How Spurs and Fulham fans have united against ticket pricing ahead of Cottagers’ Man Utd protest

Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham supporters have united in a fight against increasing ticket prices at their respective clubs with some matchday tickets rising above £100 this season.

The two Premier League sides met in top-flight action on Monday night, with Ange Postecoglou's Spurs continuing their impressive start to the campaign with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison. Ahead of kick-off in North London, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST) and Fulham Supporters Trust (FST) gathered at a local pub to show their support for one another's campaigns.

Both groups are members of the Football Supporters' Association and have been actively campaigning in recent weeks for freezes on ticket prices ahead of next year in the name of great affordability for fans.

In a statement shared in August, the THST laid out its opposition to increased matchday ticket prices, having led a protest before the meeting with Manchester United that month. The group want a reversal of match day price increases, a 'commitment to genuine fan input on all pricing discussion' and a guarantee that no further increases will happen next season.

Match day ticket prices at Spurs have increased between £3 and £15 for Category B and C games and between £10 and £17 for Category A games this season with the top price for a single ticket at £103.

Seeking to engage with the club, THST said: "If these rises are not opposed, there will be more to come. A corresponding increase in ST prices would mean rises of between 9% and 13% for the 2023/24 campaign, and there's no guarantee that match day ticket prices will not rise further. This is clearly unacceptable, and any price increases must be resisted.

"Ticket prices at the Club are already amongst the most expensive across the Premier League and Europe. Ticket price increases are not an economic necessity for the club with the ninth highest revenues in world football. They are a choice: a choice the THFC Board chose to make against the backdrop of a huge cost of living crisis, with prices already sky-high.

"Fans should be at the heart of every decision the Club makes. Instead, our loyalty is being exploited. We need to keep going until the Club agrees to our call, and we will be prepared to step up action when needed. Further action will be publicised through fan channels."

The FST is calling for similar changes and has called on fans to gather before the meeting with Manchester United on November 4 for a protest march to Craven Cottage. The group will also distribute yellow cards to be held up in the 18th minute of the match to represent the 'typical 18% price increase'.

The West London club's match day prices turned heads across the country when announced earlier this year. The FST is engaged in talks with the clubs over ticket pricing after publishing a lengthy statement on the matter on October 11.

In that post, the FST stated: "Despite relegation (twice), a pandemic and a massively overrunning rebuild of the Riverside Stand which should by now be bringing in much-needed non-matchday revenue, we finally seem to have some stability on the pitch in the Premier League under Marco Silva. However, off the pitch those £55 tickets now feel more like an aspiration than a burden.

"For our upcoming game against Manchester United, the majority of seats in the Hammersmith End have risen 18% since last season and a whopping 40% since 2019, now standing at £77. If you want to watch from the side it’s even more – up to £106 in the Johnny Haynes Stand and £160 in the Riverside.

"These are the most expensive standard tickets in the Premier League and it’s not just the high-profile matches that are on the rise. Ticket prices for all categories of match have risen steeply since last year, typically 18% in the three old stands and substantially more in the Riverside.

"The majority of adult tickets behind the goal cost £71 against Sheffield United with prices at the sides up to £125. For a family of four Fulham fans it would now cost from £172 – £212 to attend such a game in the Hammersmith End. So much for us being “a family-friendly” club."