Bargain Hunters: Meet the National Champions Where a Season Ticket Costs Just €20
The cost of being a football fan is a big deal. In England, plenty of 'normal' people feel they are being priced out of supporting their team, with high ticket prices at every level always something of a sore point.
In November of last year, the most recent 'BBC Price of Football' study revealed that the cheapest season ticket at Arsenal is £891, while the most expensive is £1,786.50. The most expensive season tickets at Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham are also in excess of £1,000.
The cheapest season ticket on offer in the Premier League belongs to Huddersfield where prices range from £100 to £299. Nowhere in the division is a normal single adult home ticket available for less than £20 - that can be found at Tottenham - while many single tickets are more than £30.
Lower down the English league ladder, fans will still pay hundreds of pounds each season to watch Championship, League One and League Two clubs. At Morecambe (L2), the most expensive season ticket is priced at £519.
Even in the National League, the highest level of non-league football in England and the fifth tier on the ladder overall, a season ticket costs up to £380 at Tranmere and £382 at Wrexham.
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Elsewhere in Europe it is a similar picture. In La Liga, AS reported in August that the cheapest season tickets available this season are often less than €200. But Real Madrid charge €1,840 (around £1,600) for their most expensive, while Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Espanyol, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal are all above €1,000 at their most expensive.
The women's game in England is far better value, with Manchester City charging £70 for their most expensive season ticket. This was a team that had double FIFA World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd in their ranks last year and boasts numerous other top female players.
But even that is expensive compared to the season ticket price announced by reigning Lithuanian champions FK Suduva this month, where fans can gain entry to every domestic game in the upcoming 2018 season for the exceptionally low cost of just €20.
Image by Jamie Spencer
With the number of games available depends on how far the team progresses in the Lithuanian Cup, even a minimum of 16 games works out at €1.25 each time. Fans in the Premier League can't even buy a cup of tea for that price at 19 of the 20 stadiums (Crystal Palace is the exception there).
2018 Suduva season ticket holders will also receive discounted prices for the Champions League. The first-time champions will enter the 2018/19 competition in the first qualifying round where they could be drawn against Scottish, Danish, Israeli or Serbian champions - all relative giants and huge potential scalps at that level.
Even Suduva fans without a season ticket will hardly be breaking the bank to watch their team play. Single game tickets for the 2018 season bought in advance will cost €2 each, while tickets bought at the gate come with a €5 price tag.
Picture: Suduva faced Club Brugge in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup qualifying rounds
With budget flights available from the UK to the historic Lithuanian city of Kaunas, and Suduva's home in Marijampole less than 40 miles away and linked by train, it might even be the ultimate destination for the hipster football tourist in 2018...
(You may also be interested in '6 Surprising Clubs With Better Attendances Than the Premier League Average')
