Date: 11 February 2026 Location: Virtual
On 11 February 2026, West Ham United held the second meeting of the FAB sub-group on ticketing.
Fan Representatives
Andy Payne, Hammers United and FAB Co-Chair
Cathy Bayford, Disabled Supporters Association
Chris Wheal, West Ham United Supporters Trust
Deepak Kashyap, Inclusive Irons
Lee Pearce, Hammers United
Maurice Birnbaum (Away Scheme Representative)
Club Representatives
Nicola Keye, Director of Ticketing
Kerry O’Shea, Head of Supporter Services and Fan Engagement
David Chaplin, Director of Marketing Strategy
Agenda
Ticket pricing for 2026/27
Ticket Exchange feedback
Ticket pricing consultation
Supporter Representatives reiterated their request for a two-year price freeze on tickets as part of the FSA’s overarching campaign.
The Club shared a presentation which outlined suggested timelines for consultation with the FAB on the subject of 2026/27 Premier League ticket pricing. This presentation stated that:
- The Club was not considering another price freeze for the 2026/27 Premier League season;
- The Club wished to still keep ticketing affordable for families and retain concessions as previously agreed with the FAB as well as investing in the supporter experience at London Stadium; and
- In line with the Club strategy to deliver a competitive first team and a sustainable football club, there was a need to continue growth to meet those objectives.
The presentation also invited Supporter Representatives to give views on a range of questions and to share any further questions with the Club ahead of the next stage of the consultation.
Supporter Representatives welcomed the framework but asked the Club to share a specific value of the extra revenue that the Club wanted to raise from a price increase. which would then enable supporters to understand the Club’s logic. Supporter Representatives also asked for the Club to provide more detail about the rationale of the price increase to ensure that they understood why supporters were being asked to pay more money, given recent payouts to managers who the Club appointed. Supporter Representatives stated that supporters should not bear the costs of poor decisions made by the Club and viewed this as unfair and unacceptable. The Club agreed to consider these two questions as part of the next stage.
Supporter Representatives asked why the Club was not prepared to discuss pricing in the event of relegation. The Club outlined how it was fully focused on remaining in the Premier League and that as a result it was not appropriate to discuss Championship pricing scenarios at this meeting. The Club stated that it always had contingency plans in place for any eventuality and that any of these plans would be consulted on in full with the FAB once it was the appropriate time. The Club agreed to keep this timeline under review with the FAB. Supporters heard the rationale, but still felt that it was important for this to be discussed as soon as possible.
Ticket Exchange
The Club thanked Supporter Representatives for sharing a detailed document containing data and suggestions for improving the Ticket Exchange.
The Club agreed to action suggested improvements to emails, FAQs and the website to make it easier for supporters to understand how to use the Ticket Exchange.
The Club confirmed it was comfortable in principle with extending the Ticket Exchange to Claret Members to relist their tickets, but noted that adding additional inventory might have an impact on Season Ticket Holders being able to sell their seat on the exchange. It was agreed that this would be considered for selected matches where demand was high or where the date had been moved at late notice (after Claret Members would have purchased tickets).
The Club confirmed that tickets are being taken ‘off sale’ closer to kick-off as requested by supporters, and that the Club is also working to encourage people to purchase as early as possible.
Supporter Representatives asked the Club to consider activating the Ticket Exchange either when GA tickets sell out or four weeks before the match, whichever was sooner. The Club agreed to activate the Ticket Exchange either when GA tickets sell out or a week before the match, and to ‘open’ it sooner than this for Season Ticket Holders to be able to list their ticket. The Club also agreed to communicate more clearly with prospective purchasers about how many tickets were normally available on the Ticket Exchange for each match.
Supporter Representatives also asked why tickets could not be made available for forwarding earlier than they were currently so that they could forward these to friends and family sooner. The Club stated that this was an important control to prevent touting but could be reviewed in future.
