Following our first meeting with the club (held on 2 August 2023) regarding plans for Albion’s European Tour, the Fan Advisory Board (FAB) have discussed the questions raised and managed to find answers to many of them.

Other points are still to be confirmed, but with the lines of communication open and the relationship with the club being strong, we have no doubt everything is being done to make sure that Brighton fans experience of their first ever European Tour will be positive. The Club held a fan webinar on 7 August 2023 which gave some further clarity around the points discussed with the FAB. Updates from the webinar have been included in the Q and A below where relevant.

The overriding theme for the supply of home and away tickets was that it would be as fair as possible, within the restrictions on the very number of tickets that are available.

A great deal of thought and preparation has already been put into this project and these are notes from our first meeting:

Ticketing for European Away games

Q. Will the club use the same loyalty points system as they do for PL away games? 

A. Yes. There will be no back door to buying tickets.  Supporters must have the correct number of loyalty points.

Q. Would it be possible to provide all supporters with a scale of where they are in terms of loyalty points, prior to the draw for the group stages. (i.e., 500+ points 4% 400-500 5% 300-400 31%….etc.) 

A. We can look at this but it is difficult to quantify, partly because it changes as people buy tickets

We are planning to hold a short registration period for fans to login to the Albion website and express an initial interest in travelling to an away game.

Fans expressing an interest, once the draw is known, will give the club an idea of the likely number of tickets required for each match. Expressing an interest to travel will not guarantee fans a match ticket.

Q. Will there be travel + ticket packages?

A. No plans to do this

Webinar update: It was made clear that no travel packages would be offered but the Club would investigate plane charter for fans with tickets and an interest in this option.

Q. Are Seagull Travel the official exclusive travel partner?

A. They are official coach travel partner

Q. Can you confirm fans will be able to buy match tickets but travel independently?

A. Yes

Q. If so, will these give travelling fans access to match tickets aside from loyalty points?

A. No.  There will be no back door to buying tickets other than with the correct number of loyalty points

Q. We know we only get 5% ticket allocation in Europe.

Will players tickets, club staff tickets and sponsors tickets come out of this 5%?

A. No. The club have the right to buy 200 separate tickets for players families and staff

Webinar Update: The club confirmed that the allocation is 5% of the stadium capacity after segregation and after the club tickets discussed above.

Q. Knowing that demand will out strip supply, will the club automatically agree to take on the full allocation?

A. Very likely yes. We expect to sell out all away games – dependant on the draw

Q. Would a fan be able to buy tickets for all three away games in a package if they have the qualifying loyalty points?

A. No, because there might be different allocations for these away games.

Q. We understand that many other PL clubs, who regularly play in Europe, only allow tickets to be collected at the away ground by the ticket holder with ID. Is that something you plan to do?

A. Yes. 100% of all away tickets will need to be collected by the person named on the ticket with photo ID. Ticket collection points will be set up in the European city where the game is to be played and likely to be open for ticket collections from the morning of the day before the game, right up until 2-3 hours before the match. Details will be published once they are known.

Q. Are the club making any provision for Albion fans who travel without tickets?

A. No

Q. What provisions the club are making (if any) for those fans with disabilities (ambulant and physical/wheelchair users etc.)?

A. The Club  have included several points on this in our pre-match recce checklist but the standard of facilities in Europe varies and disabled seating may not always be in the away end.  The Club will endeavour to provide full information on disabled allocations location and the facilities in that area as soon as they are known.

Q. Will there be a ticket exchange for fans who find themselves unable to travel after having secured a ticket?

A. No. Our aim is to be fair to fans who want to go and see these games, so we plan to sell tickets only to those people who will be able to use the ticket to watch these matches. Certainly for our initial matches in Europe, tickets will be sold to fans with the requisite number of loyalty points on a no transfer, no refund basis. Failure to collect a ticket and use it, resulting in an empty seat in the stadium, may result in a sanction.

Webinar Update: Paul Barber confirmed that away tickets could be handed back if fans found they were unable to attend. There would be no refund but it was felt that fans would want to ensure there were no empty seats in the away section of the stadium.

Q. We understand that the away allocation is 5% Is this flexible? If, for example, we draw Ajax, might they let us have a higher allocation as they have a huge stadium that rarely sells out, and they might agree to a reciprocal arrangement.

A. The 5% allocation is a UEFA requirement, it is possible some clubs may be open to more. We will always try to explore this dependent on the opposition we draw on September 1^st and the pre-registration numbers.

Q. What do you think about holding back a small number of pairs of tickets for fans who don’t qualify through loyalty points to “win” in a lottery?

