In this month’s newsletter:
Ticketing
THST AGM
Fan Advisory Board
Quiz night
FSA Premier League Network meeting
THFC U21s at the Stadium
Ticketing
We have been in ongoing meetings and conversations with the Club over next season’s Season Ticket renewal process and pricing. We will update members on the outcome of these as soon as we can. We do everything we can to ensure the interests of all supporters are at the heart of all decisions made by the Club and will continue to fight this corner, reminding the Club of the impact of the choices they make.
THST AGM
Thanks to all who attended last week’s AGM and to those who voted by proxy beforehand.
As a Board we would also like to personally thank those present for their supportive words. It was heartening to feel the backing in the room and to hear such encouraging statements from those in attendance with regards to the work we continue to do.
We welcome Tristan Foot and James Glick to the Board. Two extremely experienced professionals in their field and two people who bring fresh ideas to the Trust.
Congratulations to current Board member and Fan Advisory Board member Steve Cavalier who was re-elected to the Board.
Board member and Secretary Koonal Shah stood down at the AGM after joining in February 2022. We thank him for his hard work and commitment and wish him the best for the future. You can read more on our AGM here.
Fan Advisory Board
The Fan Advisory Board met on 19 February and you can read the Minutes here. There was considerable discussion on ticketing and the Club’s proposed new ticketing charter. The discussion also referred to season ticket pricing, on which the Club consults with the Trust and will also discuss with the FAB. The positions of the Trust and the FAB are aligned on the key ticketing issues, including unanimous opposition to Season Ticket price increases, and the Trust FAB representatives work closely with their colleagues on the FAB. The Club gave figures on post-match incident reports and responded to issues raised regarding stewarding, particularly in the South Stand. The meeting also covered safe standing, with the Club committed to a further survey of existing season ticket holders.
Other items included Financial Fair Play, community initiatives (particularly around tackling knife crime), the proposed development at Whitewebbs Park, and the Club’s structure for supporter engagement, welcoming new Head of Supporter Engagement, Jake Heath.
The FAB also called for better communication about transport especially for people with disabilities and urged the Club to replace the access parking lost due to visitor attraction in car park, locally. The FAB keeps a rolling log of action and holds the Club to account on items discussed and actions agreed at previous meetings.
Quiz Night
We are delighted to announce that the annual THST Quiz Night will be held on Wednesday 17 April, from 7pm at The Antwerp Arms, Tottenham. The event will be compered by long time friend of the Trust, and Spurs Show and Life Goals podcast host, Theo Delaney. We are all busy researching some fun, but tricky, Spurs related questions to challenge you with. Put the date in your diary and email us on info@THSTOfficial.com to reserve your place. You can come as a team or individually and we will join you up with others. Tickets are £6 each (payable on the night).
On your email please tell us:
- your name
- your membership number
- how many places you’d like at the THST Quiz Night
The event will raise money for local mental health charity Studio 306 Collective. There will also be a raffle with the chance to win Spurs related prizes. If any THST members have any Spurs related items that they would like to donate to the raffle we would be more than happy to accept your donation.
Let’s see if the THFC staff team retains their title for a third year or whether it will be the fans who walk away with the medals. It’s sure to be another great night – we can’t wait to see you there.
FSA Premier League Network meeting
Trust Vice Chair, Michael Green, and Trust FAB board member, Rachel Martin, attended this quarter’s FSA Premier League Network meeting alongside Proud Lillywhites and Tottenham FAB Co-Chair, Chris Paouros, and former Trust Co-Chair, Kat Law. The PL network brings together fan representatives of each of the PL clubs to share experiences and ideas. Of most interest to Trust members were reports back from Villa and Arsenal representatives on season ticket price increases (six to 10 per cent at Arsenal) and the approach to concessions (very few senior concessions at AFC), and a tightening of rules around season ticket holders utilising their seats.
There were also reports on the establishment and operation of FABs, with some pretty unpalatable practices at certain clubs (including one club which handpicked its FAB members without reference to its supporters). This confirmed our view that, while there is always room for improvement, Tottenham’s FAB set-up is one of the better ones. Other topics included match day scheduling, and away ticket allocations and ticket collection as well as efforts to stop ticket touting. There was a report back from the FSA of its work on the PL’s Referee Working Group and a recent visit to Stockley Park.
Trust Chair, Martin Buhagiar, will be attending a meeting at the Premier League this week, to give feedback on VAR, refereeing, communication between VAR and match attending fans, and the current rules of the game. We also heard about the Premier League’s Environmental Sustainability Commitment, which introduces a minimum standard of action on environmental issues across the clubs and the League. On issues such as ticket pricing there is a risk of actions being taken at one club setting a benchmark for others in a race to the lowest common denominator. Single-club campaigns will remain important and necessary but these are strengthened when fans unite together on common interests. Other issues covered included work from Fulham Lilies on Under 2s at football matches, and a proposal by the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) to create a database of information for fans travelling to European away games – created by fans for fans. This would mean that fans could feed back their experiences of various destinations and make recommendations as well as give warnings from experience. Let’s hope that we will shortly be able to benefit from, and contribute to this new initiative.
THFC U21s at the Stadium
We were very pleased the Club chose to host the very successful Spurs Under 21s v Fleetwood Town U21s in the Premier League Cup, at the Stadium on 24 February. It was a fantastic opportunity for a new group of supporters to see the team, as well as for the loyal band who regularly watch the Under 21s to see them play at our home. It also brought in people who didn’t support Spurs but wanted to see the stadium, and must have been a fantastic experience for the young players involved. The pricing was also very attractive and there were a lot of families enjoying a day out together, and young children getting used to the experience of attending a match. We have shared this with Spurs, but have also sent feedback on areas where we feel improvements could have been made, and hope that these will be acted on next time. These included:
- opening up more catering outlets to avoid the long queues that developed, particularly at half time;
- making better use of the giant screens – listing the names and numbers of all the players, displaying the match time, and the score;
- having more of the printed player lists available for supporters to refer to;
- ensuring that entry information was accurate on the tickets;
We also passed on information from Spurs fans regarding general communication around fixtures and getting to the academy games generally. We hope that the Club acts on this feedback and we look forward to the next opportunity to watch the Under 21s at the Stadium. It was certainly a fantastic game, with a convincing 6-0 victory, and the fastest ever hat-trick at the stadium, from Will Lankshear, as well as four assists from Jamie Donley. The future looks very bright indeed.