The Club confirmed that the administration fee for the Ticket Exchange could not currently be changed as it was part of the commercial agreement. The Club did however note the feedback from Supporter Representatives on the administration fee and agreed to review this when the contract was renegotiated.
In response to Supporter Representatives’ request to change the refund from selling a ticket to one-19th of the cost rather than changing this based on the match, the Club stated that this would have pros and cons based on the individual situation as on average supporters only posted their ticket for sale on the exchange twice per season. The Club stated that if the refund was changed to one-19th then this could be seen as more unfair, as supporters would get less of a refund for higher category matches and there would be a bigger difference compared to the ticket resale price.
The Club agreed to look at ways to make it easier for disabled fans to use the Ticket Exchange and noted that a trial was underway for accessible digital ticketing. The Club also agreed to invite one of the Supporter Representatives to look at this system in more detail. Supporter Representatives noted that part of the ticketing system was not fully accessible and the Club agreed to investigate this as priority.
The Club agreed to notify Season Ticket Holders before enforcing any minimum attendances as per the T&Cs in the future, but confirmed that there were no plans to change the current policy.
Supporter Representatives asked the Club to confirm whether Season Ticket Holders were advised of any Club Cash balance during the renewal process; the Club confirmed this was the case and that the notification was very prominent.
Supporter Representatives asked the Club to confirm how much Club Cash was unclaimed and written off after each season. The Club stated that they would not confirm this number but stated that this operated in the same way as any retail credit scheme.
The Club confirmed that if a Season Ticket Holder passes away that a family member who takes over their account can use their Club Cash credit. It also said it would refund Club Cash in actual cash according to the wishes of the supporters’ estate or next of kin.
The Club reiterated that it had already confirmed that it was not considering providing Ticket Exchange refunds as money instead of as Club Cash. Supporters unanimously stated that this was not acceptable and in line with the FAB’s wider views. There was an extensive discussion about this with Supporter Representatives expressing strong views about this being completely unfair and morally wrong. The Club said these views had been heard across a number of FAB meetings but that the Club’s position was unchanged. Supporter Representatives expressed that they needed to represent the views of other supporters, which the Club agreed with but reminded the group that the Club had already heard these and given a response. Supporter representatives stated that they were completely against this policy and did not understand and appreciate the logic.
The Club noted that 61% of supporters had used the Ticket Exchange or ticket forwarding this season or attended every match physically themselves. Supporters said everyone wanted to see fewer empty seats and for them to be filled with genuine West Ham fans and that they would be willing to work with the Club on how to achieve this fairly and communicate it effectively.
Supporters asked the Club to confirm that they resold Season Ticket Holders’ seats at matchday prices which were higher than the price the Club credited Season Ticket Holders with Club Cash. The Club confirmed that they do charge more for tickets sold on the Ticket Exchange. Supporters stated that this was another area of potentially significant margin for the Club which would grow over time yet the Club still wanted to put ticket prices up.
The Club confirmed there was no plans to change the ticket forwarding system and that Season Ticket Holders would continue to be able to forward their tickets to other supporters with a West Ham United Client Reference Number.
Supporter Representatives asked if there were security measures in place to ensure that Ticket Exchange tickets were used by West Ham United supporters. The Club agreed and explained some of the machine learning checks that were carried out through add-ons to the Ticketmaster platform.
Supporter Representatives asked if the ‘single seat’ policy should be changed, allowing supporters to leave a single seat when purchasing. The Club said this was a standard ticketing policy.
The Club closed the meeting by thanking Supporter Representatives for their continued time and input.
Agreed Actions
Club to consider providing required revenue target and rationale for pricing consultation (Due: 26 February)
Club to deliver updated Ticket Exchange comms and refine forwarding email language.
Supporter Representatives to consider the questions from the Club ticketing consultation.
Accessibility review to be progressed with Cathy and Deepak.
Club to model options for Claret Member Ticket Exchange listing and provide update at next meeting.