West Brom want local Punjabis as new fans

Next weekend the Baggies will have a presence at the Vaisahki festival in Handsworth, an important event on the Sikh calendar also celebrated by Hindus that 100,000 people are expected to attend.

There are also plans to start a new supporters’ group to try and bring Punjabi Baggies together and encourage them to attend games.

It is just the latest initiative aimed at creating new fans after the club introduced an early-bird season ticket price that saved fans five per cent and set up a family area in Halford’s Lane for next season.

“We will be targeting groups, getting into schools and ethnic communities,” confirmed chief executive Martin Goodman. “That’s exactly where we want to be to bring in new support. There are ticket initiatives with groups every week.”

When Goodman joined in January he was made a trustee of club charity The Albion Foundation and he wants to tap into the potential of the local community.

“The work on the community side that Premier League football clubs do is so important,” he said. “It’s the face of the club day in day out and I don’t think we get enough recognition as clubs for the hard work that’s done out there.”

After announcing their early bird prices last Monday, the Baggies have enjoyed their best start to sales for seven years. The club haven’t sold as many season tickets in the first week since winning promotion in 2010.

Albion’s attendances have been dwindling since 2013 and season ticket sales took a sharp decline last summer.