Most affordable
AFC Bournemouth is the Premier League club with the most affordable fan experience for juniors and children, with a Junior Fan-friendly score of 9.47/10! The club only charges kids £59 for a stadium tour, home game, membership, and a junior kit in total! Achieving 10/10 in the membership affordability score, they offer the cheapest U16 membership in the Premier League, including benefits such as discounts at Dorset’s best attractions, online activities, a matchday meal deal and a free chance to be a team mascot!
Brentford FC ranked as the second most affordable Premier League club to be a junior fan of, with a Junior Fan-friendly Score of 8.55/10. Closely following behind is Leicester City with a full score of 7.9/10. Their junior ticket price for a stadium tour is as low as £8 and match ticket price £9.
Where are the “big six” teams?
With four of the “big six” ranked in the top ten least affordable clubs, Liverpool came 11th and Manchester City 13th, making Man City the most affordable “big six” clubs to be a junior fan of! The cheapest junior ticket for a Category A game at Manchester City is only £10 pounds, fourth cheapest in the league.
A spokesperson from Voetbal Travel provided some tips for the best football experience with your kids:
“With the Google searches for ‘football with kids’ increased 45% after the new season started, many parents plan to take their kids to watch live football from an early age. To help you better prepare to take care of your kids at football stadiums and to make full use of junior fan experience clubs offered, just follow the six Ps to enjoy the game:
- Protect their ears – Whilst cheering for our favourite team is an integral part of live football, it might sound too loud and overwhelming to children. Ear defenders or ear plugs are great choices to reduce the impact that loud chants may have on their ears.
- Pack clothes and snacks – Make sure to dress your kids up with multiple layers and pack them scarfs, hats or gloves. It is also highly recommended that you stock up with lots of snacks to keep them energised.
- Pick seats carefully – Look out for Family Enclosure when purchasing your tickets. This enables you to enjoy the best football atmosphere while keeping a distance from any overwhelming crowds.
- Participate in junior fan events – If you arrive early for the match, spot the club mascot and enjoy some “meet and greet” photos together. For membership holders, you definitely don’t want to miss events like family play day, holiday parties or junior game days!
- Purchase concession tickets – Junior membership is a good option if you plan to go to matches often. They normally come with more kids-oriented benefits such as club merchandise and personalised birthday cards.
- Put safety first – Show them around the stadium to get familiar with emergency exits and who to go to if they get lost. If you are lucky enough to sit in the lower end of the stadium or around the goal or corner-flags, pay attention to where the balls are going even during the warm-ups. Once you are prepared then you are free to enjoy the game and have fun!
Methodology:
- Voetbal Travel sought to discover which Premier League club offers the most affordable/expensive junior fan experience.
- To do this, they scraped the junior ticket price for memberships, stadium tours, match tickets and home kits from the 20 Premier League clubs for the 2022/23 season. All data were found via the clubs’ official websites.
- A affordability score was calculated for each Premier League Club across the four junior fan experiences: the stadium tour, single match, home kit and membership. An average was taken as the final Junior Fan-friendly Score.
- If the club offers multiple membership options for junior fans, the median price of those options was noted in this study. For the price of matchday tickets, the cheapest option for a category A match was selected.
- All prices were noted for home country residents only. Prices for international fans may be different.
- All numbers were rounded to the nearest whole number. For example, the junior membership price from AFC Bournemouth is £7.5. The number was rounded up to £8 in this study.
- All data was collected on September 2022 and is correct as of then.