Fans have won a major victory after the Premier League announced that away ticket prices would be capped at £30 for the next three seasons. The league said the decision was unanimous among the 20 clubs, in a move that follows years of protests and lobbying by supporters’ groups.

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Kevin Miles, the chief executive of the Football Supporters’ Federation, which launched the Twenty’s Plenty for Away Tickets campaign in 2013, described the cap as “very positive news”.

Manchester United estimate it will save their fans a total of around £800,000 a year as their away tickets are always the highest price category. A statement from the Premier League said: “Clubs know that away fans have a unique status. They are essential for match atmosphere and stimulate the response from home fans that distinguishes Barclays Premier League matches from those of other leagues.

“This unique status has long been understood by clubs, who currently provide away fans with a range of measures designed to assist them, including the Away Supporters’ Initiative (ASI), introduced in 2013. At their last meeting on 4 February 2016, the clubs unanimously agreed that more should be done to help away fans and, after consideration of a range of options, have now decided to introduce the new £30 maximum price for away tickets.”

Miles told TalkSport: “Obviously there’s still scope for clubs to go even further, but it would be churlish to do anything other than celebrate that Premier League clubs seem to have for once listened to fans, taken that message, valued the important contribution of away fans and matched that with money. So it’s very very positive news for us.

“It’s a very solid argument because it’s for the good of the clubs, it’s for the good of the people who are trying to sell the broadcasting rights, for the good for the spectacle of the occasion – to make sure there’s a good away fan turnout because of the special atmosphere that away fans generate, sparking off the home fans as well. So everyone’s a winner in this and it’s definitely going to make a difference to a lot of people when they think: ‘Can I afford to go on this away trip or not?’ Hopefully we’ll have a lot more ‘yesses’ than ‘afraid nots’.”

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James McKenna, a spokesman for the Liverpool group Spirit of Shankly, which helped to coordinate a successful protest at Anfield against the club’s home ticket pricing plans for next season, said: “It’s a very good step in the right direction for supporters. We have been saying the price of away tickets was too much and this new TV deal presented them with an opportunity to lower them.

“They have finally listened and I think most supporters will be pleased that has happened. I think it is a recognition of how important supporters are. I think it is a really positive step.”

Arsenal, who have drawn particular criticism for their high prices, will provide a further discount of £4 for their travelling fans. A club statement said: “This will ensure no Arsenal fans will pay more to support Arsenal at Premier League away games than the lowest-priced £26 ticket that both visiting and home fans can pay to watch their teams at the Emirates Stadium.”

Chelsea said on Wednesday that season and individual match tickets for 2016-17 would remain at 2011-12 prices, and Tottenham Hotspur announced a freeze on the cost of season tickets.