Aston Villa to speak with fans ahead of season ticket announcement
Villa will reveal their plans for next year’s season ticket prices to supporters later this month.
The club will present their proposals to a meeting of the fan advisory board (FAB) as part of the final stage of consultation with supporters over pricing strategy.
It is then anticipated prices for the 2025/26 season will be confirmed and made public after the end of the campaign.
Villa have come under increasing pressure to freeze prices after a series of large increases in recent years.
Several Premier League clubs, including Wolves, Liverpool and Tottenham, have confirmed freezes for next season, while Manchester City last month did the same in response to fan protests over proposed price hikes.
In February, several Villa fan groups including the supporters’ trust released an open letter saying a freeze for next season was “crucial for the long-term success and spirit of the club.”
The letter preceded the club’s first meeting with the FAB to discuss ticket prices, the minutes of which are yet to be published nearly three months later.
Villa previously ignored a request from the FAB to cap this season’s Champions League tickets at Premier League category A prices. Instead, fans were charged up to £97 to attend matches, a decision which prompted the avillafan.com group to resign their position on the board.
Next week’s meeting will be the FAB’s last before it is completely reconstituted over the summer. The shake-up will see the board, which currently consists of representatives from 11 major fan groups, reduced slightly in number and will instead comprise of 10 members overseen by an independent chairman. Fans have this week been invited to apply to be part of the new board, with interviews due to take place next month.
Existing members are also able to apply though, curiously, an article in the most recent Villa matchday programme announcing the changes saw the club’s vice president of fan engagement, Chris Hornbuckle, bid farewell to the current co-chairs David Michael and Mo Razzaq.
Hornbuckle said: “It’s now time for them to step back and enjoy coming to Villa Park as fans, while we welcome a new group of supporters to become part of that regular consultation process.”
That quote was removed from the latest statement, posted on the club’s website this week.
The club say the new FAB will: “Represent all four stands at Villa Park, including season ticket holders, match ticket purchasers, members and hospitality members.
“There will be representation from EDI groups, the Disabled Supporters’ Association and Lions Clubs, both domestically and internationally.”
The current FAB includes representatives from the AV disabled supporters’ association, Punjabi Villans and Villa and Proud, with the club promising the new group will be “as diverse as possible”.
Villa are also proposing to establish an extended network of consultation groups, focused on ticketing and membership, matchday experience, club culture, accessibility and women’s football, each chaired by an FAB member.
For the first time, the club will also establish a junior FAB, exclusively for people aged between 16 and 21, to better represent the thoughts and opinions of younger supporters at Villa Park.
The deadline for FAB applications is Friday, May 30.
