FAB Meeting One - 13 August 2025

FAB Meeting One Date: Wednesday 13 August 6-8pm, Location: Boleyn Social / Virtual

On 13 August 2025, West Ham United held the first Fan Advisory Board (FAB) meeting of the 2025/26 season. Both the Club and Supporter Representatives would like to place on record their thanks to Peter, who has stepped down as the Co-Chair of the Women’s Supporters Board and will no longer be attending FAB meetings. Work is underway to appoint a new co-chair for the Women’s Supporters Board.

Ahead of the Action Log, the Club highlighted a number of supporter-led events which took place over the summer period, including celebrating London Pride with Pride of Irons, holding an event for 150 people with Inclusive Irons for South Asian Heritage Month, running the first give-it-a-go Parkinsons football session with the Disabled Supporters Association and our other supporters groups and attending various supporter events in the US as part of the Club’s pre-season tour.

Fan Advisory Board representatives:

• Andy Payne (Hammers United and FAB Co-Chair)

• Apu Vyas (Inclusive Irons)

• Austin Gigg (Junior Supporters Board)

• Cathy Bayford (Disabled Supporters Association), attended virtually

• James Brown (Claret Member)

• Jo Bailey (Pride of Irons), attended virtually

• Kevin Hind (West Ham United Supporters Trust)

• Martine Dodwell-Bennett (Bondholders Committee), attended virtually

• Maurice Birnbaum (Away Scheme Member)

• Mike Field Old School Hammers), attended virtually

• Paul Christmas (West Ham Official Supporters Club)

• Scotty Burkhart (Overseas Supporters Rep)

Club Representatives:

• Baroness Karren Brady, CBE (Club Vice-Chair)

• Tara Warren (Executive Director, Nominated Board Level Official (NBLO))

• Nicola Keye *Director of Ticketing, Executive Director of the Women’s Team)

• Catherine Smith (Head of Supporter Services and Fan Engagement)

Apologies:

• Women’s Supporters Board Representative (vacant position)

Agenda:

• Welcome, introduction and action log

• Vote for Co-Chair / Vice-Chair

• FAB Working Groups – topics and volunteers

• Match-by-Match Concessionary Policy for 2025-26 season

• Club Cash, Ticket Exchange, Ticketing Roadmap

• Safety Advisory Group and Supporter Representative approach

• Supporter-led matchday experience survey

• AOB

  • Playing a women’s game at London Stadium

  • Safe Standing and Railed Seating

  • Chelsea FC and Homophobic Chanting

  • Sunderland Away Plans

  • FAB Effectiveness Review Meeting

  • Single use plastics at London Stadium

  • Junior Supporters and role of the JSB

• The Club and Supporter Representatives also discussed the FA Charge received by the Club for homophobic chanting at Chelsea v WHU. Further detail is in AOB.

Vote for Co-Chair and Vice-Chair

• Following a vote by Supporter Representatives, Andy Payne was re-elected as Co-Chair of the FAB, and Austin Gigg re-elected as Vice-Chair. The Club would like to acknowledge their commitment and look forward to another 12 months working together.

FAB Working Groups

• Supporter Representatives confirmed that they had suggested three areas of focus for the season ahead which would form working groups made up of both Club and Supporter Representatives. It was agreed that meetings will be no more than three times per year and co-Chaired with the Head of Supporter Services and Fan Engagement and a Supporter Representative.

• Relevant Club stakeholders will attend where required

Match-by-Match Concessionary Policy for 2025-26 season

• Supporter Representatives acknowledged that the Club had offered supporters concessionary tickets for Category A and AA games in Bands 5 and 6, which had not been the case in season 2023/24, but appealed to the Club to consider restoring concessionary tickets for U18s on a match by match basis in Band 4 for Category A and AA games as had been present in season 2024/25 season to enable as many young supporters to the London Stadium as possible.

