Can The Women's World Cup Boost WSL Crowds?

As well as enjoying the moment, with England's Women into the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first ever time, thoughts are turning to how the huge boost that Canada 2015 has given to the women's game can be translated into bigger attendances for domestic games.

The FA have made a huge investment in the women's game over the past few years, both with the international set-up and also the creation of the Super League which now encompasses two divisions, but some recent reports had suggested that they had become worried about a lack of tangible return from both.

From the point of view of Affordable Football, however, clubs at all levels (WSL & Premier League) and the FA have always strived to make the game as accessible as possible and they have featured often on these pages right from our first posts back in August 2013.

To see the England players in action for their clubs (and some of the other World Cup stars too) very rarely costs above £5 with lots of offers for families to attend games together and on season tickets too.

The 'product' for want of a better word has been there for a while now with the performances of England's women in Canada hopefully being the catalyst that was needed to get more people sampling it.

http://www.fawsl.com/index.html

Friendly Fever (Part Two)

Some more interesting friendly matches for the coming weeks.

Hendon FC celebrate the long association of Gary McCann with the Greens, firstly as a player and now in ten years as manager. They entertain a Queens Park Rangers XI at Earlsmead on Tuesday 28 July at 7:30pm for McCann's testimonial and have designated the game as a 'Pay What You Want' fixture.

The 'Fiver Frenzy' returns at Dover Athletic with entry to all pre-season games priced at £5 and free for Under-11's. Home matches at Crabble are scheduled against Whitehawk on Saturday 11 July at 3pm, Eastbourne Borough on Tuesday 14 July at 7:45pm and Gillingham at 3pm on Saturday 25 July.

As part of their drive to bring down the cost of watching football, Ilkeston FC have reduced both season ticket and matchday prices for 2015/16. As a taster, they have also said that the friendly against Bedworth United on Saturday July 25 will be free entry for all.

Litherland Remyca have three 'Pay What You Want' friendlies, against West Didsbury & Chorlton on Wednesday 22 July, Cammell Laird 1907 on Wednesday 29 July (both 7:45pm and £1 minimum donation) and a Morecambe XI on Saturday 1 August (1pm, £2 minimum).

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West Ham Kick Off Boleyn Celebrations With £10 Tickets

The final season of football at the Boleyn Ground kicks off early with West Ham United hosting FC Lusitans of Andorra in the Europa League first qualifying round.

The Hammers made it into Europe by virtue of topping the Fair Play League and although many English clubs may see qualification as a double-edged sword, it does mean the famous old stadium will host European football one more time and also provides a competitive start to action under the new management of Slaven Bilic.

Ticket prices for the home leg, on Thursday 2 July at 7:45pm, have been set at £10 for Adults and £5 for Under-16's when purchased in advance and the same prices will be in operation for the next qualifying round against either Birkikara of Malta or Ulisses of Armenia, assuming the Andorrans do not cause an upset.

http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2015/June/23-June/Europa-League-ticket-prices-announced

Three Cheers For Ilkeston FC

Football in Ilkeston has come a long way since the liquidation of Ilkeston Town FC in 2010 and the New Manor Ground now hosts Evo-Stik Northern Premier League football in the shape of Ilkeston FC.

A new head coach, Gavin Strachan, has been appointed for the new campaign who will look to continue the excellent work the club has done in the past few season in developing their own players and looking to move them into a career in the Football League while remaining competitive on the pitch.

Three important announcements have been made recently under the #IFCAffordableFootball

Season ticket prices were initially announced in March but the club have now reduced them to £120 for Adults and £80 for Concessions. Anyone who has already purchased now has a two-year season ticket while new buyers can get one of those for £180 Adults and £110 Concessions before Tuesday 30 June.

Secondly, admission prices for 2015/16 will be reduced to £6 Adults (the minimum the club can charge under the rules of their league), £4 Concessions and free for Under-16's when accompanied.

And thirdly, entry to the pre-season friendly against Bedworth United on Saturday 25 July will be absolutely free.

Chief executive Nigel Harrop said: “We know there is the potential for us to be attracting gates of over 600 and with this new pricing structure we’re hoping to see more people at the home games.

http://www.ilkestonfc.co.uk/news/ilkeston-fc-bring-you-affordable-football

Litherland Remyca FC

I had a vague idea where Litherland was (the Sefton area of Merseyside) but I was also intrigued by the name of their football team and where that comes from.

The Remyca part of the name comes from two organisations closely associated with the original St Thomas F.C, REM social club and Bootle YMCA while the Litherland prefix was adopted in 2013 after some rapid progression through local leagues in Liverpool (including, talking of names, the I Zingari League) led to the club joining the North West Counties Football League.

