FAB Meeting Two - Season 2025-26

Date: Thursday 23 October 2025, 6-8pm
Location: Boleyn Social / Virtual  

Fan Advisory Board representatives:  

Andy Payne (Hammers United and FAB Co-Chair)  
Austin Gigg (Junior Supporters Board) 
Cathy Bayford (Disabled Supporters Association) 
James Brown (Claret Member)  (online)
Kevin Hind (West Ham United Supporters Trust)  
Martine Dodwell-Bennett (Bondholders Committee) 
Maurice Birnbaum (Away Scheme Member)  
Mike Field (Old School Hammers) 
Paul Christmas (West Ham Official Supporters Club) 
Scotty Burkhart (Overseas Supporters Rep)  (online)

 Club Representatives:  

Baroness Karren Brady, CBE, Club Vice-Chair
Tara Warren, Executive Director, Nominated Board Level Official (NBLO)
Nicola Keye, Director of Ticketing, Executive Director of the Women’s Team (online)
Catherine Smith, Head of Supporter Services and Fan Engagement 
Kerry O’Shea, Fan Engagement Lead

Additional Attendees:

Ashley Brown, FSA

Apologies:

Women’s Supporters Board Representative
Apu Vyas, Inclusive Irons
Jo Bailey, Pride of Irons

Agenda:

Welcome, introduction
Overview of Club strategy
- Mission, structure and Club objectives
- Performance against Club objectives
- Focus for the future
Answers to questions from Supporter Representatives
AOB (moved before Heritage and memorabilia update)
- WHU v Brentford pricing strategy
Heritage and memorabilia update

Welcome and Introduction:

The Club thanked Supporter Representatives for joining the meeting and their focus on raising issues on behalf of those they represent. The Club Vice-Chair reaffirmed the Club’s commitment to the FAB, acknowledging and accepting that results and performances over the last 18 months have fallen short of expectations
The Club shared that they had reflected on the questions asked by the FAB, and prepared a presentation, having considered what additional action could be taken, and that whilst this was an unusual structure for a FAB meeting, that the usual processes in respect of collaboration and commitment to a constructive agenda should continue
Ashley Brown shared that he had offered to attend the meeting after speaking with the Club, and Supporter Representatives, having been actively involved in setting up and attending many FABs across the football pyramid including working closely with West Ham United and its supporters for over five years
Supporter Representatives shared that their hope for the evening to get clarity, clear commitment and an action plan related to the themes raised with the Club at the previous meeting on 11 September.

