Notes from July meeting with Fulham FC on ticketing

23rd July 2025

On Tuesday 8th July 2025 at 11.00, the Fulham Supporters’ Trust met with Fulham FC via video conference.

The Club was represented by:

• Jack Burrows (Marketing Director, JB)
• Jamie Nicholson (Head of Supporter Services, JN)
• Jane Woods (Head of Ticketing, JW)
• Nicola Walworth (Supporter Relations Manager, NW)

The FST was represented by:

• Simon Duke (Chair, SD)
• Steve Nicholson (Secretary, SN)
• Ian Clarke (FST Ticketing Advisor, IC)

HOW IT WORKS

At our regular monthly meetings, Trust board members normally ask questions relating to as many topics as possible in the time available, based on responses from members to the advance notification of the meeting and our own observations from interacting with the wider supporter base.

However, we recently agreed to hold a number of single topic meetings with key club staff to discuss particular subject areas in more detail than is usually possible. It is expected that these meetings will provide deeper insight into the way the Club operates and provide explanations for some of the more commonly asked questions.

Following the June meeting which focussed solely on catering, the subject of this single topic meeting was ticketing and was held as a follow-up to a previous ticketing meeting on 21 March.

INTRODUCTIONS

SD welcomed the opportunity to hold a follow-up meeting to that held on 21 March and explained that all suggestions and ideas from the Trust were offered in the spirit of co-operation with the intention of making the ticket purchase process smoother for both supporters and ticket office staff.

TICKETING TIMETABLE

• SD asked if it will be possible to have a clearer timetable for away tickets sale dates and processes this season. It would allow fans to plan and book travel. JB said he hoped that the club will be able to sell tickets around four weeks (worst case scenario is three weeks) prior to away games. The issues that can arise are when a game may be moved for TV, European Football or the host club is late releasing ticketing information with Fulham, e.g. pricing or seating.
  
  
• IC pointed out that, especially in the early part of the season, TV fixtures are generally known a minimum of six weeks ahead, which should give plenty of time to put tickets on sale if all information is provided by the host club.
  
  
• The club will also try to ensure at least three days’ notice is given prior to the sale of tickets to allow supporters time to prepare. JW said that the physical tickets do not need to be with Fulham prior to sale but that the exact date and time of kick-off for all games will always need to be confirmed prior to any tickets being sold. JW said that 25/26 should be easier in terms of on-sale dates due to Ticketmaster already having a number of seating plans for other clubs.
  
  
• SD asked if the Club would be able to provide more guidance on match-day ticket pricing across the season, i.e. pricing categories. JB said that the club will discuss. Should it be decided that prices for each category will be published at the start of the season, game grades would not be allocated at this stage, in part due to fixture movement. The Trust felt this was an improvement and supporters would be able to work out roughly which games they would attend.
  
  
• Away season tickets are not being planned for the coming season. The club are concerned that with the number of fixture changes during the season, it would make it difficult for supporters to commit.
  
  
• SN asked if any information was available regarding tickets for pre-season games in Portugal, explaining that supporters were keen to book travel and accommodation. JB recognised the need for supporters to know the details as soon as possible but said work was still ongoing to finalise the pre-season fixtures. As soon as firm details are agreed they will be announced.

DIGITAL TICKETS

• SD asked how the club felt this had gone last year. JB replied that he felt overall it had been a success and although there were some teething problems, the system worked and supporters’ entry times were certainly reduced as the season progressed. Some improvements/changes to digital ticketing will be looked at during the season but nothing will change, for most supporters, at the start of the season. Hospitality ticketing will now be digital also. It is hoped Season Tickets will be sent out by the end of July. Existing digital season tickets for 2024/25 will not be updated; all supporters will receive a new digital download. There is a mandate from the Premier League for all clubs to be fully digital for next season, although this will be at a minimum of 70% of tickets in the first year.
  
  
• SD asked if exemption arrangements will be the same for 25/26 or would supporters need to re-apply? NW confirmed that supporters would need to reapply and meet the exemption requirements. This will all be made clear when the ticket information is sent out. JW said the Ticket Office were hoping to run drop-in sessions to help support anyone who would like assistance.
  
  
• JB explained that the Club has a longer-term plan to integrate digital ticketing into the Fulham FC app and also said that the issue whereby digital season passes on iPhones did not sometimes update to the next game (an Apple problem) should now be fixed. This is an issue that affected all clubs, not just Fulham, and communications will be issued ahead of the new season to supporters should the issue arise again.
  
  
• IC asked if the club has been able to use the digital ticketing system to target ticket touting. NW said that there had been a fall-off of on-street touting but that the fight against online touting, which is a multi-million pound industry, is a long haul. NW agreed that the club is now in a better position to identify those who misuse season tickets or memberships.
  
  
• JW said that there will be a Premier League move towards digital ticketing for away fixtures, and that each club is required to trial digital away tickets for at least one match this season.

TICKET EXCHANGE

• SD asked about how the ticket exchange will work next season, and whether it could be stand by stand rather than a complete sell-out including the Riverside. SD suggested it would be financially beneficial for the club as those tickets in the other three stands are more likely to sell to members as they are at a lower, and more affordable, price. JB said that no decision has been made on this suggestion.

COMMUNICATION

• SD asked how the telephone queues will be managed and JW said that this will not change. JW said that an issue with Season Ticket seat movements was helped considerably by lengthening the window to swap seats, and adding an extra two days to the window helped in reducing waiting times. It is not possible to quickly add messages to the phone lines, but it can be done with IT support and is an option in the future. It is still best for supporters to email tickets@fulhamfc.com if the they have any queries around ticketing.
  
  
• IC emphasised that the times that comms are especially important are when there are problems, citing the example last season of an inability for supporters to buy tickets for the Cup quarter final for their linked junior accounts. Getting information out quickly in these cases via web site, social media and phone messages will both calm understandable concern amongst supporters and also alleviate pressure on the ticket office team.

LOYALTY POINTS

• SD asked about the use of Loyalty Points for high demand games like Chelsea, Brentford, Bournemouth and some other London derbies. JB said that no decisions have yet been taken but the club will communicate away tickets on sale information to supporters before the start of the season. The Trust did remind the club that we have three possible high demand games near the start of the season that would need careful management.
  
  
• The Trust emphasised that the use of Loyalty Points for in-demand fixtures this season needs to be carefully managed and communicated to make sure that regular away supporters are given a degree of priority whilst still allowing newer (younger) supporters a chance to buy tickets. All agreed that this tends to apply to only a few fixtures each season, with away fixtures not always selling out, and often depends on fixture scheduling. Examples from last season that were discussed included Chelsea on Boxing Day, which in the Trust’s view was incorrectly sold without any use of Loyalty Points, and Bournemouth and Brentford, which both sold very slowly with the use of Loyalty Points, due to the respective fixture date moves.

The meeting closed at 12:10