On 10 April, the day before the first protests over Liverpool’s decision to introduce multi-year price increase, all Anfield season-ticket holders and members received an email from the club’s CEO Billy Hogan.

He was, he said, writing to give ‘further clarity; on the club’s approach. He went on to lay out in detail why the decision had been made, what it means for next season, the key facts, the locked-in three years, engagement with the Supporters Board, and moving ahead.

Spirit of Shankly, with the largest number of representatives on the SB in those meetings, have replied to Billy setting out, in detail, our perspective. You can read it here.

Dear Billy 

Thank you for the “personalised” email, sent to hundreds of thousands of Liverpool supporters on Friday, 10 April, with ‘further clarity’ and ‘information and rationale” surrounding LFC’s approach to general admission ticket-price increases.

We’d have thought that the opportunity for total clarity would have come in the club’s initial statement, or at our public meeting, to which the club had the opportunity to attend. You also asked that any debate or protest be “grounded in the facts”. We are confident we have not put out anything non-factual and believe, having had a call in the immediate aftermath of the club’s announcement asking us not to tell supporters the increase would raise just £1.2m, that had we done so we would have been contacted by you. 

As representatives involved in all of the meetings, we would also like to share our perspective on the issues you raised.

The decision
We understand the importance of running the club sustainably, but don’t believe this should be at the expense of supporters.

We acknowledge an 85% increase in matchday operation costs, over the past decade, but these come in part due to the expansion of the stadium. Matchday revenue is also up by 85%, so the costs are surely covered? The club’s total revenues have also grown by 133% to £703m. 

In the same time frame, ticket prices may have risen by just 4%, but a price freeze 10 years ago came only after the walk-out in protest at tickets being raised to £77. This period also includes times when there were no supporters in the ground due to the pandemic. And there have been discussions in which the club sought to raise prices, so the decision not to, is not solely benevolent. 

Costs
In meetings with the Supporters Board, it was made clear that matchday costs are not paid for by regular matchgoers. Hospitality income is up significantly; media revenue has more than doubled to £264m; commercial revenue is up from £115m to £323m – should these not cover increased operational costs, rather than supporters, who contribute through TV packages, memberships, three new kits each season etc? 

The rationale for utility bill rises seems to ignore the fact utility bill rises also hit matchgoers.

Other costs that have received little mention are directors’ pay, up 8% to £4.2m and agent fees, which stand at £33m, according to the most recently released figure. 

£1.2 m against these numbers looks fairly insignificant to LFC. 

What three-year price increases mean
The premise that this provides “certainty and clarity” is certainly correct – it tells supporters that no matter what, prices are going up each year, regardless of whether costs fall; regardless of whether revenues grow further; regardless of on-pitch performance and success. 

We know, through engagement, supporters think discussing prices annually is important, and part of the licensing required by the Independent Football Regulator is for clubs to engage with supporters ‘regularly’. Three years does not seem regular, and we will seek advice from the IFR. 

Based on the club’s estimates of inflation being 2% in 2027/28 and 2.3% in 2028/29, following 3% set for next season, a season-ticket holder will pay an additional £113.50 to £143. 

However the upper end of these estimates is 5%, meaning supporters would pay an additional £176.50 to £223. For members attending all matches it is much higher – £188 to £282. 

Should inflation rise to 5%, the costs would be: 

• Adult general-admission tickets: up by £5 and £8. In 2028/29, the most expensive adult GA ticket would be £69.
• Adult general-admission season tickets: up by £96 and £122. In 2028/29, the most expensive adult GA season ticket would be £1,026. The next two most expensive would be in excess of £1,000.

Focusing on season tickets doesn’t tell the full story. Cup ticket prices will rise for everyone. Members have little choice as to the availability of seats in specific stands where tickets cost less – the Kop, the cheapest, has very few members tickets available each game. 

Members, who purchase 19 league match tickets will pay significantly more. On the club’s projected levels of inflation, a member attending every week will face a rise of £57 to £85 more a season. If inflation is at 5%, this rise is between £102 and £155 per season. 

This is the higher end of the estimate, but we remain in a cost-of-living crisis and the economy is a world away from being steady right now. This increase is locked in irrespective of what might happen. 

Engagement with the Supporters Board
We believe our contribution is not valued. In early 2025, when LFC froze prices, we asked for earlier, more meaningful engagement next time, to avoid the rush to discuss pricing. We met with the LFC Board, including owners and yourself, last October (part of the Supporters Board agreement). Ticket pricing was on the agenda, then removed, and a commitment to meet not forthcoming. Despite letters, in line with the FSA’s national campaign Stop Exploiting Loyalty, there was no meeting until January. This was then postponed, as the club were not ready to present their position until February, almost four months later.

We met four times in February and March. Ahead of the last of those meetings, in which the club presented its proposal, we asked if the owners, the decision makers, could also be present. We were told: “The Supporters Board views have been shared with Ownership, and LFC executives, including myself, will continue to represent the views that align entirely with that of Ownership. As we operate as a collective group, we therefore do not see it appropriate or necessary for an Ownership representative to attend the next meeting with the Supporters Board.” 

You said “agreement wasn’t reached on all points” We are struggling to understand the points you think there was agreement. We welcomed the age change for younger supporters, but had to ask LFC to reconsider plans to change the age of senior concessions, and on pricing for the majority, the most important issue, we disagreed. These were proposals put forward by the club, not supporters. 

We have been transparent over many seasons that we do not want ticket increases and asked for a freeze so we might discuss alternatives to raise revenue. We put forward the prospect of sponsorship opportunities back in 2016, yet only now has the club shown interest in discussing.

Your letter says you “remain committed to continued, meaningful engagement with the SB on ticketing policy, the matchday experience at home and away fixtures (including Europe) and other important matters.” How can it be meaningful if concerns raised are ignored? What is meaningful about not talking to us on the most emotive and important topic to supporters: the cost of a match ticket?

The wider context
You mention other clubs’ pricing, but we are concerned with what happens at Liverpool. In the past, John Henry was clear when he said London prices were not sustainable in Liverpool. 

The recently announced Deloitte figures put LFC ahead of all English clubs, based largely on the financial gains from on-pitch successes. A solitary win in the Champions League group stage (£1.8m) is worth more than the increase in ticket prices as is Premier League placement (approximately £2.7m per league place). 

We want LFC to focus on being Liverpool, to lead, not follow. 

Anfield is lauded around the world, not just by fans but managers and players, too. Our club captain Virgil van Dijk said our supporters are the club. Our vice-captain Andy Roberston said we are the most important people at the club. If LFC wants to be competitive, it’s obvious it should be harnessing this power, giving back to supporters who make Anfield what it is or we lose them for good.

The future
As supporter representatives we face a unique challenge – wanting the very best for our club in the short, medium and long term. Decisions made by the current custodians will impact supporters, some of whom are not yet born, for generations to come. We want to be able to say: we did all we could to ensure the support and traditions continue to be passed on

You have told us no decision has been made beyond the three-year approach and meaningful dialogue will continue. We ask again that you reconsider this decision and work with us on alternatives. We ask that we get back around the table and find genuine long-term solutions that benefit the club and future-proof our support for generations to come, so that we can all focus on other issues, like the success of the team – the very reason we do all this.