FAB ticketing sub-group meeting one
Date: 8 October 2025 Location: Virtual
On 8 October 2025, West Ham United held the first of the FAB sub-group meetings to discuss ticketing.
Fan Representatives:
Andy Payne, Hammers United and FAB Co-Chair
Cathy Bayford, Disabled Supporters Association
Chris Wheal, West Ham United Supporters Trust
DeepakJagpal, Inclusive Irons
Lee Pearce, Hammers United
Steve Applebee, Bondholders
Maurice Birnbaum, Away Scheme Members
Club Representatives:
Nicola Keye, Director of Ticketing, Executive Director of the Women’s Team
Catherine Smith, Head of Supporter Services and Fan Engagement
Ryan Joy, Deputy Ticketing Manager
Jason Callaghan, Senior Ticketing Manager
Kerry O’Shea, Fan Engagement Lead
Apologies:
Paul Christmas, West Ham United Supporters Club
Agenda:
Welcome and introduction
Vote for Co-Chair / Vice-Chair
Pricing for 26/27
Fan statements or requests for pricing strategy including season tickets and match-by-match GA pricing and concessions
Timeline for pricing decision making and process
New Premier League ticketing rules and roadmap
70% - what should the exemptions be for the 30%?
Shaping our fan consultation process for wider fanbase
Away scheme trial
Bondholders process
PDF tickets
GBG process
25/26 season
Transferring of tickets including upgrades and concessions
Clarification on use of partners such as Ticketmaster
P1 Travel
Club Cash
Club communication
AOB
Women’s team away travel
Student and community memberships
Next meeting date
Vote for Co-Chair and Vice-Chair
Following a vote by Supporter Representatives, Andy Payne was elected as Co-Chair of the Ticketing sub-group, and Cathy Bayford elected as Vice-Chair. The Club would like to acknowledge their commitment and look forward to continuing to work with them.
Pricing for 2026/27
Supporter Representatives acknowledged the collaborative work that had been done with the Club on concession tickets last season. They flagged that fan groups from across the Premier League had been working through the Football Supporters Association and would soon be calling for a three-year price freeze on season tickets to reward supporter loyalty. The Club acknowledged this and would await the proposals.
The Club outlined the decision making timelines for 2026/27, saying that a draft of the prices would be expected by mid-January 2026 and provisional on-sale timelines will be agreed at this point. This would be shared with the FAB at the earliest opportunity.
Supporter Representatives asked the Club about the rationale for offering season ticket holders the opportunity to purchase extra season tickets as a reward for early renewal. The Club confirmed that this was a response to feedback from season ticket holders who wanted to sit near friends and family and was intended to reward the loyalty of these long standing supporters. The Club also confirmed that enough seats had still been kept available to be offered to those on the waiting list.
Supporter Representatives acknowledged the fact that West Ham United had the longest season ticket renewal window in the Premier League but questioned the need to offer things like seat relocation as early renewal incentives. The Club acknowledged this but said that priority offers had always been in place and that the ticketing team did offer flexibility outside of these windows for supporters with specific needs.
New Premier League ticketing rules and roadmap
The Club outlined the new Premier League rules which come into effect in 26/27 and mandate that at least 70% of all fans at any match use a digital ticket. The Club suggested this would help to reduce anti-social behaviour caused by ticket misuse and reiterated that this was helping to enforce laws and regulations already in place such as the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and ticketing terms and conditions.
The Club stressed that there were exemptions in the policy for fans who have access requirements preventing them from using digital tickets and that 2000 supporters were currently using physical season ticket cards. It was acknowledged that there may also need to be specific processes in place for groups of fans such as Bondholders. The Club confirmed that affected groups such as these would be consulted with via Fan Representatives at the FAB and through the ticketing sub-group.
The Club acknowledged that supporters are able to share home season tickets with other fans through ticket forwarding. Supporter Representatives noted that this meant they could effectively share a season ticket in one name. The Club confirmed that the new rules would require the ticket to be in the name of the individual attending the match which could be achieved through ticket forwarding.
The Club said that it would consider whether the same digital ticket forwarding process could be used for away tickets in light of the new rules. The Club however noted that the person receiving the away ticket would need to have the correct entitlement to attend away matches and that this would not be able to be built up by attending matches using a season ticket from another fan, even if the away ticket was able to be transferred through ticket forwarding in the future.
Supporter Representatives asked if fans could be included in testing the new processes, which the Club agreed to. The Club also explained that fans would be directly consulted with by the Premier League and that FAB members would be involved in this as early as by the following week.
