Brentford held their final Supporters Advisory Board (FAB) meeting for the 2023/24 season on Tuesday 7 May.
FAB meetings are organized to give fans a forum to discuss off-field matters with club representatives and for the club to work with the FAB on strategic matters.
FAB meetings are an essential part of the club’s ongoing consultation and long-term engagement with supporters, as required by the Premier League Fan Engagement Standard, published in 2023.
Matchday operations are a regular item on the agenda at FAB meetings and this meeting focused on the ongoing actions taken to address ticketing issues and the related issue of away fans in home areas.
The group discussed the club’s recent update which outlined the actions the club is taking, including monitoring unauthorized reseller sites to identify suspicious tickets and ID sellers.
Plans for matchday work ahead of the final home game of the season against Newcastle United were also discussed. The club called for support from fan groups to share the importance of fans staying off the pitch to ensure a smooth transition to the appreciation round. Post-match food and drink at the stadium was also discussed, with all stands remaining open after the match.
The club provided an update on work to meet the requirements of the Premier League Fan Engagement Standard. The team reviewed this season’s progress, including priorities to deliver such as: a FAB efficiency report, a fan engagement report and the creation of a new away days task force.
Other priorities ahead of the start of the 2024/25 season include holding a ticketing policy working group meeting to discuss any changes for the new season.
In addition, the club will review and update its Supporters Charter and Acceptable Behavior Policy. With input from FAB, the fan engagement plan will also be published before next season.
Before the meeting, a written briefing was given to the working groups of the association. FAB members were informed that there are currently 11 different groups operating. The teams discuss a wide range of topics including the ticketing system and TAPs, food and drink on match days, and the club also facilitates a women’s and girls’ fan forum.
FAB members requested a breakdown of the number of fans in each TAP limit, which was provided prior to the meeting.
The group also discussed the appeals process for the Every Seat Counts policy. In the discussion, the team agreed that the policy had been successful, increasing attendances by around 500 fans per match, and that the appeals had been dealt with sensitively by the club.
Read more about the points discussed at our recent FAB meeting