DEDICATED football fans fork out more cash on their teams in a single season than they do on important life events such as engagement and wedding rings or their children’s birthdays, according to new research.

The penny-pinching experts at PromotionalCodes.org.uk have compiled the average cost of following a Premier League team for a whole season, discovering that men spend a whopping £1,920 a season supporting their club – more than £800 more than they are likely to spend on engagement rings.

It’s not just partners that are feeling secondary to football, as the research shows fans will spend more following their team in a year than they will on their children’s birthdays, Christmas and family holidays.

The data was compiled by adding up the costs of purchasing a season ticket (£886), replica kit (£50), tickets to every away game (£559) plus a programme (£130), beer (£163) and pie (£132) at each match.

With the typical cost of buying an engagement ring now around £1,080, that means that men will spend £840 more on football in just one season.

The news is only slightly better for fiancés when it comes to the wedding ceremony, with men spending an average of £1,363 on a wedding ring, just £557 less than going to every match of the season.

Even quality time away with the family can prove less expensive than quality time on the terraces, as at £1,212 an average family holiday can cost almost £708 less than a whole season watching the beautiful game.

Christmas is a time when most households spare no expense on presents, food and a Christmas tree, but with a yearly cost of £645 it is still £1,275 less than just nine months supporting your team.

Parents are usually expected to go all out when spending money on their children’s birthdays, but with an average yearly spend of £250 per child, men could afford to give up their season of football and afford to pay for their child’s birthday for a full seven years.