How football has changed over time
Since the inception of the Football Association 154 years ago, the landscape of the beautiful game has changed remarkably. The game has grown, evolved and adapted to the needs of its ever-growing audience. Here at ticketgum.com, we investigated the most prolific ways in which football has changed over the years, and the general direction football is heading towards.
The survey
We wanted to go a step further and speak to older fans of the game, and their perceptions of how the game has changed over time and to discover whether they prefer the heydays of pre-premier league football. The survey was conducted among 486 self-confessed football fans aged 35–65.
The Premier League – quality, cost and standards
The Premier League, which was founded in 1992, was by far the most significant change to the game. It was set up due to the breakaway of Football League First Division from the Football League in order to take advantage of lucrative television deals that were being offered. Since then, it has grown into the most watched sports league in the world, broadcasting to 212 territories and earning 2.2 billion in domestic and international television rights.
Credit: Lee Davy/ Flickr.com
Changing face of the audience
Football was once a sport whose audience was primarily working-class men. Today it has a wider reach, with fans of all ages, social-classes and ethnicities.
Traditionally a masculine, no-go area for women, today there are more women in Britain than ever before watching the game, at 7.7 million (A third of all UK fans).
More parents bring their children to attend football games too as it has become a safer environment, and going to watch the football has become a more common pursuit for the whole family.
It has been argued that the high cost of football tickets and season tickets has resulted in a more middle-class audience attending a game. Football stadiums used to be run-down. Today, they are vast, with 90,000 capacity stadiums, holding multiple bars, food stands and luxury restaurants, where regulars can be granted expensive memberships, entitling them to access more facilities.
Of those surveyed, these were the results regarding their perception of change towards football.
- 74% think there are more female spectators today than in the past.
- 66% think football has increased in popularity.
- 70% believe football today has a wider appeal.
- 38% believe football has become more ‘middle-class’.
- 82% believe there is less violence during matches.
- 59% would take their children to a football game.
- 75% think football is safer in general for spectators.
- 40% believe football has become too money oriented.
- 31% think it has become too expensive to attend a game.
- 90% believe the quality of play has improved.
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