Notes from Sept meeting with FFC
On Wednesday 11 September at 13.30, the Fulham Supporters’ Trust (FST) met with Fulham FC via video conference.
The Club was represented by:
- Alistair Mackintosh (Chief Executive Officer, AM)
- Darren Preston (Chief Operating Officer, DP)
- David Daly (Non-Executive Director, DD)
- Carmelo Mifsud (Communications Director, CM)
- Katy Brecht (Head of Ticketing, KB)
- Nicola Walworth (Supporter Relations Manager, NW)
- Jack Burrows (Marketing Director, JB)
- Glen Sutton (Fulham Pier Director, GS)
- Henry Birch (Head of Sponsorship UK, HB)
- Jon Don-Carolis (Commercial Director, JDC)
The FST was represented by:
- Simon Duke (Chair, SD)
- Steve Nicholson (Secretary, SN)
- Ian Clarke (Vice Chair, IC)
- Jakub Krupa (Board Member, JK)
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. The Club then gives its position, which is discussed. These notes are therefore a statement of both points of view. The Trust continues to press both the Board’s and its members’ view at this meeting and in separate meetings.
Often members ask similar questions, and, in these cases, we try to summarise, provide the Club with feedback and gain as much useful information as possible in the time available. We also prioritise new and time-critical topics, whilst also seeking updates on longer running issues.
You can access notes of all previous meetings on our web site, including the most recent information on key topics not covered at this meeting.
TOPICS DISCUSSED
The following topics were discussed:
OPENING DISCUSSION
SD opened the meeting passing on the messages of thanks to members of the Ticket Office team for their work supporting the roll-out of digital ticketing, and to club stewards present at Ipswich for their help given to fans attending the game. He also congratulated the Club on the nomination for the Club of the Year award at this year’s Sports Business Awards.
TRANSFER WINDOW
SD asked AM for the Club’s view on the transfer window.
AM said that the transfer window went to plan as agreed with Marco Silva, with the main focus being on lowering the average age of the squad and bringing back Joachim Andersen, a long-standing target identified as a potential future club leader.
AM also explained that Jay Stansfield’s move to Birmingham City came in part in response to the player’s wishes as he was keen to go to play first team football, despite being included as one of the three main strikers at Fulham. He did not steer the Trust away from the rumoured fees reported by the press. He said the Club was pleased for Jay to secure the move, see him as a great ambassador of Fulham’s academy, and wish him the best of luck.
PARTNERSHIPS
SD then raised concerns about Fulham’s recently announced partnership with IUX, in the light of information put into the public domain by investigative journalist Martin Calladine. Many supporters have raised this issue with the Trust given apparent similarities with Titan Capital Markets who the Club partnered with in 2022 using a similar description.
AM said that prior to signing the contract with IUX, the Club completed a thorough third-party due diligence process, conducted by a leading professional services company.
He stressed that, when making decisions about potential partners, directors need to weigh potential risks and rewards as they seek to maximise revenues to make the Club more sustainable. The Club were also fully cognisant of lessons learned from a previous controversy involving Titan Capital Markets and were determined to put all appropriate mitigations in place.
HB explained that the due diligence processes – both internal and run by the third-party consultancy – looked in detail at the various jurisdictions IUX operates in, noting its clear focus on emerging markets. He further pointed out that CFD contracts are legal and legitimate investment tools.
The Club is aware the company is not regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, does not interact with UK customers, and said the deal has a number of safeguards to stop UK customers from engaging with the business, including through website design. The company has confirmed it has no intention of doing business in the UK.
Instead, the partnership is of a global nature, attesting to the appeal of the Premier League and Fulham in other markets. There are multiple other examples of similar partnerships involving Premier League clubs, with partners looking to use the intellectual property of the club and players to promote their brand.
HB also noted that the company engaged with some of the criticisms, and clarified some points giving further reassurance as to its intentions. The Club does not intend to issue any further communications on the partnership.
