The demand for football in the regions of England and Wales

This paper investigates the determinants of the demand for football in the regions of England and Wales. Using annual time series data over a 37-year period, we use a dynamic error correction model to identify economic and football-specific factors which determine attendances in the short run and long nm. The short nm influences on demand are performance, admission price and goal scoring. Performance and the unemployment rate are identified as significant long run determinants of attendance. Although the relationship between attendance share and performance seems to exhibit a strong regional dimension, we find only weak evidence of regional variation in the coefficients of the attendance model itself.