Fans have revealed what they would change about professional football – including better scheduling of away games, greater travel support from clubs and banning VAR. A poll of 2,000 adults who attend football matches found 54 per cent think their awayday experience could be improved as fans bemoan inconvenient kick-off times and not being able to drink at their seats.
Two thirds (67 per cent) reported increasingly feeling like an ‘afterthought’ from football’s authorities, with trouble tracking down tickets also among the reasons even the most loyal football fans miss out on attending games. One in four fans felt that better scheduling of away games should become a priority for football’s authorities.
The research was commissioned by UK shot brand, Fireball, which whisked away four Salford City fans with a thrilling helicopter ride to and from their team’s recent match against Newport County. Ex-England star and club co-owner, Paul Scholes also surprised the fans as they headed off on the 400-mile round trip to South Wales.
He said: “We wanted to show fans that we massively value their support both home and away, and want to make the game day experience as fun and exhilarating for them as possible. We’re already known for offering subsidised away travel, something which this research shows football fans clearly care about.”
The study also found 29 per cent of respondents feel a main priority for clubs should be greater travel support for fans travelling to away matches. Access to safe standing within football grounds emerged as one of the top three changes that fans want. Meanwhile 19 per cent think managers should be able to challenge refereeing decisions.
Among the more bizarre responses to what changes fans would like to see in the game were adding half-time musical performances (10 per cent) and half-time cheerleader displays as standard (13 per cent). The typical respondent who took part in the study by OnePoll.com stated they watch as many as 11 games live each year, with 70 per cent believing it is important for football rules to adapt and evolve in line with modern technology and play styles.
Lorenzo Farronato, spokesperson for Fireball Whisky, said: “Our research has shown that the match going experience isn’t always a party, especially for away games that often involve long journeys, late nights and high costs. We think game day – as well as all other experiences shared amongst friends – should be fun and that fans should always come first. Football is a dynamic and evolving sport, and fans are always seeking ways to make the game even more exciting. We brought the heat to midweek for Salford fans, we’ll continue to infuse more fun and mischief into the moments they share with us.”
Here are the top 20 changes football fans would like to see in the game
- Introduce a salary cap for all teams.
- Greater travel support from clubs in getting to away games.
- Bring back/increase the number of safe standing terraces in stadiums.
- Better scheduling of away games.
- Banning VAR.
- Allow managers to challenge refereeing decisions.
- Ban foreign ownership of clubs.
- Letting fans drink alcohol at their seats in stadium.
- Half time cheerleader shows.
- Create an All-Star game with the league’s best players.
- Digital billboards showing funny football memes and live tweets mid-game.
- Getting rid of offsides so there are more goals.
- The chance for regular people in the crowd to get brought onto the pitch.
- Superbowl-style half time musical performances.
- Post-match fireworks.
- Letting fans decide substitutions by live-voting.
- Introduce pre-game penalty shootouts to break potential ties.
- Increase goal sizes to encourage more goals.
- Introduce multi-ball for the last 10 minutes of the game.
- Fancy-dress themed matches.