Loyal football fans prepare to go the distance

Sunderland supporters lift the loyalty cup this season, travelling 75% further than ‘bottom of the table’ Derby County.

When it comes to going the distance for your club, loyal Sunderland supporters look set to lift the cup this season, according to figures from leading car insurer LV=. Locally-based fans of the ‘Black Cats’ (Sunderland) would have to drive a total of 7,581 miles to see their team play Premier League away games, while hardened Derby County fans would face a ‘mere’ 4,328 mile slog around the country, a difference of 3,253 miles or 75%.

But how far fans go and how long it takes them to get there can be two different stories. Although Aston Villa fans travel 100 miles more than either Derby County or Birmingham City fans they will actually spend less time on the road – indicating they have faster roads to drive on. Boasting the quickest total journey time of all the Premiership League clubs, at a mere 74 hours, Villa fans won’t go into penalty time when it comes to their journeys to away games!

Portsmouth fans have struck a raw deal and have the longest total journey time amongst.

Premiership League supporters. Aston Villa fans will spend a total of 74 hours in their cars compared to the 128 hours it will take Portsmouth fans to get to all their away games - a time saving of more than two days, even before traffic jams are taken into account.

Andrew Beard at LV= said: “Die-hard local football fans who drive to all their team’s away games would spend an average of four full days on the road, covering well over 5,000 miles in a season. This can be a costly labour of love when you take into account season tickets, motorway lunches, match day programmes and of course petrol.

“With all these miles travelled for the love of football, it’s vital that fans who drive make sure their vehicles are well-maintained and that they have adequate insurance and breakdown cover, in case the worst should happen on the way to the stadium. After all, no football fan wants to miss a big match because they are stuck at the side of the road without help.”