• The Club confirmed the matchday concessionary policy for the 2025/26 season remained as per the 2024/25 season and agreed to share any pricing announcements with the FAB for prior visibility in the future. They clarified:

  • Supporters can access concessionary tickets in Bands 5 & 6 for Category A and AA games, and concessionary tickets in all Bands for all other categories

  • The Club felt this is a fairer policy that existed before, as concessions were available to just Under 18s for Category A and AA games in Bands 4, 5 & 6, but not to U21s and O66s

  • The Club confirmed they will offer ‘Kids for a Quid’ for at least two Premier League games during the season alongside looking at how pricing is accessible for all for domestic cup games

• In relation to age verification checks through GBG, the Club confirmed all new season ticket applications would be subject to identification verification, but this would only have to be done once for each supporter, unless their concession category change e.g. they were then eligible for an O66 concession

Club Cash and Ticket Exchange

• The Club confirmed supporters can now see exactly how much they may get back for each fixture should their seat sell, and this is available on the Ticket Exchange. It was clarified that the seat would be sold for 1/19th of the value of the Season Ticket, weighted based on the category of the game. This means a Season Ticket Holder would still receive 90% of the value of the ticket, even if it sold to someone who would quality for a concessionary rate ticket.

• Supporter Representatives commented that although the Ticket Exchange was easy to use, confusion still remained about Club Cash. It was agreed the Club and Supporter Representatives would work together to build some explainer content about this, clarifying how Club Cash worked

• Supporter Representatives again asked the Club to consider offering the opportunity for supporters to withdraw their Club Cash as real cash as they felt this was a significant barrier for many supporters to list their seats for sale. The Club explained that West Ham United has many more Season Ticket Holders than most other clubs and that in order to facilitate this, the Club would need to consider lowering the number of Season Ticket Holders in the Stadium to make this a finically sustainable model. It was agreed the Club would consider this and revert with a response, but that there were no current plans to reduce the numbers of Season Ticket Holders at the Club

Ticketing Roadmap

• The Club shared top-level details of the anticipated ticketing-related topics the Supporter Representatives can expect to talk about as part of the FAB and this would be input into the Ticketing Working Group to be brought back to the FAB for ratification. These included: new membership options for Students and the local community, the new Premier League rules coming into effect from the 2026/27 season, encouraging more West Ham Women’s away attendance, working with the Away Scheme members to evolve the scheme and working to reduce PDF tickets, in line with requirements from the Local Authority. The Club caveated that these may be subject to change, but were the broad areas of focus

• Supporter Representatives commented they would find it helpful to see how PDF tickets impacted the matchday operation and the Club welcomed any Supporter Representative to come on a matchday to see the challenges with PDF tickets and how they are managed

Safety Advisory Group

• Following an approach from the new Chair of Newham’s Safety Advisory Group, the Club was keen to explore how to facilitate supporters being heard in the SSAG

• The Club explained that the Head of Supporter Services and Fan Engagement will continue to attend SSAG meetings, representing the needs of supporters, and in addition, we would like to consider additional ways the FAB can be represented on the SSAG moving forward to raise issues related to supporter safety.

• Supporter Representatives welcomed the possibility of a Supporter Representative on the SSAG. They also stated that this representative could rotate around the FAB, based on skill set, experience and availability given the SAG meetings were in person at the stadium and held within normal office hours

• It was agreed that the Club and Supporter Representatives would work together to agree a process

Supporter-led matchday experience survey

• Supporter Representatives shared details of a survey,

  available here

  conducted collaboratively by multiple fan groups with support from the FSA, completed by around 9,000 supporters.

• The survey showed that supporters were concerned about the atmosphere at London Stadium with multiple causes identified. A full breakdown can be found via the link and includes, (in priority order):

  • Stadium layout/distance for supporters from pitch

  • Too many non-regular/tourist fans

  • Lack of identity/tradition at the stadium

  • Lack of cohesive fan groups in the stadium

  • No designated singing section

  • Restrictions on standing/singing

• The Club highlighted how important it was for the players to feel the supporters behind them and that this makes a difference to performance. It was agreed this was noticeable when West Ham fans attend away fixtures

• There was consensus that improving atmosphere is not a “quick fix” and requires coordinated approach combining physical changes, supporter culture, and communication.

• It was agreed the survey findings will be used to inform the work of the Matchday Experience Working Group as well as informing the work of the ticketing and Supporter Conduct and Restorative Justice. Discussion emphasised the need for genuine supporter buy-in and avoiding imposed relocations, and that targeted trials (e.g., Ironworks Alliance at Lille v WHU) should be monitored and refined to balance the needs of existing season ticket holders with aims to attract younger and more vocal supporters.