SD reiterated that the Trust has no desire to try to limit the Club’s ability to raise revenue with suitable partners and become sustainable, but remained concerned by the information that has been brought to light about this particular company.
IC said that the Trust will always be concerned about matters that could impact the reputation of the Club, particularly within partnerships which use Fulham’s status to endorse high-risk products and services, and suggested that a sensible course of action might be to re-visit the due diligence exercise.
DIGITAL TICKETING
IC opened the discussion on ticketing by thanking the Club for the hard work that went into the implementation of digital ticketing over the summer. He also thanked the Club for the meaningful engagement with the Trust on the practicalities of the new system as well as communications and Q&A surrounding its introduction.
The Trust received a large number of comments about the operation of the system at the first game versus Leicester and the feedback was very positive. There appeared to be no significant ground access problems or excess queuing (except at 1pm when the £1 beer offer began) and any individual issues that did occur were dealt with well by the support staff.
IC said that the issue of most concern to supporters relating to digital ticketing remained the process of transferring season tickets to friends and family and suggested a renewed comms focus on this as more supporters tried to use the facility.
AM thanked the Trust for its help with communicating changes to fans. He said that the Club was pleased with how the Leicester game had gone, but the switch to digital ticketing was seen as an ongoing process, and will be kept under constant evaluation particularly as some fans who were either absent or forwarded their tickets for the Leicester game start using the system for next games.
AM noted the success of the £1 pints as an incentive for getting fans inside the ground early, with thousands of £1 beers sold at the Leicester game, and said the Club would keep making efforts to incentivise fans to come early.
Physical season ticket cards
IC asked about the take up of physical season ticket cards, both among the exemption groups (under 18, 65 plus and disabled) and the general age group.
KB said the Club did not refuse any request for a plastic card either inside or outside the exemption groups, and just under 3,000 cards were issued to exemption groups, with around 50 percent of the eligible fans getting a physical card. The Club will keep working to give them the confidence to switch to digital in the future, and hope to drive that number further down.
Ticketmaster blocking some networks
IC asked about Ticketmaster’s bot detection features blocking access to the ticketing system for some fans, particularly those using company networks and VPN services.
KB asked that affected people contact the Ticket Office (TO) so this can be investigated further.
Match specific tickets
IC then asked about the delivery of additional match-specific tickets, noting that they are still available as printed tickets, despite the broader move towards digital, which could be misused by touts.
KB said this was no different than last year, and that the Ticket Office will continue monitoring these channels to detect any potential abuses.
NW additionally stressed the Club has the technology required to track any suspicious transactions or detect potential networks of touts, meaning it can intervene as needed.
Surge pricing
In the light of the recent controversial sale of Oasis concert tickets, IC also asked the Club to confirm they have no plans to use Ticketmaster’s surge, or dynamic, pricing that is currently being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority.
In response, KB confirmed the Club remains exclusively in charge of setting ticket prices, and Ticketmaster is only used as a technology platform.
American Express
IC then asked about concerns from some fans that Ticketmaster does not seem to accept American Express credit cards, despite them being accepted in person at the Ticket Office and the club store.
KB said the issue was now resolved and American Express is now accepted by Ticketmaster.
Post-meeting note
American Express still does not seem to be an option for online sales. We will follow this up with the ticketing team.
Season ticket upgrades
IC also asked about whether season ticket upgrades could eventually be handled online as part of the season ticket forwarding process, rather than over the phone/in person only as is currently the case. KB said that while it was potentially possible, it’s a complicated issue and likely to take time to implement.
IC further queried the calculation of the price of season ticket upgrades, which KB explained are based on the difference between the full match ticket price and 1/19 of the concession season ticket price, noting that season ticket holders who bought their tickets at different times could be paying different prices.
