Chelsea tickets 'easier to get than any other Premier League club'

A brand-new survey of Premier League fans has highlighted that Chelsea is the most accessible club to watch live.

A new season is just around the corner, and football aficionados will be eager to follow their respective clubs home and away. Last term's champions Liverpool take on AFC Bournemouth in the first game of the season, come Friday evening, before a whole host of action is unleashed over the weekend.

Chelsea are set to kick off their fresh campaign in a clash with London rivals Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday at 2pm, as Enzo Maresca looks to return to competitive football for the first time since the Blues' success at the summer's Club World Cup. The west London club saw the utmost success at the tournament, as evidenced by them walking away as champions thanks to a 3-0 thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain in July's final.

With a buzz around the club at present, many fans will hope to give Chelsea a hero's welcome when they return to the Bridge on Sunday. And according to a new LiveScore survey of more than 3,000 UK football fans, they have the best chance of securing seats to the games they want to see this season.

That's because the survey revealed that around 50 per cent of Chelsea fans reported to attending live matches each and every week, notably higher than the 18 per cent on average across the Premier League. Meanwhile, 49 per cent of Chelsea fans also said it is easy to get tickets, which soars above the 30 per cent national average.

It may come as a surprise to many football fans, given Stamford Bridge is the smallest of the Premier League's 'big six' stadiums, boasting a capacity of just 40,341, while the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur each have home grounds which can seat in excess of 60,000.

However, a stumbling block which some fans may come across is the pricing of tickets to games this season, given that the cost of securing a seat across the league has risen by a whopping 800 per cent since 1990, as per the survey. While many football fans will hope to get to their local stadium this season, a new broadcasting exclusivity deal with Sky Sports means that more Premier League fixtures will be broadcast live on television than ever before.

The station will show a minimum of 215 Premier League matches as of 2025/2, after finalising a new four-year arrangement for TV rights, which is a major increase on the 128 they broadcast last term. It's a huge boost to fans who prefer to watch along from home, with extra games being scheduled for weekends, Monday and Friday evenings and midweek to work around the UK's 3pm blackout rule.

That regulation prevents games being shown live between 2:25pm and 5:25pm on Saturday in a bid to promote fans headed down to their local ground to watch games in-person. Speaking about Sky Sports' new deal, Group CEO of Sky, Dana Strong, said: "This is a fantastic result for Sky customers, who will see a significant increase in the number of matches from the most iconic league in the world. Sky is the undisputed home for sport fans in the UK."

As per LiveScore's report, just 34 per cent of football fans are content with the number of games they get to watch live at present. And while there's still major changes needed with regards to accessibility, the new Sky deal will give fans more opportunities to watch the beautiful game on the whole.

It's something that LiveScore and LiveScore Bet European Brand Ambassador, Dimitar Berbatov, is keen to see improve further, with hopes of seeing clubs and the league work with broadcasters for a better product. Speaking exclusively to Football.London, the former Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Fulham striker said: "This survey, gives valuable insight in what the fans want.

"And of course, it's clear that many fans want to see more of their team live, which shows you how strong the connection between the fans, the clubs, the football continues to be. And I know because I'm travelling a lot, I'm going to my ex-clubs and other clubs and see and speak with the clubs.

"I know they're doing a lot to engage with the supporters, both in the stadium or these days and age, in social channels, social media, digital channels. But as always, because the game involves all the time, there's always something more to be done.

"You know, something new, something exciting, something that nobody else thought about it before. So you can be the first, and this way your supporters can be even more attached to the whole thing. So it's about working closely with the broadcasters, with the platforms to make the game more accessible for everybody."

LiveScore's mission is to fuel fans' passion for sport - download the LiveScore app for real-time updates and go to livescore.com for more information.