A. No. As this would be unfair on those who have the requisite number of loyalty points.

Q. Are there any plans to beam back the UEFA games to the Amex?

A. This is something the club is looking at.

Q. Will fans earn loyalty points for attending these away games?

A. This is undecided. If so, there will be just a nominal number of points awarded.

Q. Anything else?

A. The club will be sending a party to each club we draw to check out everything from ticketing to security to ensure each trip is a success.

A UEFA official will be assigned to Brighton & Hove Albion to facilitate these visits and to monitor and feedback on the performance of the club and its fans in Europe.

The club plans to draw up a communication for fans to help them understand some of the other things to bear in mind when travelling to watch Brighton in Europe.

Many fans will have travelled with England in the past, but the Football Supporters Association (FSA) advised that travelling to club football is quite different.

Fans can expect:

• To have to collect their match ticket in the host city with ID well in advance of the match
• ID checks on entry to the stadium
• Less friendly police in some countries
• Poorer standards of visitors seating area; view and facilities
• To be held in the stadium sometimes for up to 90 minutes after the game
• A wide array of items forbidden from entry to the stadium (e.g. phone chargers, lipstick)

The club have held meetings with the FSA to draw on their knowledge of travelling in Europe and these have proved to be extremely useful.

Ticketing for European Home games

Q. Will fans buying home tickets for European games be prioritised as for FA Cup games?  (i.e. Season tickets, Season ticket guests, Albion member+ etc)

A. The intention is to sell the three home group games in a discounted 3 match pack in advance of the draw being made. 

There will be a 3 match pack for Season Ticket Holders but this would not necessarily be a guarantee for STHs to buy their own seat due to UEFA requirements

There will also be a 3 match pack for My Albion + members

The volume of packs sold may be capped

Before the draw is made the availability of 3 match packs will be withdrawn and single match tickets will go on sale

Webinar Update: The information about the home packs was made available on the BHAFC website on 7 August. The dates for the home matches are not currently known but will be 3 dates from the following 6 dates published by UEFA – 21 September, 5 October, 26 October, 9 November, 30 November and 14 December 2023.

Q. Will 1901 members have their seat included in the price they currently pay? 

A. No

Q. If not, will they get first choice to buy their usual seat?

A. Not necessarily.

For the group stages UEFA have the reserved right to a significant number of seats in the more central blocks of the stand and the exclusive use of a lounge. The number of seats rises if the Albion advance to the latter stages of the competition.  Additionally they have the right to a number of general admission seats .

This means that 1901 ticket holders are not likely to be able to sit in their usual seat due to the significant % of fans displaced within 1901

Q. Will fans be able to buy tickets for all three home games at the same time (like a mini season ticket)? 

A. Yes, as described above, there will be a 3 match pack available prior to the date of the draw.

Q. What will pricing be for Euro home games?  Same as PL Cat A, Cat B, etc ?

A. This is still to be decided, dependant on the opponents we draw. It is not envisaged that single match tickets will be priced above the current Category B but this is to be confirmed.

Webinar Update: Ticket prices are now available on the BHAFC website.

Q. Will Euro ticket prices include travel ?

A. Yes, as we expect three sell outs, a travel plan will be in operation.

Q. How will you ensure away fans are not able to get tickets in the home seats?

A. We expect to sell out to STHs and My Albion + members. Therefore as they are unlikely to go on general sale, there will be no access for away fans to purchase.

Home fans will be aware of the sanctions they face for selling on tickets they have purchased for their own use.

Q. Will away fans be able to buy corporate hospitality and gain access that way?

Yes. As for Premier League games fans buying corporate hospitality can gain access to the lounges, but they are always cautioned to be respectful of the home supporters.

Q. For Europa League Games, is the stadium handed over to UEFA in the same way it was for the Euros?  (e.g. Euro signage, and only Heineken beers)  Will they also require the first few rows of the stands with advertising to be blocked off so restricting attendance?

A. For these games the stadium is effectively handed over to UEFA.

They will “dress” the stadium, erect/move sponsors advertising boards and this may mean that some seats become classed as “restricted view”. 

Q. Are the club making any provision for visiting fans who travel without tickets?

A. No

Q. Sometime ago there was mention that in the event of European football that the entire 1901 West Stand Middle shelf would be handed over to UEFA for their exclusive use. If this is still the case, what provision for the 1901 members who use that area will be made regarding buying tickets?  

A. As described above there is a requirement to handover a significant number of 1901 seats to UEFA but this is not anything like the whole West Stand middle shelf.

Other Webinar Updates

The draw will be held on 1 September 2023. There will be discussions with the other group sides and information will be published on the BHAFC as soon as possible following those discussions.

The matches will be broadcast via TNT. Radio coverage for both home and away games will be provided by Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall.

Posted on: August 8, 2023