On Saturday 20 July 2024, the Chelsea Supporters Trust attended the annual Football Supporters Association (FSA) AGM at Wembley Stadium.
Full details of the meeting and main agenda items and details of papers for AGM and motions can be found here.
We would encourage as many Chelsea supporters as possible to read.
The biggest issue of the of the day and an extremely well attended work shop was around the price of football tickets include a motion on co-ordinated action on the cost of football tickets for 24/25 season by the FSA.
What do FSA want to do?
- Highlight issues via fan group networks and national media.
- Launch a pricing campaign locally and nationally
- Educate all football fans on the issues
- Role of independent regulator on ticket prices – press for the independent football regulator to have involvement in ticketing pricing and ensure that fans have a genuine input in each clubs ticketing strategy
- Review concessionary rates across the game and bring forward proposals for the adoption of a minimum standard across the game.
The FSA will devise and deliver a ticketing action plan and will be campaigning on this during the 24/25 season.
The CST Board is mandated to pursue the issue of fair ticket pricing and to keep season ticket and individual match ticket price increases to a minimum in the coming years and it is likely we will be working with the FSA and other supporters’ groups during the season on ticketing and would anticipate a motion on ticketing at our September AGM.
Another important motion supported unanimously across the supporters’ association movement was the motion “opposing domestic football matches played overseas.”
There has been a number of recent calls by various Premier League clubs and unhelpfully also by the Mayor of London for English domestic football matches to be played overseas in particular in the United States.
The FSA believes that any decision to move competitive domestic games overseas will have a detrimental effect on fans of clubs and the local communities they serve and that such a move would be a threat to the heritage and traditions of the game.
The FSA plans to use their structured dialogue process with the FA, Premier League and EFL to oppose these proposals including asking each organisation to state their position on moving domestic games overseas.
The FSA wants to ensure the FA, EPL and EFL also “oppose” these proposals. They also want the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to arrive as quickly as possible with “robust measures for fans to have a meaningful say to block proposals to relocate domestic games overseas”.
Here at the CST we know that the 2021 European Super League debacle underlined the importance of maintaining existing competitive structures unless there is widespread support endorsement of any change. The CST Board is mandated to oppose, using all means available to it, any future attempts by the club to exit existing sporting structures without engagement of key stakeholders, with supporters at the forefront and this would include any domestic football match played overseas.
There will be a motion on this at our September AGM.