Overview of Club strategy

The Club delivered a presentation which contained an overview of the Club Strategy, including its mission, governance structure, Club objectives and the plans which sit under each objective.
The presentation contained information about how the Club delivered the governance requirements as a Premier League Club, led by Karren Brady as Vice-Chair and CEO, with responsibility for all of the commercial elements of the Club outside of player recruitment and trading, and delivered by a strong and qualified Executive Team, including Mark Noble as Sporting Director. The Club also assured Supporter Representatives that it was willing, and able, to meet the requirements under the Independent Football Regulator
The Club also shared detailed information about its financial growth and performance, highlighting that the Club had remained in the Premier League for 14 consecutive seasons, never having breached PSR, and competed in Europe for three of those seasons, winning a European trophy. This strong financial performance resulted in West Ham being ranked 17th in the global Deloitte Football Money League. The Club stated that whilst there has been significant commercial growth, and subsequent funds invested in players, that football performance had an impact on revenue figures, and therefore the Club needed to always be cautious to stay within PSR and ensure financial sustainability. Confidential information [1] was shared about the Club’s expected financial position for the 2024/25 season ahead of the accounts being published and it was agreed Supporter Representatives would have a more in-depth briefing by the Club’s CFO ahead of the accounts being released
Supporter Representatives asked about the approach to playing strategy. The Club stated they had employed different models to manage player recruitment and trading, including having the manager lead recruitment, a technical director, and other in-house models, supported by technology and an extensive scouting network and that work was underway reviewing what worked and what had not to establish the right model that works best for West Ham United and our identity. The Club added the immediate focus was on supporting Nuno Espirito Santo. The Club shared confidential information [2] about the approach to player recruitment and the consideration as to what could be done differently in the future. The Club outlined that whilst it was not the direct remit of the FAB, they wanted to share this football related information given the depth of feeling and in future would be holding fan forums to discuss football matters.
In sharing information about the Club’s approach to supporter consultation, Supporter Representatives asked the Club for assurances that consultation would happen in a timely, meaningful manner. The Club confirmed this was always their intention and that fan consultation processes were being embedded across all departments, following the PLEDIS framework which allowed the Club to become equity leaders across the League. The FSA Representative noted how much had been achieved by the FAB, and Supporter Representatives expressed frustration that more had not been achieved, and in a faster timeframe
Supporter Representatives shared they wanted to feel proud of the Club, both on and off the pitch, and the Foundation was something to celebrate, and asked if the Club could consider an approach to their supply chain and partnership process which meant partners reflected the values the Club holds. Supporter Representatives gave specific examples here of recent partners they felt did not hold these values. The Club stated this was always in their consideration when identifying and working with partners, and that a balance was needed between maximising revenues and delivering value-driven propositions. The Club also noted the investments many partners had provided to improve the supporter experience, including BrewDog building fan zones around the Stadium
It was agreed for the next FAB meeting to take place at the Foundry, West Ham United’s new £5m community hub in the heart of Beckton, and that information would be provided to Supporter Representatives for volunteering at the homeless shelter
Supporter Representatives commented that the recent discounted tickets for Academy fixtures were well received and offers like that should continue. The Club confirmed fixtures were also available on YouTube and asked Supporter Representatives what they thought about a ticketing product which included access to all West Ham United games, including men’s, women’s and academy. Supporter Representatives thought it would be welcomed by some supporters who had availability to attend that many fixtures
Supporter Representatives asked about the women’s team. The Club stated that the women’s game as a whole was a long way away from becoming sustainable and that work needed to be done at a League level to grow the game. The Club added their focus was on becoming an attractive, investible proposition to grow the fanbase, grow revenues and reinvest that into the squad

Performance against Club objectives

The Club shared where they were performing strongly against Club objectives, with particular highlights including:
- Maintaining Premier League football for 14 consecutive seasons, and winning a European trophy
- The development of Academy players, and progressing Academy coaching staff into the first team set-up
- The revenue position of the Club, with the 10th highest income in Premier League for the last two seasons
- The recent opening of The Foundry, which will increase the Club’s community footprint to reach 60,000 people every year
- The embedding of ED&I across the Club, including work with supporters groups
- The Club’s growth in key markets including the US; and
- The work that had been delivered for supporters. The specific examples the Club shared here were:
  - Reinstatement of concessionary tickets in Bands 1-4 and Season Ticket price freezes
  - Trial of singing section and facilitation of fan displays and banners and development of new fan zones
  - Delivery of ED&I campaigns including London Pride, Unite for Access and South Asian Heritage Month
  - Dedicated SLO for all women’s matches requested from WSB
  - Appointment of professional archivist to deliver heritage work
  - Email addresses for Supporter Representatives to communicate with closed groups
  - Events hosted for international supporters, both in the UK and overseas, requested by Overseas Representative
  - Claret Membership packs delivered in September 2025 instead of December 2025 based on feedback from Claret Member survey
  - Changes to Away Scheme Membership pilot based on feedback
  - BSL interpreter present at every men’s home match, requested by DSB
The Club also shared where they felt improvement could be made to achieve objectives, including:
- Identifying a structure which delivers improvement to talent identification, contract negotiation and builds a high-performing squad
- Building a Club roadmap across all departments to identify opportunities for fan consultation and engagement
- Working with supporters to make changes at London Stadium, including railed seating, playing women’s games and development of singing sections and fan zones
The Club confirmed they would appoint a company to undertake a third-party feasibility study of railed seating at London Stadium, beginning in January ’26 and shared that Delaware North Catering were keen to work with the Club on specific, targeted improvements around fan zones, and that this would be good to discuss in the Matchday Experience Working Group. The Club also confirmed work was underway on investigating the right place for a family zone in the stands as part of a wider focus on long-term Stadium development plans over the coming years and Supporter Representatives expressed their support for this. Supporter Representatives added that disabled supporters, and their experience, should be considered within these plans and the Club stated that would absolutely be the intention
Supporter Representatives shared their view on the expectations within the fanbase, both from a football and commercial performance, sharing that they felt supporters didn’t expect to regularly compete with Top 6 Clubs, but would like to be seen as the ‘best of the rest’. They also shared they believed London Stadium may have a negative impact of football performance, and if initiatives such as bringing the stands closer to the pitch would make a difference. The Club confirmed that the squad did not feel playing in London Stadium hindered their performance, adding that it was important for the team to hear the fans behind them. Supporter Representatives stated that supporters were absolutely behind the team
The Club added they investigated adding more seats closer to the pitch, but that to satisfy the Safety Certificate, all seats needed to be covered by the roof for safety reasons, to prevent migration, and that to replace the roof, the steel would also need to be replaced, and this was cost prohibitive. The Club shared confidential numbers [3] of how much this type of work would cost. Supporter Representatives commented that the financial model of the Stadium could be difficult to understand and that more could be done to explain this to the wider fanbase.
Supporter Representatives also asked if anything could be done to reduce the gap between the upper and lower tiers and the Club confirmed this is where the seats move for the athletics, but that the areas had been turned into bar decks to improve the experience for supporters there. They added seats could not be added there due to the sight lines
The Club agreed these type of ideas were valuable to discuss and investigate

