Price of football in Europe revealed
Last updated on .From the section European Football
BBC Sport published its annual Price of Football study this week - and found that average ticket prices across English football's top four divisions have fallen by up to 2.4%.
The annual study - the biggest in British football - included the prices of 164 clubs across 10 divisions.
But how does the price of football in Britain compare to the other leading countries in Europe?
Our football experts in Germany, Spain and France have found out.
Germany (Mark Lovell)
The average price of a seat at a game in Germany's top-flight - the Bundesliga - during the 2012-13 season was €26.69 (£22.34), according to the German Football League (DFL). It compares to an average of £27.10 for the cheapest ticket in the Premier League.
That could be part of the reason why the Bundesliga attracts higher average attendances than any other league in world football. And the prices are good value when you consider they also often include free public transport usage.
The division attracted more than 12.8 million paying spectators, at an average of 41,914 per game, in 2012-13. Only American football's NFL had a larger average game attendance.
Stadium capacities are always full to the rafters at Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, but eight other clubs managed to fill to over 90% week in, week out.
Standing sections at many stadiums which were purpose-built for Germany's 2006 World Cup, like the Allianz Arena in Munich, are safe for the time being.
Bayern - and president Uli Hoeness in particular - are always keen to underline their readiness to offer subsidised tickets for the traditionally more boisterous 'Suedkurve' standing area.
When it comes to season ticket prices, the Bavarians have been narrowly undercut by Volkswagen-backed club Wolfsburg, who had the temerity to offer a cheaper €130 (£109), or €7.65 (£6.40) per game, standing season ticket.
Hannover 96 offers the cheapest seating season tickets at €148 (£117). This equates to €8.70 (£7.30) per game for a seat at the north German club.
By contrast, the cheapest seating season ticket (without concessions) at Bayern is €340 (£285), or €20 per game, (£16.70) and Dortmund is €372 (£311), or €21.88 (£18.30) per game.
Last year, Hoeness famously said: "Fans are not cows who are there to be milked. Football has got to be accessible to everybody. That's the key difference between us and England."
Spain (Andy West)
Match and season tickets are generally much cheaper in Spain than in the UK, but that is largely offset by the country's severe economic problems.
Due to the well-publicised financial crisis that has ravaged Spain in the last few years, even the lowest of ticket prices are unaffordable for many people.
To their credit, clubs have attempted to respond to the financial difficulties encountered by many of their fans by slashing the cost of tickets, but only to limited effect.
At first sight La Liga tickets might appear cheap to English fans accustomed to the high prices of the Premier League. But it's impossible to directly compare the cost of attending games in the two leagues without also taking into account the very different spending power of fans in the two countries.
"Overall, whilst prices might seem good value on the face of things, you also have to factor in the economic situation here in Spain, along with the lower average earnings compared to countries like England and Germany," said Heath Chesters, who works in top-flight club Granada's communications department and runs the Inside Spanish Football website.
For fans who have been lucky enough to remain unaffected by the economic crisis, however, there is no doubt that prices are generally very reasonable.
Season tickets offer particularly good value, with the cheapest seats at most grounds starting at about €150 to €200 (£126 to £167).
Even at champions Barcelona, fans can secure a season ticket up in the gods for just €125 (£105), although it should be noted that only existing 'socios' - club members - can apply, and entrance procedures are very stringent.
Match tickets are more expensive, but still well priced when compared to English Premier League rates. Most clubs offer tickets for in the region of €20 (£16.70), although prices are usually heavily 'tiered' according to the opposition and can dramatically rise when the big two of Barca or Real Madrid come into town.
Many clubs also offer discounts for lower-profile games. For example, Rayo Vallecano reduced prices to just €9.95 (£8.30) for their last home meeting with Levante.
France (Matt Spiro)
In general, inflated ticket prices are not an issue for supporters in France.
Only a handful of Ligue 1 clubs sell out regularly, so for the majority of clubs the onus is placed on trying to attract as many supporters as possible.
You can get in to most Ligue 1 grounds on the day of a game for less than €20 (£16.70) and some for as little as €10 (£8.35).
The one club that has seen significant rises in recent times is current champions Paris St-Germain.
Prices at the Parc des Princes have gone up between 11% and 30% in the last two years - and yet the number of season ticket holders has increased from about 10,000 to more than 31,000 in the same period.
AC Ajaccio have season tickets available at €100 (£83.70), plus €50 (£41.85) for children, and match day tickets at €10 (£8.35).
Lyon, Evian Thonon-Gaillard and Guingamp also have match day tickets available at €10 (£8.35), but their cheapest season tickets - costing €189 (£158), €160 (£134) and €120 (£101) respectively - are more expensive than Ajaccio's.
All clubs have heavily discounted tickets for under-16s, offering half-price rates in the majority of cases.
Many, such as Evian, have close relationships with junior associations in the region. Evian have season tickets available for children at €49 (£41), sitting in the family stand. They also invite kids from a selection of junior football clubs in the region to attend for free.
