Footballing traditions are passed down from generation to generation – whether that is who you are destined to support or who you are told to loathe. Football brings people from all walks of life together, all in the hope of their team being crowned triumphant.
This feeling of hope and glory only intensifies when a Cup competition crops up on the calendar. The romance of the Cup leaves little to the imagination: from the underdog pulling through to the slaying of a giant. Cup games are amongst some of the most memorable in the footballing season. But with Cup ticket prices on the rise, will every supporter remember the glory days?
The problem
Over recent years, Premier Sports Cup ticket prices for the semi-final and final have been on the rise, with this year as the only exception. For the first time in four years, the top-tier prices for the semi-final were reduced by £2 and final tickets were reduced by £4, and have been frozen from last year. Though no official reason was given for the reduction, it could be assumed that this year’s fixture of Motherwell vs St Mirren (two smaller teams than the Glasgow giants), prices had to reflect the number of fans that would attend, to attract as many supporters as possible.
If this were the case, then two semi-final fixtures had to be priced the same; it could not differentiate due to an Old Firm stand-off. Similarly, prices for the final had to reflect the two teams playing (Celtic and St Mirren).
In previous years, semi-final tickets have cost as much as £38 for an adult and £18 for a concession (over 65 and under 16), whereas final tickets have soared to £50 for an adult and £27 for a concession, a drastic increase from previous rounds of the same competition. The competition organisers and clubs may determine that prices are justifiable due to the calibre of football and teams that enter at later rounds, such as the Old Firm teams, Celtic and Rangers.
However, this justification is perceived as unfair by fans. Why should fans be punished, through more expensive ticket prices, for supporting their teams, who happen to be the giants of Scottish football?
For this year’s semi-final, Motherwell and St Mirren fans had to stump up £36 per ticket, despite prices previously standing roughly between £11 and £ 25 (depending on the competition stage). This increase only intensified for St Mirren and Celtic, who reached the final of the cup, with fans being further out of pocket by another increase of £10 for a ticket, bringing the total to £46 per ticket.
Avid Celtic supporter and season ticket holder Conor Spence shared his thoughts on the price of cup final tickets:
“A 28% increase in ticket pricing for Celtic and St Mirren supporters from the Premier Sports Cup semi-final is ridiculous, but not overly surprising.”
“The gradual increase in ticket pricing is now a major issue in Scottish football and is represented by the huge jump in prices for a match that will be played at the same venue, in the same competition.”
Spence certainly does not stand alone in his view, as many others descended on social media expressing their frustration with pricing, branding it “outrageous” and a “disgrace”.
Why does this matter?
Spence continued: “ticket pricing can be a significant barrier and challenge for supporters… The expense and burden this puts on families who perhaps want to take their children to watch their team in a final will drive many away from the game, which in itself is a sad reality of where we are at.”
When pricing the cost of the Cup final for a family of four (two adults and two children), it amounts to a whopping sum of £148 on just tickets alone. With the match being held just eleven days before Christmas, that is a staggering amount of money and begs the question of accessibility within modern-day football.
A poll by Ipsos in 2025 discovered that seven in ten football fans feel they are being priced out of the game. If this feeling were to intensify, it would undo the unbelievable strides that Scottish football has made in terms of the number of fans attending games. A UEFA report in 2025 showed that Scotland recorded a higher top-flight attendance rate per capita than any other European league. This report stresses the importance of football remaining accessible to all. Without reasonable ticket prices, fan numbers will slowly dwindle.
Despite this, ticket prices will not deter fans from attending the Premier Sports Cup final on the 14th of December, especially when teams such as St Mirren have not made it this far in the competition for 12 years. With both teams eagerly searching for glory, no die-hard fan will seek to miss such a special occasion. Regardless of fans’ attendance, such an occasion does not detract from the important fact that ticket prices cannot rise any further.
What can be done?
There needs to be a serious undertaking on how to combat the increase in football ticket prices.
One solution could be to permanently freeze ticket prices, and over the next few years, competitions could seek to lower them in increments to a level that is more sustainable.
Alternatively, for a cup final, prices could be determined before any teams advance that far, in order to make it an equal playing field for all clubs involved. The Green Party are also currently pushing an initiative of capping away game ticket prices at no more than £25 per ticket to make football more accessible.
Spence feels immediate action must be taken to combat ticket pricing: “universally supported by fans across the country… A cap is most definitely the way forward, and all SPFL member clubs should be around the table making sure these changes are finalised.”
“The ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ campaign has been on the go for years, but it has made a re-emergence, and then some… supporters have had enough with ludicrous ticket pricing.”
In the years to come, it is imperative that Cup organisers and clubs band together to prevent the rise of ticket prices, allowing football to remain accessible. Fans are the lifeblood of football. What is a cup competition without fans?
SFA was approached for comment, though it did not respond in time for publication.
I have a keen interest in sport journalism and broadcasting.
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