A glance at the club website shows, not just the hard work put in at senior level but the sheer amount of teams turning out at all age groups.

Pre-season home games at Litherland Sports Park against West Didsbury & Chorlton (Wednesday 22nd July, 19:45) and Cammell Laird FC (Wednesday 29th July, 19:45) are 'Pay What You Want' with a minimum £1 admission to cover costs while the match against a Morecambe XI on Saturday 1st August at 1pm has a £2 minimum entry.

Matchday prices for the new season, meanwhile, have been frozen at £4 for Adults, £2 for Concessions and free for Under-12's with a paying adult.

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/remycautdfc/news/pre-season-entry-prices-and-new-season-entry-rates-1444887.html

£12 For Four Pre-Season Friendlies At Eastleigh FC

The Spitfires have finalised their pre-season schedule and will take on Partick Thistle, Newport County, Oxford United and Barnet at the Silverlake Stadium.

Partick are training at Bisham Abbey as part of their preparations for the new Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership season and I think it's always good if your club have arranged a game against different opposition, a team that you won't come up against elsewhere.

Prices for each game have been set at £8 Adults, £5 Concessions and free for Under-7's but the official Eastleigh website states that a special ticket will be available from the end of June.

This will cover all four home games and will cost £12 Adults and £7.50 for Concessions, great value even if you can just make it to two matches.

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

Friendly Fever

A first look at friendlies. This really is just skimming the surface of what is out there so please see what your local team are doing over the next few weeks.

The Dolly Blues of Lancaster City, who play at the wonderfully-named Giant Axe, have a busy schedule of home friendlies, including a game against Blackpool on Saturday 11 July.

All games have been designated as half-price meaning Adults can attend for just £4 per game.

Coventry Sphinx have six home friendlies, including the visit of a Chesterfield XI for which admission is £3. The matches against Racing Club Warwick on Tuesday 7 July (6:30pm) and Cadbury Athletic on Saturday July 11 are free to enter.

Spalding United host Stamford AFC in a Lincs FA County Senior Trophy 1st Round tie on Friday 17 July at 7:45pm. The Tulips say on their website that this will be a 'competitive encounter between local rivals' which sounds promising for a decent game which will cost £6 for adults.

And will the 'Green Energy Trophy' be the first silverware of the season to be decided?  Rainworth Miners Welfare host Mansfield Town at 3pm on Saturday 4 July with admission £6 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for Under-16's.

Bradford City, Accrington Stanley

No apolgies for mentioning these fine clubs once again.

Bradford City's #onefournine campaign, with Adult, Senior and Student season tickets priced at £149 until July 5th, initially had a target of 15,000 sales for 2015/16 but the Bantams have now upped that to 17,500 having already shifted over 11,000.

Speaking to the official club website, chief operating officer James Mason said: "With approximately 20 per cent of those 10,000/11,000 being new season-ticket holders, and with some of our strongest weekends to come with people getting paid etc, we have revised our target."

http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/can-you-help-us-reach-17500-2492620.aspx

And Accrington Stanley are offering Over-65's the chance to buy a 20-year season ticket for the cost of 5 full price 2014/15 Concession season tickets which cost £200.

"This particular initiative was one actually suggested to me by some of our more vintage supporters and I think it is a great idea,” said Stanley Chairman Peter Marsden.

"Not only do our Golden Oldies (who have earned their stripes) get a chance to buy a season ticket for the next 20 years at a favourable price but it gives the Club a little more cash during the close season."

http://accringtonstanley.co.uk/2015/06/year-season-tickets-launched/

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

Update - On The Road

I looked recently at an initiative by Stenhousemuir FC which will see season ticket holders of visiting clubs charged a reduced admission price in the 2015/16 campaign.

Fellow SPFL League 1 side Ayr United have also adopted the 'On The Road' offer and will charge a reduced fee of £13 to away supporters who are season ticket holders at their own club.

Chairman Lachlan Cameron said “I’m delighted to be joining the On the Road campaign. Season ticket holders are the backbone to every football club and this is a great way to recognize those who make the commitment to their own clubs and football in general.”

http://www.ayrunitedfc.co.uk/ayr-join-on-the-road/

Pay What You Want Leads To Reductions At Weston Super Mare

Using the feedback gained from the 'Pay What You Want' game they held last season, Weston Super Mare AFC have restructured their pricing for the 2015/16 campaign.

Headlines are a reduction in season ticket prices from £200 to £149 for a whole season of Conference South football with matchday admission down from £12 to £10.

New for the new season is a family season ticket (2 adults, 2 under-16's) which costs £199 and a matchday pass for the same numbers which costs £18.

