11 LaLiga Clubs Agree to Reduce Ticket Prices For Spanish Soccer Fans

Clubs in Spain have reached an agreement which will see a minimum of 300 tickets designated to the away club for any LaLiga fixture at a maximum price of €25 ($27 USD). The news follows a similar policy in the Premier League, where tickets for away supporters are capped at £30 ($37.93 USD).

The 11 clubs involved in the agreement are Almería, Athletic Club, Atlético Madrid, Cádiz, Celta Vigo, Girona, Mallorca, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, and Valencia. It had initially been hoped to secure support from all clubs in LaLiga, but some remain hesitant to join.

While it has not yet been confirmed, it is expected that the three newly promoted clubs from Segunda will also join the initiative. Both automatically promoted sides, Las Palmas and Granada, have expressed an interest, while both sides in the play-off final, Levante and Alavés, are also keen.

In addition, Barcelona have agreed to consider the agreement and are looking into the possibility of joining the deal. Their temporary move to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys while building work is completed at the Spotify Camp Nou means that they face restricted capacity.

Some clubs have held off

That leaves Getafe, Osasuna, Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid, and Villarreal in not yet forming part of the agreement. Any of those clubs could join at any moment and this announcement is expected to apply pressure to those clubs.

Fans of these clubs would not benefit from these lower prices. While each club is set to decide its own pricing policy, their absence from this agreement could mean that traveling Villarreal fans, for example, could be charged higher prices for away fixtures.

In 2022/23, Getafe charged a base rate price of €40 ($43.22 USD) for away fans visiting the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, while Real Madrid’s prices for visiting supporters went as high as €95 ($102.65 USD) for high-profile fixtures against Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.

One exception per season

The deal, which is yet to be finalized with the clubs still agreeing on the final details, is expected to include permission for one exception per campaign. This would allow each club to ignore the €25 ($27 USD) limit for one match per season.

That could enable clubs to put higher prices, particularly for in-demand fixtures such as the visit of big clubs or derby fixtures against local rivals. The expectation is that these would be used primarily for matches against local teams in order to limit the demand for tickets from rival fans.

The limit of one match per season could open the door to reciprocal arrangements between clubs within the agreement, though some clubs are still hoping to remove this possibility from any final deal.

The deal is hoped to boost LaLiga’s average attendances which rely heavily upon fans of the home team. In 2022/23, the average attendance was 29,584, though six clubs failed to reach even half of that figure. In 2023/23, only nine clubs will have sufficient capacity in their stadiums to surpass that average attendance.