The global success of the Premier League continues unabated. Billions of pounds from television and commercial rights deals have ensured its clubs continue to enjoy huge financial rewards. Much of that money will be earmarked for players’ salaries, with a significant amount spent on stadium facilities, ensuring the needs of the lifeblood of the clubs – the fans – are met.

From seating, catering, retail and toilet facilities, conditions at Premier League stadiums have improved over the past few years. With an ever more diverse fan base, however, those needs have in places gone from beyond the traditional pie and a pint to those seeking a halal pie and a prayer room.

The buzz word across football now is inclusivity. The Premier League and Football Association are keen to reassure fans that whoever you are and whatever background you come from, football welcomes you. The number of Muslim supporters attending Premier League matches has steadily risen, a fact recognised by some Premier League clubs who have provided dedicated fans’ multifaith prayer rooms.

Muslim Premier League players such as Mesut Özil, Yaya Touré and Samir Nasri are familiar sights in the game, with their employers keen to ensure their religious needs are met.

Yet recognising and understanding the requirements of fans of all religions – because we are not only talking about Muslim fans here – has become a matter which many clubs may not have anticipated. That fact was brought sharply into focus by two incidents, the first in October 2013 at a Premier League fixture when West Ham United hosted Manchester City, and then when Liverpool met Blackburn Rovers in an FA Cup quarter-final last March.

There are five obligatory daily Muslim prayers: Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. The Fajr prayer is before sunrise, and the Isha prayer at night. It is the timings of the middle three, Zuhr, Asr and Maghrib, which can challenge the matchday thought process of Muslim fans. During the short winter days, and coupled with a lunchtime kick-off, all these three prayers can come into play when the match is in play.

When a small group of West Ham Muslim fans were subjected to apparent racist and Islamophobic abuse by their fellow fans while offering their Maghrib prayer on a concourse at the Boleyn Ground, it sent shockwaves around the world, in scenes which many had hoped had been consigned to the distant past.

The images of two solicitors and Liverpool club members, Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula, praying at Anfield caused a storm on Twitter. Stephen Dodd tweeted an image of Bodi and Bhula praying on mats provided by the club’s stewards by a stairwell. He captioned the tweet: “Muslims praying at half-time at the match yesterday. #Disgrace.” Liverpool were quick to condemn Dodd’s action.

“It was Asr time, we went downstairs and asked the stewards if we could pray by the stairwell,” Bodi told the Guardian. “They provided us with the mats, it’s a common practice. The positive feedback was reassuring, and it’d be nice if something positive also came out of it.”

He spoke of his shock but of not being surprised by the level of negative reaction on Twitter, but was quick to point out the overall positivity when following his faith and football, and of being humbled by the generosity of a local resident during a previous Anfield visit. The stranger, seeing the pair praying by his building’s atrium, offered them the use of his living room to pray in.

On the eve of the 2015-16 football season, the Guardian sent out a brief questionnaire to all 20 Premier League clubs to ascertain if their stadiums have Muslim or multifaith fans’ prayer rooms, or propose to have in future. Chelsea, Manchester United, Leicester City and Stoke City stuck to their official stance of not commenting on surveys.

Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Everton, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur confirmed they do have stadium multifaith prayer facilities.

Although West Bromwich Albion confirmed they did not have a dedicated fans’ prayer room, a club spokesman articulated with refreshing empathy on the subject. “As one of the more congested grounds in the Premier League, we don’t have anywhere specifically set aside. But we are familiar and sensitive to the needs of supporters, staff and visitors to pray and have rooms that can be used on request.

“I myself have witnessed this with opposition players for whom we have found a suitable room when they have requested to pray before a game. The same applies for members of staff, not just fans. We regularly have stewards who are required to pray whilst working and obviously accommodate them. And the same would apply for persons of any religion, not just those of Muslim faith.

“As for building a new facility or adapting a current area, if you have been to The Hawthorns, you will know space is at a premium. There are development projects under consideration for the future and I have no doubt that suitable accommodation for prayers would be a part of that design, should we go ahead.”

A few miles down the road, and despite not having a matchday fans’ prayer room, Aston Villa employ a unique system which could prove to be a template for other Premier League clubs to consider.

“We have a prayer room for Aston Villa employees and fans/guests who may be on site on a non-matchday,” said a club spokeswoman. “For fans on a matchday we allow access to the local mosque (situated on Witton Road) and facilitate readmittance to the stadium if someone leaves during the match.”

Hurt by the negativity surrounding the incident at their club, West Ham spoke of having plans in place which will be enhanced with the move to their new home. “While this ground doesn’t house any prayer facilities, we have accommodated wishes of individual supporters attending matches,” a spokeswoman said. “We have previously allowed Muslim fans to use a restricted access area of the concourse. Our new home at the former Olympic stadium will have multifaith prayer facilities.”

Liverpool recognise the global value of their brand and stress that from 2016 a dedicated fans’ prayer room will be available at Anfield. “Liverpool FC confirmed when it announced its plans in December 2014 to expand the main stand at Anfield Stadium, that it will include a multifaith room,” said a spokeswoman. “The room will be accessible from the ground floor of the expanded main stand and people of all faiths will be welcome to use the room.”

Newcastle, Sunderland, Swansea City and the promoted sides, Bournemouth, Norwich City and Watford, confirmed they would be happy to accommodate fans should matchday prayer requests be made.

Spurs are aiming to provide a fans’ prayer room at their new stadium. “We currently make a private area available should we receive any requests from staff and supporters for a quiet space to pray,” said a spokesman. “This has also been taken into consideration with the designs of our new stadium, where there will be a dedicated faith room.”

Butch Fazal is the race and equality adviser to the FA, and he is adamant Premier League clubs must address the needs of all fans and from all faiths. Fazal, an Arsenal season-ticket holder, has witnessed increased use of the fans’ prayer room situated in block 7 at the Emirates Stadium.

“A multifaith room is really important,” he says. “If we’re looking to open up football to a wider audience, then we need to address the needs of that wider audience, and particular in areas where Black, Asian and minority ethnic populations prevail. Given that, positivity is critical. Premier League clubs are missing out, if they don’t reach out to engage their local communities both in support terms and commercially.”

But, warns Fazal, given the almost homogenous ethnic make-up of those running football, it should come as no surprise some Premier League clubs have been caught out. “Clearly there should be consultation, with clubs being proactive and engaging their diverse fan base. But if the clubs don’t have a diverse workforce themselves, then how can they be best placed to reach out and understand the needs of their local fan base?

“Football is so tribal it’s unreal. There’s a job of work to do about supporters perceptions based on a club value system, creating all round positive relationships and dialogue.”

An FA spokesman confirmed Wembley stadium and St George’s Park have on-site multifaith prayer rooms for fans and visitors. Our survey shows some Premier League clubs are already in synch with the FA on that front.

Depending on their club, fans may need to plan ahead if their call to prayer coincides with a match. In the future this will hopefully no longer be the case.