Plymouth Argyle fans will spend £468 on away trips over festive period, cost of Christmas survey reveals

Nottingham Forest supporters will have to pay up to £42 to watch their side play Leeds United on New Year's Day

Plymouth Argyle fans will travel more than 1,000 miles over two games (Getty)

Plymouth Argyle fans face the highest cost of any football fans to follow their club away from home over the Christmas period, research has revealed.

The annual study conducted by the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), which lays bare the exorbitant costs to fans at what is a notoriously difficult time of year to travel, found that Plymouth fans will spend £468 following their team to MK Dons and Blackpool compared to the average across England’s four leagues of £170.

It also revealed that Nottingham Forest fans will pay the highest price of an away ticket over the festive period – up to £42 at Leeds United on New Year’s Day. The research took into account costs incurred for match-day tickets, travel and food and drink at the ground, with 46 teams playing two away fixtures and 46 playing one.

The chief executive of the FSF, Kevin Miles, called for clubs and sponsors to take action against what he sees as increasingly prohibitive costs.

“Despite money being tight around this time of year, supporters will be travelling up and down the country over Christmas and New Year to back their teams in remarkable numbers once again,” he said.

“Away fans are a huge part of our match-going tradition and that shouldn’t be taken for granted, so clubs and sponsors can and should do more in making football as affordable as possible.”

The FSF have been running a Twenty’s Plenty campaign which has called for clubs to cap away tickets at £20. Southampton and their sponsors Virgin Media have backed the campaign, and Crystal Palace fans visiting St Mary’s on 2 January will have their tickets subsidised to meet that cap.

Meanwhile, Liverpool announced on Wednesday that the club will put in place a long-term ticket pricing strategy informed by the supporters. Fans have insisted during the process that they are not a product or consumers and are determined to prevent prohibitive pricing, and plan is now in place to hold regular talks before pricing decisions are made.