The cheap ticket prices means Grecians didn't get as much as they were hoping for
Stuart James Print Sports Editor
09:14, 20 Jan 2026
Josh Magennis of Exeter City during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Exeter City on 10 January 2026 in Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England. Photo by Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
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Josh Magennis of Exeter City during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Exeter City on 10 January 2026 in Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England. Photo by Tom Sandberg/PPAUK(Image: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK)
EXETER City chairman Richard Pym confirmed at Friday’s Fans Forum that the Grecians’ FA Cup third round clash with Manchester City earned them just £180,000.
When the draw was made, it was largely hoped that the game would provide a significant financial boost for the cash-strapped Grecians, but while there was a crowd of 50,705 inside the Etihad Stadium – including 7,800 travelling fans from Exeter - low ticket prices meant the Grecians’ share of the gate receipts was not as much as they had been hoping for.
“If anyone thought that the Manchester City match was going to transform our finances, we got the final profit and loss today: £180,000,” Pym said. “Do you know what the average price was for the tickets that we sold? We sold 7,800 tickets, but do you know the average price? £12.50.
“I hope that everybody had a nice day out, but that’s all we got. I would quite like them to have been £22.50 - and I am sure most people would have been quite happy to pay £22.50.
“Manchester City were brilliant to deal with and there is no criticism at all, but they are incentivised to fill the bars because they don’t have to share the beer profit with us and I am not asking them to.”
However, Pym then caused controversy when he denied that the club had written to the Premier League giants asking for their 45-per-cent cut, or even a share, of the gate receipts, calling it “fiction.”
In the build-up to the game, a statement was issued by the Supporters Trust in which it said: “In recognition of Exeter City’s supporter-owned model and the financial realities faced by fan-owned clubs, the club have written to Manchester City to ask whether they would consider voluntarily transferring a portion of their share of the matchday gate receipts to Exeter City.”
However, an unprompted Pym told the Fans Forum: “Oh, any by the way, we didn’t ask Manchester City for their 45 per-cent. We never wrote to Manchester City. We didn’t do it. Fiction.”
Pym then asked Trust chairman Peter Ferlie to ‘pick that one up’ and he replied: “The reason I sent that statement – numerous reasons. To create a debate about the disparity between Premier League and lower league sides.
“As you heard from Richard, (we are) short of cash, so we try and get some extra cash. Our intention wasn’t to embarrass anybody, but it wanted to create a debate amongst the football world of how it’s changed so much – and the Premier League was set up originally to help lower league clubs. They have gone their way and they seem to have forgotten about lower league clubs.
“I’d also valid this and bring up about the replay. That is not Man City’s fault, that’s the FA who have changed the rules (and removed replays from the competition) so it was just really to try and highlight what’s gone on there – no intention to embarrass the club or Manchester City.
“Manchester City were very courteous and I was fortunate enough to be in the directors’ box. They were lovely people to deal with, listened to what I had to say – I was amazed I was going to be allowed into the Etihad when I said my name! But they let me in, we had a good chat and that’s it, we move on. Hopefully we can show what we really are like when we play Stevenage tomorrow.”
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The statement, which had been published on the Supporters' Trust website, has subsequently been removed - as well as corresponding social media posts.
However, the email which the Trust had sent out to members had read: "The statement explains why this fixture matters so much to Exeter City, reflects on the excitement among our supporters, and sets out a respectful request to Manchester City regarding potential additional financial support from the match. It also highlights how supporters across the football community can help back fan ownership at Exeter City."