Former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness has given Manchester City credit for their new £10 ticket initiative, while suggesting it cleverly masks a deeper issue at the club.
The scheme, confirmed for the 2026-27 season, makes up to 500 tickets available at a tenner for every home game. Residents in the five postcode areas closest to the Etihad can apply via a ballot on a game-by-game basis, with the allocation varying each match. It begins as a trial but is expected to continue if take-up is strong.
Wyness, speaking on Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, described the move as “a very good move for City” but one that is “unique to City”.
“A lot of clubs don't have the spare capacity that City have right now, and they're dressing up some of that spare capacity as a local initiative, which I think is very clever.”
The former Goodison Park chief executive, who ran a football consultancy after his stint at Everton, pointed out that City's rivals at the top of English football simply don't have the available seats to run a similar scheme. Many clubs maintain waiting lists for season tickets and rely on every penny through the turnstiles.
“City have got a different financial profile to a lot of other clubs who do need that extra revenue,” Wyness added. “So it's a uniquely City initiative. Look, it's great. I think it's well done by them and they should get kudos for it. But it's not something that can be replicated very easily in many other clubs.”
Whether you see it as community outreach or a pragmatic solution to a problem most top clubs don't have, the scheme offers locals a cheap route into the ground. The ballot process will determine how many actually get through the door, but the intent is clear enough.