• The Club welcomed suggestions to support the matchday experience and was pleased to note work was already underway on a number of suggestions highlighted in the survey, including creating a signing section, support for fan-led banners and displays, considering other options for the wall in Block 113, playing a women’s game at London Stadium and considering a family enclosure

AOB

• Playing a women’s game at London Stadium

  : The Club confirmed negotiations and discussions are continuing. The Club shared confidential information about the costs of delivering a matchday at London Stadium*. It was agreed Supporter Representatives would share the letter they wrote to the Mayor of London as no response had been provided

• Safe Standing and Railed Seating:

  The Club confirmed there are no plans to introduce railed seating for the 2025/26 season and will continue to monitor guidance from the SGSA and Premier League. There is railed seating available in the away section of the Upper Tier as this area poses a significant safety risk. Confidential information was shared about how the Club and London Stadium approach managing the Club’s licence as an all-seater Stadium*

• Chelsea FC and Homophobic Chanting: Following the reports of mass homophobic chanting by West Ham United fans at Stamford Bridge, the Club received a £120,000 fine and was imposed with an action plan by the FA. The Club shared details of the action plan and asked for help from Supporter Representatives in educating supporters about discriminatory chanting and possible consequences, which include arrests, club fines and potential reduced allocations for away matches. The Club confirmed:

  • There is a new dedicated Discrimination section on the Club website featuring educational content, supporter FAQs, real-world case studies and the potential impact (fines, reduced allocations, supporter bans)

  • A new reporting line is in place and can be used across all home and away WHU fixtures, including men’s, women’s and academy games. This number is: 07701 401 966

  • Communications will be issues pre-match and during our fixture against Chelsea FC at London Stadium

  • The matchday stewards, SLOs and the police will receive a specific briefing about homophobic chanting

• Supporter Representatives agreed to support the Club in reminding supporters that homophobic chanting is illegal and can result in consequences for individuals, the Club and the wider supporter base

• Sunderland Away:

  The Club shared specific instructions related to Sunderland v WHU, including the need for supporters to print their tickets. As the Stadium of Light is a cashless stadium, any coins discovered will be confiscated and donated to the WHU Foundation. The Club also reminded supporters that power banks and glass bottles of any kind were also not permitted

• FAB Effectiveness Review Meeting

  : Supporter Representatives suggested all would be welcome to attend the yearly FAB Effectiveness Review meeting held at the end of the season and not just the Co-Chair. This was agreed.

• Single use plastics at London Stadium

  : Supporter Representatives asked the Club to share how they were trying to reduce single-use plastic at London Stadium. It was agreed more detail on this would be brought to the Matchday Experience working group

• Junior Supporters and role of the JSB

  : The Junior Supporter Representative asked the Club to consider a Youth Council. The Club agreed to build a plan for how this could work

Actions:

• The Club to advertise and promote open roles on the Women’s Supporters Board (due: 18 August)

• The Club to invite the Archivist to next FAB meeting (Due: next FAB meeting)

• The Club to publish Sub-Group Terms of Reference (due: 25 August)

• Supporter Representatives to join ingress and egress audits (Due: WHU v Brentford)

• The Club and Supporter Representatives to agree volunteers for working groups and schedule the initial meetings (due: 25 August)

• The Club to consider making U18 tickets available in Band 4 for Category A and AA fixtures (Due: next FAB meeting)

• The Club to consider the implications of offering Club Cash withdrawal(s) during the season (Due: next FAB meeting)

• The Club to circulate ‘register your interest’ for women’s away travel (Due: September)

• The Club and Supporter Representatives to define role of Supporter Representatives in SSAG meetings (Due: October)

• Supporter Representatives to publicly share letter sent to Mayor of London re playing a women’s game at London Stadium (Due: September)

• The Club to share details of the plan to raise awareness of Homophobic chanting with Supporters (Due: August)

• The Club to share Stakeholder map with Supporter Representatives to help understand the local landscape around London Stadium (Due: September)

• The Club to share upcoming Premier League regulations with Supporter Representatives (Due: September)

• The Club to build plan for Youth Council (Due: next FAB meeting)