Supporter Representatives asked what problem the Premier League was trying to solve with this digital ticketing policy and if there were any other use cases in other territories where this kind of system had been implemented. The Club referenced international football matches and UEFA finals as examples of strictly named digital ticketing systems. Supporter Representatives referenced that these systems do not tie a person to a ticket in an enforceable way and questioned how the system would be enforced and the Club agreed this would be discussed with the Premier League over the coming months.
The Club outlined how a key part of this move to digital ticketing was the removal of PDF tickets as these carried a high risk of fraud. The Club would be looking to trial the removal of PDF tickets at an upcoming game to start understanding any issues and communicating with supporters at the turnstiles ahead of next season. Supporter Representatives asked if this would mean those tickets would then be able to easily added to the wallet on their phone in line with train and airline tickets, something currently not possible with the PDFs. Supporter Representatives agreed this was helpful to trial as soon as possible to give fans more time to adjust to the change. Supporter Representatives flagged potential issues with digital ticketing for fans coming with children and the Club agreed to work through these directly with the affected supporters. The Club also agreed to review communications on ticket forwarding to ensure supporters know how this process works.
The Club shared information on the away scheme trial that had been taking place since the end of the 24/25 season. The Club shared statistics showing strong takeup of the new process, which gave supporters the flexibility to miss up to three matches. The Club had received feedback from away scheme members that they hadn’t had enough time to purchase tickets, but this had now been addressed and a longer window given and reminders shared ahead of the exclusivity window closing. The Away Scheme Representative said that the majority of away scheme members would have preferred to retain the old scheme. The Club agreed to continue working with the Away Scheme Representative to improve communications to members.
2025/26 season
Supporter Representatives felt that the process for transferring tickets should be made easier and asked the Club what plans it had to address this. The Club agreed that this was being reviewed with Ticketmaster and was on the roadmap for future upgrades, including discussion about whether the original ticket holder or the transferee would pay for any upgrade from a concession to a non-concession ticket. Supporter Representatives also flagged that accessible tickets should be included in this including how PA tickets can be transferred back to the Club.
Supporter Representatives asked if there would be the option to sell tickets in this way via the local friends and family network. The Club noted the suggestion but said this was not intended to offer routes to purchase tickets and the method for this would still be via the Ticket Exchange.
Supporter Representatives asked the Club if Ticketmaster was offering the most competitive service. The Club confirmed that they had been selected through a tender process and that this was always kept under review.
Supporter Representatives stated that the P1 Travel footprint seemed to be increasing. The Club confirmed their GA ticketing allocation had not increased in the last two seasons but agreed to find out the specifics of this in the Club London hospitality ticket areas.
Supporter Representatives raised the issue of the Ticket Exchange refunding season ticket holders through Club Cash, saying the positives were that the ticket exchange was always open even when a match was not sold out, but that there were too many barriers with the admin fee, the fact that the money was paid in Club Cash and that this had an expiry date. Supporter Representatives also stated that West Ham were one of only two clubs in the Premier League not to offer cash refunds. The Club stated that West Ham had the largest distribution of season ticket holders and therefore there were important commercial aspects to this and stated that there were no complaints about season tickets being refunded using Club Cash. Supporter Representatives agreed to raise this issue at an upcoming FAB meeting.
Supporter Representatives felt that some Club ticketing email communications could be clearer, such as by adding a link to contact the Ticket Office directly. The Club agreed to review the example raised and asked for any more examples to be shared.
AOB
Supporter Representatives raised the question about a small number of season ticket holders in the 24/25 season who had not received the agreed 90% value of their ticket by listing on the Ticket Exchange. The Club confirmed that this group had been refunded the difference as a gesture of goodwill.
The Club updated fans on the work to run coaches for Barclays Women’s Super League away matches and said there would be a trial for this in January.
The Club updated Supporter Representatives on upcoming student memberships and said that all existing supporters aged 16-21 would be included in this. The membership would offer new benefits for these fans with the importance of retaining our young West Ham supporters.
Agreed Actions:
Supporter Representatives to share the Football Supporters Association campaign details with the Club when they are finalised.
The Club to review communications on ticket forwarding to ensure supporters know how this process works.
The Club to meet the Supporter Representative with young children to walk through the digital ticketing approach at the turnstile.
The Club to find out whether there has been an increase in the number of hospitality tickets sold via P1 Travel.
Supporter Representatives to raise the issue of Club Cash at an upcoming FAB meeting.
The Club to review the email communications process raised by Supporter Representatives.
Supporter Representatives to share any more examples of Club communications that were unclear.