Answers to questions from Supporter Representatives

The Club shared a slide which shows each of the questions raised by Supporter Representatives, further actions to be taken and a timeline of when this would be done. The content of this slide is below:

Theme	Further Actions	Timeline	Owner
Leadership and Governance	Continue to meet all governance requirements Evolve appropriate model for player trading Prepare to meet all IFR requirements	Actively working Actively working Actively working	Baroness Karren Brady Baroness Karren Brady Baroness Karren Brady / Tara Warren
Financial Strategy and PSR	Supporter Representatives to receive briefing ahead of Annual Report being released	Before Feb ‘26	Andy Mollett
Commercial and Stadium	Undertake third-party feasibility study on railed seating at London Stadium	Jan ’26	Tara Warren / Philippa Cartwright
	Begin signposting exercise to group like-minded supporters together	Renewal for 26-27	Nicola Keye
	Agree way for women’s games to be played at London Stadium	Actively working	Tara Warren
	Agree process for Supporter Representative to have presence on SSAG	Dec ‘25	Tara Warren / Cat Smith
Heritage and Culture	Update Supporter Representatives on how Club will display heritage	Oct ’25	Cat Smith
	Begin to deliver activity as part of strategy	Jan ‘26	Cat Smith
Strategic Vision	Share Club strategy at FAB Effectiveness Review meeting for season ahead, and agree priorities for working groups with Supporter Representatives	June ’26	Tara Warren
	Build plan from 2025-2030 with support from consultants	Nov ’26	Baroness Karren Brady / Nicola Keye
Fan Relations and Trust	Share departmental roadmap at FAB Effectiveness Review meeting for season ahead, identifying opportunity for supporter consultation, with timelines	June ’26	Tara Warren
	Identify further fan events, forums and activities which bring the Club and its supporters closer together	Actively working	Cat Smith
Squad matters	*Commercially sensitive information shared*

Supporter Representatives asked if they could receive a copy of the presentation. The Club stated that due to the level of confidential information contained within the presentation that it would not be possible to share this, but suggested the meeting summary be more detailed that usual so Supporter Representatives could point to these if supporters had any questions. The Club said they would consider if a redacted version could be made available

A Supporter Representative stated they felt perhaps their questions had not been answered. The Club asked Supporter Representatives to share what they felt was missing and Supporter Representatives asked for clarification on the position of a full-time CEO. The Club clarified that the Vice-Chair worked full-time at the Club and fulfilled the role of CEO. The FSA Representative commented that at other Clubs, Senior Leaders take part video interviews where they explain Club strategy and answered questions from supporters. The Club responded that this did not feel like the right time to deliver a video interview, but would consider what could be shared more widely with supporters and how clarity could be given to issues that were of concern to the fanbase
Supporter Representatives asked for time to reflect on the content. They also highlighted that consistent communications would be helpful in allowing Supporter Representatives to clarity issues with the members they represent. It was agreed that Supporter Representatives would consider these timelines

