Thousands of young supporters throughout England and Wales will have the opportunity to begin a lifelong passion for their local club following the launch of a major new initiative by The Football League. 

The 'Fans of the Future' campaign aims to encourage the next generation of supporters to watch live football at their local League club by providing a range of innovative ticketing initiatives for young supporters.  More than half of League clubs have introduced a 'Kids Go Free' scheme, offering free entry to children accompanied by a paying adult.  In total 34 of these have committed to applying the scheme at all home matches.  Additionally, other clubs are offering ticket discounts, kid-a-quid matches, family tickets and free tickets for school groups.

'Fans of the Future' is a core part of The Football League's re-branding programme.  It breaks new ground for the world's original league football competition by being its first centrally co-ordinated attendance building initiative.  The League has provided clubs with a range of marketing materials that can be individually tailored by each club.  

Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney said:

"Supporters are the lifeblood of professional football.  By making League matches more accessible to young supporters through 'Fans of the Future' Football League clubs are taking a courageous lead.  They are helping themselves by helping young people to enjoy football locally.  I congratulate them on being far-sighted enough to commit themselves to an initiative that will deliver real results for generations to come.

"I am certain that young supporters and their parents will react positively to this initiative and I encourage them to take advantage of it.  Having the opportunity to see their local side in action will begin a lifelong football passion for many."

Research undertaken on behalf of The Football League indicates that parents will be receptive to the 'Fans of the Future' initiative, even when they do not regard themselves as football fans.

The research reveals that where a scheme such as 'Kids Go Free' is in operation:

 - 77% of parents, who have not taken their kids to their local Football League team's matches before, would consider now doing so 

 - 67% of parents who are not football fans would consider now taking their kids to watch their local Football League team play

The launch of 'Fans of the Future' comes at a time when The League is enjoying its best attendances for more than four decades, with total attendances of 16.4m in the 2004/05 season being the best recorded crowd figures since 1959/60. 

One club with first-hand experience of operating an initiative of this type is Preston North End.  In August 2004 the club introduced its 'Mini Whites' scheme offering free admission to any under 8 that registered with the club. As a result the number of registered supporters of that age rose from 86 to 948 - with approximately 80% attending matches on a regular basis.  Encouragingly, since its introduction 69% of youngsters graduating from the scheme have subsequently bought a season ticket with the club.                                                                                                

Commenting on the success of 'Mini Whites' and the launch of 'Fans of the Future' Preston North End Manager Billy Davies said:

"These fans of the future are not only the future of this club but they are the future of the game as a whole. We need to encourage youngsters to come to football as there is so much out there for them to do these days and we face a big battle to hold their attention.

"At Deepdale we actively encourage youngsters to get down to the club on a matchday through our pioneering Mini Whites scheme which allows all kids under the age of eight free entry to our games. The youngsters of today are the bedrock of the game tomorrow."