The Football Association spent 25% more on Wembley hospitality and freebies for FA Council members last season, the Guardian can reveal. Latest accounts show expenditure on tickets and hospitality rose from £452,300 in the 2024-25 season to £564,400 in 2025-26.

While fans across the country have staged protests and walkouts in recent years over ticket price rises, and the cost-of-living crisis has made football increasingly unaffordable, the FA has upgraded the hospitality it offers to VIPs. Liverpool scrapped plans to increase ticket prices over three successive seasons following widespread unrest from supporters at the end of last season.

There are more than 120 FA Council members, including some of the most influential figures in the game, such as the English Football League chairman Rick Parry, Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango and senior Premier League executives.

FA Council members can attend England and FA matches – including the FA Cup semi-finals and final – held at Wembley and bring one guest free of charge. They receive complimentary meals and drinks, and sit in premium seats.

“FA Council members are invited as our guests to the England matches and FA competitions that we host,” an FA spokesperson said. “They are just one of the groups invited to these fixtures, alongside others such as the competing clubs and any visiting national associations. The hospitality offering at these matches was updated over the past year to better reflect the hospitality offered by clubs and other football stakeholders, which has resulted in an increase in expenditure in this area.”

The accounts indicate ticket and hospitality costs are likely to increase further due to the Fellowship of Council, an honorary membership scheme introduced in 2017. It allows members who have served on the FA Council for at least nine years to continue receiving free tickets, food and drinks even after stepping down.

“As the number of members of the Fellowship increases annually, the costs associated with match tickets and hospitality are likely to increase,” the FA company secretary, Richard McDermott, writes in the accounts. “We propose to introduce changes to the benefits that go with membership of the Fellowship so that from 2027 these costs will start to reduce.”

The cost of hosting FA Council meetings also almost doubled, rising from £18,600 to £33,200, with much of the increase attributed to higher hospitality expenditure.