We held our usual pre European match briefing with Football Supporters Europe where we discussed arrangements for supporters travelling to Leverkusen.
Details about getting to the stadium, facilities and after the match.
The headline news is that West Ham is raising season ticket prices by between 6% and 14%, ignoring the rapidly falling rate of inflation (3.4%). This is worsening the cost-of-living crisis for Hammers fans.
The biggest rises hit the discounted two-year deals for band five and six tickets, with the two-year band five ticket rising by 14%. The cheapest annual season ticket is rising more than 11% (£35) to £345 and the kids’ season ticket by 10% (£10) to £109.
At the other end of the scale the top priced ticket (excluding Club London) is rising just over 6% (£100) to £1,720.
A new regulator is to be established by the UK government to oversee the elite men’s football game. A Football Governance Bill was tabled on Tuesday 19th March 2024 to establish a new Independent Football Regulator (IFR) as a new public body with operational independence and accountability.
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Football Supporters Europe hosted a meeting to discuss arrangements for our forthcoming matches against Freiburg in the Europa League.
Helen Breit, a member of Supporters Crew Freiburg gave us some insight about visiting Freiburg.
We discussed where to eat and drink, getting to the stadium, at the match and after the match.
Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) are set up to allow groups of people to act as that “critical friend” to the Police, in our case the Metropolitan Police. At IAG meetings questions are asked, police actions and initiatives explained/questioned and information shared.
The minutes of the last meeting held on 4th January 2024 are here:
The Annual General Meeting of the Trust took place on Wednesday 21st February 2024 and was held online via Zoom video-conferencing.
All resolutions were passed at the meeting including confirmation of members elected to the Board of Directors.
Full details of the AGM meting and process are on our website.
No Elizabeth Line or Greater Anglia trains from Shenfield to Liverpool Street and no Overground to Stratford via Hackney Wick.
For those proper Arsenal supporters that still live at their old manor - no DLR trains from Woolwich Arsenal to Canning Town.
Yet another match for us that we are not playing at 3:00pm on a Saturday.
This time it’s not because we’ve just had a Europa match on Thursday - or have been chosen for TV broadcast in the UK. No - it’s because the FA has sold the international broadcasting rights for every single Cup match from the 3rd round onwards for live broadcast.
After last night’s win against Arsenal, WHUST Interim Chair Terry Reynolds was interviewed by BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Scotland.
It was an early start for Terry when he was interviewed by Eleanor Oldroyd and Gordon Smart on the 5 Live Breakfast Show.
David Curry of BBC Radio Scotland was interested in Terry’s opinion about David Moyes. David remembered when English football had a healthy smattering of Scottish managers and these days there’s only one - David Moyes.
WHUST announces that for personal reasons Sue Watson has resigned from the Board and Chair of the Trust.
Terry Reynolds has been appointed as Interim Chair until the AGM in February. Terry has been involved as part of the steering committee that established the Trust and was subsequently appointed as a board member once the Trust was formally established.
AISA (Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association) has provided us with their tips to share with you when visiting the Emirates on Thursday evening, on getting there and around and inside the stadium
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Hot on the heels of WHUST publishing an article about the club’s poor communication over ticketing, the club did it again. Season ticket holders who had joined the home cup scheme received a text message after 6pm on Monday 11 December 2023, warning:
”Your priority Home Cup Scheme window for our upcoming FA Cup third round fixture against Bristol City on Sunday 7 January will open tomorrow at 10am. Secure your seat here.”
We know there have been too many mistakes on the field recently, but the club surpasses that when it comes to communication with fans. What’s the worst cock-up you’ve seen from the club recently?
On 1 December it sent out an email giving the date of the Freiburg match a November date. “Now, it all comes down to our final group match against SC Freiburg on Thursday 14 November,” the club said.
Inclusiveness, participation and visibility, that is what WHUST believes following West Ham United is about.
WHUST Chair Sue Watson was proud to be able to represent WHUST at the Pride of Irons Rainbow Laces event held on the 28th November 2023.
West Ham fanzine Blowing Bubbles has been shortlisted for a top award at the 2023 Football Supporters’ Association Awards.
Blowing Bubbles broke the mould of club fanzines and asked West Ham’s supporters' trust, WHUST, to contribute articles about its work on behalf of Hammers fans.
“Legislation will be brought forward to safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans.”
An Independent Football Regulator will put fans back at the heart of football and help to deliver a sustainable future for all clubs. It follows on from the 2019 manifesto commitment to conduct a fan-led review of football, which highlighted a number of systemic issues in football that this legislation addresses.
The clocks go back - but our match is brought forward.
Our home match against Everton on Sunday 29th October kicks off an hour early at 1:00pm - due to Greater Manchester Police.
WHUST is against any football match being played on Christmas Eve. Apart from the potentially significant difficulties with travel, it's a time for families to be together. Additionally all the arrangements that are part of a football match will lead to staff that will be needed missing time with their families.
It is disappointing that the decision to hold a match on Christmas Eve has been made and fully support the FSA in their response to this.
WHUST had an online conference call with representatives from Football Supporters Europe (FSE) to discuss arrangements for our Europa League match at Olympiakos next week.
The main concern raised by supporters is the mandatory coach travel to and from the stadium and the cost of this travel that was only announced when the tickets actually went on sale.
Sunday 8th October was not only our game against Newcastle United, but one of the matches designated for saying “No Room for Racism”.
WHUST was invited to speak on the pitch in the buildup to the match about this important issue alongside Sanil from Inclusive Irons and Jo from Pride of Irons.