WHU v Brentford Ticketing Queries

The Club confirmed that match-by-match prices for individual fixtures are based upon a range of factors, including schedule changes, opposition and the overall objective of ensuring a full stadium to cheer on the team. The fixture vs Brentford was categorised as Category C and selected as one of our ‘Kids for a Quid’ fixtures and additionally, Brentford returned 900 tickets to the Club, some of which were made available to supporters at a price of £15. The Club stated that despite this, a Season Ticket remains the most cost-effective way for a supporter to secure their seat for all home matches compared to equivalent match-by-match purchases across the season.
It was agreed this would be clarified in further detail following the meeting in the ticketing working group as the season unfolds, and the Club confirmed that for last season, the average Adult Season Ticket Holders saved was £211 when compared to purchasing match tickets. This is an average of £328 for an O66 / O21 and £468 for a U18.
Supporter Representatives asked if there were plans to publish the attendance figures for West Ham United v Brentford. The Club shared that this game was Sold Out, and that actual attendance was around 42,000. Supporter Representatives added they would submit a FoI request to London Stadium

Heritage and memorabilia update

The Club shared an update on the heritage and memorabilia project, that was being delivered with an Archive Heritage consultant. The Club provided an update on the work delivered to date, including:
- Each item in the archive reviewed and given a unique reference code
- Each item repackaged in museum-grade materials
- New items collected from across the Club to be stored safely with new unique reference codes
- Building a process to collect specific items to build archive for the future e.g. home shirt from each season
- Built a collections management process including legal agreements to enable us to move these items
The Club stated that this process was important if items were to be moved, displayed and loaned
The Club shared examples of the type of items contained within the archive, including World Cup 1966 medals and caps, ECWC 1965 medals, historic transfer records, original Club minute books and Europa Conference League memorabilia
The Club then shared the plan, and timeline to begin displaying these items, for feedback and comment from Supporter Representatives:
- Hammers Heritage Roadshow (January ’26): a collection which can be taken to our fan events, allowing the Club to support fans where they are and share their stories with Club staff and legends at events
- Online Display (August ’26): an online museum section of the website, allowing us to display our heritage for fans around the world and link to editorial heritage pieces
- Club Museum (Autumn ’26): bringing a museum-style space to London Stadium, by Entrance B, with exclusive space on the tour route for West Ham United memorabilia
- Exhibitions at other museums and cultural institutions (Beyond ’28): building connections in the museums sector to loan out our objects and be part of culturally significant displays
The Club also shared details of an opportunity that was being worked on to store part of the archive in Newham, which would have wider benefits for the local fan community. It was agreed details of this would be kept confidential [4] until the agreement was signed
Supporter Representatives asked if the exhibitions at other cultural institutions could happen earlier. The Club confirmed the focus was displaying items at London Stadium, and that many museums had a 3+ year programme of displays and exhibitions
The Club stated the next steps would be to share this more widely with supporters, and offered a meeting with the archivist
The FSA Representative closed the meeting by acknowledging he felt the meeting was positive and that information was shared in an open, transparent manner and that Supporter Representatives challenged the Club on a number of issues.

Agreed Actions:

The Club to deliver to the actions outlined above, providing an update at the next FAB meting (Due: next FAB meeting)
The Club to host next FAB meeting at The Foundry (Due: January 2026)
The Club to share details of the Foundry’s Homeless Shelter with Supporter Representatives (Due: November 2025)

[1] It was agreed with the Club and Supporter Representatives that this information was kept confidential until the Club’s yearly accounts are published, at which point this information would be in the public domain.

[2] It was agreed with the Club and Supporter Representatives that this information was kept confidential. There are no plans to share this in the future as it is commercially sensitive.

[3] It was agreed with the Club and Supporter Representatives that this information was kept confidential. There are no plans to share this in the future as it is commercially sensitive.

[4] It was agreed with the Club and Supporter Representatives that this information was kept confidential until a formal agreement is signed by all relevant parties

FAB Meeting Minutes - 23rd October 2025