Fans spend €12m on Premiership pilgrimages

FOOTBALL-CRAZY Irish fans spent more than €12 million last year to see their heroes in action in the Premiership.

And with Roy Keane’s Sunderland joining the big boys this season in Europe’s most lucrative league, Ireland’s travelling army of football fans is on course to recruit more to its ranks.

Travel agents specialising in sports events estimate about 25,000 fans travel every football season. They are spending anything from €200 to €500 every weekend — or up to €12.5m annually — to watch their teams perform at Old Trafford, Anfield, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and Stamford Bridge.