Football fans' biggest gripes include FIFA, ticket costs and half-time shows

Football fans are frustrated with the sport's commercialisation | Tom Maddick / SWNS

placeholder image — Football fans are frustrated with the sport's commercialisation | Tom Maddick / SWNS

Football fans' biggest gripes include FIFA, rising ticket prices and Super Bowl-style half-time shows.

Researchers asked 5,000 fans what they would change about the modern game, with 61 per cent believing the sport has lost its way. Other complaints include the number of subscriptions needed to watch games and the seemingly infinite number of tops released by teams every season. Fans also have disdain for colourful football boots, the amount of exaggerated contact in the game and the Champions League not being free-to-air.

The research was commissioned by OLBG to celebrate the launch of the Marc White Fixes Football show.

The Dorking Wanderers founder and manager said: "Let’s be honest, as football fans, we’ve all got countless things we would change about the sport. The results won’t surprise many supporters.

“Fans are the lifeblood of the game, but a lot of them feel football is drifting further away from the people who made it what it is. People still love football, they just want decisions to be made with supporters at the heart of them."

Fans are also frustrated with inconsistent refereeing decisions | Tom Maddick / SWNS

The research also found the soaring costs underpinning fans' frustrations with the game. In fact, respondents were asked what they would change if they oversaw the sport, with enforcing cheaper tickets for fans topping the list. A further 88 per cent felt ordinary supporters are being priced out of football.

The next biggest priorities were scrapping VAR, making more matches free-to-air and reducing the influence of FIFA on the sport. When it comes to VAR, just 18 per cent said they would keep it as it is, with the biggest issues being the time it takes, the game feeling too stop-start and it creating more debate than it solves.

Meanwhile, nearly half (48 per cent) think it gives bigger teams an advantage, according to data from OnePoll.com. If people were to make changes, they would introduce greater consistency, quicker decisions and even a time limit for reviews.

Respondents were also frustrated by the half-time show, with only a quarter saying they enjoyed the performance. Nearly half (47 per cent) of Gen Z liked it, by far the highest proportion of any generation, compared with just six per cent of Boomers.

When asked how they would feel about such shows being brought in more regularly, 72 per cent felt negatively about the idea, with 31 per cent branding it "a terrible idea".

Marc White added: "The feeling that fans are being priced out of football really stands out from the study. Following your club has become more expensive than ever, and supporters are noticing it. Football doesn't exist without fans, so it's important the game doesn't lose sight of that."