Following on from last season the Club has shown its commitment to open dialogue with supporters via the Supporters Consultation Group (SCG).
The SCG consists of various groups including ourselves, Lions Clubs, Independent Supporter Groups as well as fan websites such as My Old Man Said, Vital Villa, Heroes & Villains and Avillafan.com.
In advance of the Championship clubs releasing their ticket prices for this coming season the Club held a meeting to consult with supporters that regularly travel away. David Michael from MOMS and also National Liaison Officer for the Trust was the SCG representative. David was uniquely positioned for this initiative after all the work he has done with the Football Supporters’ Federation in relation to the Twenty’s Plenty campaign. The Club also invited seasoned away supporters to participate. This included John Holder, Bryan Hopkins, Mark McFarland, John Perks, Steve Todd and Anthony Willis.
The Club was able to share the rules around away allocations with the following be noticeable changes to the Premier League.
- Clubs are only required to supply a minimum allocation of 2,000
- Allocation is on a sale or return basis
- 5% commission to the away club – selling away tickets brings revenue
- The block order in which our away allocation is sold is dictated by the home club
We are famous for our away following and with new grounds to visit on our campaign to return to the Premier League the Club acknowledged that there will be a high demand for away tickets. With this in mind it is speaking to other clubs to arrange reciprocal deals on pricing and allocation in essence to stop supporters being taken advantage of and maximize our away following – Sheffield Wednesday charging £42 comes to mind.
The Club is also setting aside a budget to work with clubs on reducing the price for fixtures. Though this will not be anything like what was made available as part of the Premier League’s Away Fans Fund of £200,000. The consensus amongst the SCG was that this fund should be used to drive down ticket prices as opposed to providing free coach travel.
The Club confirmed that it would offer a 3,000 allocation to any club willing to reciprocate it. Though generally with smaller stadia in the Championship compared to the Premier League it is acknowledged that in some cases the allocation may be significantly less.
We welcome the Club’s aspiration to get as many fans as possible supporting the team on the road. The Club has stressed that the conduct of our away fans will be a key factor in maximising our allocations.
If you have any questions for the Club that you would like to be addressed at the next SCG meeting please email clubliaison@villatrust.org.uk.