Commercial Director Neil Keeling said “We asked our fans, they have spoken, and we have listened. We had some great feedback on our questionnaire’s from our PWYW game and hopefully the changes made will improve our attendance and attract a new fan and hopefully some may return. For me football is all about family and friends and I believe our new family matchday admission and season ticket passes will be a hit! At £199 this works at just under £10 a game over the season”

http://westonsmareafc.co.uk/you-spoke-we-listened/

Season Ticket Prices Slashed At Ossett Town

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division North side Ossett Town are making a big push to attract new supporters for the forthcoming 2015/16 season with the club having cut the cost of a season ticket close to 50% from the previous campaign.

That means Adult prices of £75 with Concessions and Full Time Students paying £40. For 21 league games an adult is paying less than £4 a match!

Pay on the gate admission has been kept at the same level as last season.
http://www.ossetttown.co.uk/

I've also been sent a tweet regarding Sutton United who have their first 1,000 season tickets available at the following prices; Adults £99, Concessions £75, Teens £20, Kids £10.

A great offer and I'll even forgive them for beating Coventry City in the FA Cup all those years ago!

http://www.suttonunited.net/seasontickets

Not Long Until Welsh Clubs' European Adventure

The New Saints (Champions League) and Bala Town, Airbus UK Broughton and Newtown (Europa League) are the Welsh representatives in European competition for 2015/16 and it won;t be long until they are in competitive action for the new campaign.

Bala Town (£10 Adults, £5 Over-65's, £3 Under-16's), Newtown (£10 Adults, £5 Concessions, Kids free) and TNS (£10 General Match Ticket) have all announced their prices for their respective home legs.

Please check out the official club websites of the various teams for details of those home games and also the upcoming friendlies that they are playing in order to get prepared. Airbus and Newtown, for instance, are playing each other at the home of the former this Thursday evening.

Eight Games For £15 At Yeovil Town Ladies

All eyes are on Canada for the Women's World Cup which started this weekend with the Women's Super League (WSL) season in England taking a break for the tournament.

When it returns, however, Yeovil Town Ladies of WSL2 have a superb offer available for second half season tickets.

These will cover eight home games, six in the league and two in the Continental Tyres Cup competition and cost just £15 for Adults and £7.50 for Concessions.

That is less than £2 per game for Adults and less than £1 per game for Concessions for a chance to watch some high-quality football, as showcased by the World Cup which promises to be the biggest and best yet.

http://www.yeoviltownladies.com/news/second_half_season_tickets.html

Millwall Lionesses also have a half season ticket available at just £20 for Adults and £8 for Under-16's and Over-60's. This covers their remaining seven home games.

Affordable Football aims to bring you the special offers, reduced ticket prices and family deals that make catching a match anywhere in the country more affordable. You can tweet us @affordablefooty or email affordablefootball@yahoo.com if your club are doing something worth hearing about.

'In It Together' Works Well At Gainsborough Trinity FC

Season tickets for 2015/16 at Gainsborough Trinity FC of the were sold on a 'pay what you can afford' basis under the banner of #inittogether for the new season.

Season tickets for the previous campaign were priced at £195 for Adults, £135 for Concessions and £60 for Under-16's and to underpin the initiative, Gainsborough put a minimum price for 2015/16 of £120, £90 and £40 but requested from each existing season ticket holder a small increase on what they paid last season.

And, speaking to the Gainsborough Standard, chairman Richard Kane has expressed his delight at how well the scheme is going with total sales expected to be up by 25 to 30 per cent.

Crucially, sales have come much earlier than in previous years and around 60 per cent of those buying have paid more than the minimum price, allowing the club to get through the summer months on a much firmer footing.

http://gainsboroughtrinity.com/latest-gainsborough-trinity-news/in-it-together-season-tickets.html

It All Starts Again Soon!

A quiet couple of weeks, in terms of matches taking place, with pre-season friendlies yet to start and the Women's Super League taking a break for the World Cup in Canada.

Early-bird season ticket offers will slowly expire over the next few weeks. A few of the clubs we have featured here are making progress with their sales, Tranmere Rovers having passed the 1,000 mark and Coventry City getting a quarter of the way towards their 6,000 target.

There is renewed optimism at clubs such as Grimsby Town where season ticket prices have been frozen, a new concession category introduced and where an initiative from the Mariners Trust to boost the transfer kitty has smashed through its target of £20,000 already.

Exciting times at clubs who have reformed after a season in the wilderness, Salisbury and Hereford and also at FC United of Manchester, one of the pioneers of making football affordable and accessible, as they celebrate moving into their new home.

And there really isn't long until pre-season starts in earnest. Lots of interesting fixtures as usual, please tweet me @affordablefooty if your club are doing anything different for their home friendlies.