- Rebel non-league club 'does a Radiohead' with fans naming the price
- £90 minimum suggested but plan will be reviewed after month's trial
Owen Gibson
guardian.co.uk
Tuesday 12 May 2009 18.24 BST
From Hoddle and Waddle on Top of the Pops to the dubious D-list appeal of Celebrity Soccer Sixes, football taking inspiration from the music industry has not always ended happily. But non-league FC United, the club born of opposition to Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United, is hoping to buck the trend by replicating Radiohead's ground-breaking "pay what you like" business model in a new way forward for the game.
The club, which recently narrowly missed out on securing their fourth successive promotion, will become the first to offer fans the chance to set their own price for their season ticket. In doing so, the board hope to boost revenues without raising ticket prices across the board.
The club's general manager, Andy Walsh, said the decision to launch the scheme, with a target of raising £125,000 in revenue, was in keeping with the ethos of the club. For 2008-09, during which the club played in the Northern Premier League Premier Division (three tiers beneath the Football League), season tickets cost £140. The hope is that those who can afford to do so will choose to pay more, subsidising those who pay less.
"The Premier League clubs have put up prices regardless of the ability of people to pay," said Walsh. "Those that can afford to pay continue to pay and those that can't fall off the end. Ultimately that will undermine the game of football, which has always been about inclusivity, not exclusivity."
Walsh added: "For many people, when prices go up there is no alternative. We've demonstrated there is an alternative model that puts the supporter at the very heart of the football club rather than on the fringes."
FC United has maintained average attendances of more than 2,500 throughout the four years of its existence, far higher than is usual at that level of football. The club is not quite going as far as Radiohead, who offered fans the option of downloading In Rainbows for nothing, by recommending £90 as a minimum. But those behind the scheme said that if fans felt unable to make even that level of financial commitment, they would be free to contact the club. Everyone else will be asked to use last season's price of £140 as a benchmark and to bear in mind that the club still made a loss.
"We believe this is unprecedented in football, a club saying to its supporters 'Pay what you can afford'. Some may question whether we're being foolhardy, but why shouldn't we trust supporters?" said Jules Stenson, an FC United board member.
Walsh said he wanted the initiative, which will be evaluated after a month-long trial, to help put the club on a sustainable financial footing. The club hopes to be able to reveal plans for its own stadium before the end of the month, following positive meetings with the council. Until now, FC United have been tenants at Bury's Gigg Lane.
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