OneFulham accounts
Finally, in order to clear up confusion amongst some supporters, IC asked KB to clarify that
- The recipient of a season ticket transfer must have a OneFulham account and be in the Friends and Family network of the sender
- Supporters do not need to be members or season ticket holders to have a OneFulham account
- Although online buyers of match tickets need a OneFulham account to make the purchase, the recipients of individual digital tickets do not as they are distributed by email for download into the Apple or Google wallet of the match attendees.
KB confirmed the above, and said that some terminology in the FAQ had been tidied up to avoid any further confusion.
KB said that any specific digital ticketing enquiries can be made via tickets@fulhamfc.com.
OTHER TICKETING ISSUES
Sales windows
IC asked for the Club to extend its sales windows, putting both home and away tickets on sale earlier to assist all supporters in planning
KB said the dates of away ticket sales were determined by when tickets physically arrive from the host club and how long it takes to build an interactive map of the away end to facilitate online sales. For home tickets KB said the Club prefers to concentrate on one or two games at a time and will always wait until TV picks have been made. IC asked that supporter preference for more time to buy tickets also be considered within the operational constraints.
Away ticket sales
In relation to away ticket sales, IC explained that the Ticketmaster system did not differentiate between seats that have been sold and those that have not yet been put on sale due to host club rules on block order. This meant that away games, such as Ipswich, often could seem to be close to sold out when in fact many tickets had not yet been put on sale.
KB said the Ticket Office could look into giving some updates or visual indicators about the numbers of tickets still available at the end of each day, but noted that some data is already being published on the match page relating to the order of sales of blocks.
Hospitality
IC then asked if hospitality prices could be made more transparent as currently they do not seem to be advertised. KB said she would pass that feedback on to the relevant department.
GROUND
Riverside
Turning to the ground, SD asked what non-match days will look like once the Riverside is fully operational, noting the very popular recent opening of the riverside walk to the public.
DP said the current operation of the Riverwalk on non-matchdays will remain simply as a walkway until more of the internal fit-out is completed. But GS stressed the Club’s intention is to activate more elements of the Riverside as soon as possible. The works are accelerating with many openings expected within the next six to seven months.
The ground-floor Riverside Market will be one of the first elements to open before that, with 10 traders of which 7 will be from the local borough and 2 from adjacent boroughs, alongside the Orange Box space on -1, which could host community, music, theatre, comedy events.
Other areas such as the hotel, restaurants, and members club will follow, with the spa expected to open later. The Club will communicate next steps in the coming weeks.
A number of community events and associations with local groups are being considered to fully use the space and draw new people in from across the borough.
The project will deliver many benefits to the local community, with over 200 jobs, focus on well-being, arts and culture, but also new amenities and improved safety in the area.
Hammersmith End
SD then asked about any planned changes to the Hammersmith End concourse.
DP confirmed that none are currently planned, noting that the improvements through the use of e-bars, permanent concession stands, and changed layout are considered to have improved the situation. DP thanked all concerned at the Club and the Trust for this joint effort to improve the flow of supporters within the tight constraints of the stand.
Sound system
SD further asked about the stadium sound system after reports that it malfunctioned within the Hammersmith End during the Leicester game. JB confirmed the Club was aware of a technical issue, which was resolved by half time.
WiFi and mobile
SD asked if there are any works planned to improve the signal reception within the ground. DP said he would double check the progress made in this area, with some delays affecting the rollout of the in-stadium WiFi and additional mobile provider services.
Post meeting note
The mobile provider service status has since been confirmed by DP as:
O2 and EE are on
Vodafone is not yet live with 4G but 3G is live.
AOB
- Beer variety – SN asked about the possibility of increasing the variety of beers on offer. GS confirmed he would look into this further, while noting space constraints and the need to be able to offer timely service on matchdays to avoid congestion.
- Memorial wall – SN also asked about the possibility of including a permanent memorial wall within the Riverside Stand to build on the success of the Celebration Day, commemorating lost members of the Fulham family. GS said he would look into this further.
Given time pressures, it was agreed that further items of AOB would be picked up separately outside of the meeting.
The meeting closed at 14:55
