Revealed: Premier League clubs charging thousands for children to be mascots

Telegraph

19-04-2025

Premier League clubs are charging as much as £1,800 for children to be mascots at games, prompting fierce criticism from MPs and campaigners.
The most expensive package has surged 157 per cent since clubs previously stood accused of neglecting low-income families in a Telegraph Sport analysis in 2020.
Half of top-tier clubs now hand all places out for free, but Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Ipswich and West Ham are still charging rates branded 'exploitative' by critics.
Clubs vehemently defend their pricing policies, pointing out hospitality and kit is often provided and free spaces are also handed out to the community.
However, Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, joined fan groups and fellow MPs in expressing shock.
'It feels a shame that some clubs are profiting by pricing so many young fans out of this wonderful experience,' she said.
In 2020, the highest rates were up to £700, with West Ham, Forest, Norwich and Aston Villa all advertising rates up to £500 and beyond for their biggest matches despite complaints from supporters. Villa are among clubs to quietly ditch charging families while the likes of West Ham have also reduced maximum prices.
Forest, however, now charge by far the highest price for their most expensive package. For a Category A match, a family must fork out £1,800 plus VAT for an advertised package which covers the child involved and three additional guests in hospitality.
Niall Couper, chief executive of Fair Game, which represents 35 clubs across the football pyramid, said in response: 'Being a mascot is one of the greatest experiences a young football fan can have and to see a number of rich Premier League clubs with billionaire owners such as Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Ipswich and West Ham United charging huge sums of money for this just isn't right.'
Forest and Brighton – who charge up to £415 for packages – reject all criticism of pricing structures, pointing out they also hand out multiple places free of charge on any given matchday.
'On a match day, Nottingham Forest invite a minimum of two match mascots, with one of these being a participant invited from our Community Trust programmes and offered free of charge, and the other as part of a hospitality package which we can't put a price on as it is sold as a wider package,' Forest said in a statement.
'Consistently this season we have provided multiple free-of-charge mascot places for each home game, with as many as five catered for at some games. All these go to deserving children and/or young participants from our Community Trust programmes.'
Brighton, meanwhile, say they give two free mascot spaces for every home game, and all away games, and 'where we only have one mascot this package is free'.
Remaining packages sold at up to £415 are 'largely due to the fact that we were regularly asked for this service to be provided, prior to us offering', the club says.
'Packages tend to sell out within a few weeks of them being made available. We feel they represent value for money and give children an unforgettable experience.'
Critics, however, suggest all mascot places should be handed out for free in line with the majority of other top-tier clubs, most of whom require mascots to be club members.
'I had no idea it's so pricey in some clubs, and there is such a disparity,' said Dame Caroline. 'This is a dream for so many children.'
Public Accounts Commission chairman Clive Efford MP added: 'Pricing working-class families out of ever being a mascot like this is pure greed. Considering the millions Premier League clubs get each year from TV deals, how can they justify charging for what for many is a childhood dream? They should be ashamed.'
The Forest pricing structure is out of kilter with the general matchday experience at the City Ground. Recent research ranked the stadium as the second cheapest top-tier home ground, with the lowest average taxi fares and season tickets starting from £550.
The club also offers the cheapest stadium pies at just £3.30. Yet the top mascot package costs more than the average monthly rent in Nottingham for a three-bedroom house, which is £1,373.
Gerry Sutcliffe, the former sports minister, said he 'cannot believe those charges for mascots at games'.
'Squeezing every last penny from supporters and complete disregard for supporters who can't afford to pay such expensive prices,' he said. 'It adds already to overpriced tickets to games at kick-off times that don't help fans. It has become a game for the elite and corporate crowd. Hope that the football regulator can intervene.'
Other clubs take dramatically different approaches. In the lower tiers, Tranmere Rovers, for example, have a policy in which all young fans who purchased kit had an automatic chance to appear on the pitch for free.
Criticism of mascot prices comes at a sensitive time for the Premier League, which is opposed to the incoming regulator which was recently scrutinised in the House of Lords ahead of implementation. Reflecting on mascot prices, Couper said: 'This is why Fair Game wants to Build a Fairer Future for Football where fans of all clubs are not being exploited.'