Chelsea Football Club’s Fan Advisory Board and a number of club officials presented the policy changes for next season and explained how these changes will create a safer, fairer and more secure experience for our supporters.

Hosted by Fan Advisory Board chair Neil Beard and supporter advisor to the board Tracey Chapman, club officials set out the club’s journey over the last 12 months, following the launch of digital ticketing, and the consultation the club has carried out with multiple fan groups to inform how we can continue to improve our ticketing system.

The club highlighted our commitment to tackling ticket touting and the continual efforts to identify and stop touts. This included the introduction of a ticket collection point (TCP) for every home match during the 2025/26 season with over 16,000 suspicious accounts being suspended as a result.

Much of the club’s work over the course of last season to clamp down on touts has been enabled by the introduction of digital ticketing. Data gathering, ticket collection points and increased investigative work where there is irregular activity has helped to inform where improvements can be made to our ticketing system to make it fairer and more secure for fans.

Supporter groups present at the town hall were taken through each key policy change that will be introduced next season, as well as how the various mechanisms will work and how the club will support fans through the changes.

These changes include a more flexible ticket application window for home games, additional anti-touting measures when accessing or purchasing tickets, a policy update on seat utilisation for season ticket holders and changes to ticket transfer for away matches. More information on all of these measures can be found here

Chelsea’s head of supporter relations Michael Cornall said:

‘We were delighted to host another supporter town hall in partnership with the Fan Advisory Board. It was an opportunity to talk through the progress the club has made on tackling ticket touting, as well as explain the changes that will be implemented next season to further improve fans’ ticketing experience.

‘This town hall was just one of the ways we will be supporting fans through the changes ahead of the 2026/27 season. We would like to thank all who attended for their feedback and engagement.’

• FAQs on the changes can be found by clicking here

Summary of General Admission Men’s 2026/27 ticketing policy Q&A

The following questions were put to the club as part of the town hall:

Q: How will members earn enough loyalty points to have a realistic chance of becoming season ticket holders if home member tickets move to an application basis?

A: We recognise that many members are striving to become season ticket holders, and we believe that moving to a Ticket Application Window for home tickets will keep more tickets in the hands of genuine Chelsea supporters.

As loyalty points are now awarded for attendance rather than purchase, match-going supporters will be recognised for their commitment to supporting the team. Loyalty point totals are measured against other supporters, and the policy applies equally to everyone.

The club has previously confirmed that season ticket access will move to a waiting list based on cumulative loyalty points earned over the last three full seasons. Supporters who show consistent backing across multiple seasons will therefore be recognised through their position on the list.

Q: How will the club account for illness, caring responsibilities, work, bereavement, family emergencies, travel disruption, changed kick-off times, and other legitimate reasons for non-attendance?

A: If a season ticket holder attempts to sell their ticket on the exchange or forwards a ticket and the receiving supporter attends, this will count towards their seat utilisation. In addition, we have taken on board supporter feedback and will operate the ticket exchange window for longer.

Following reviewing attendance data for this season, we are confident that 13/19 is an achievable number, however, we do understand that last-minute situations may mean a supporter isn’t able to attend, list or forward their ticket.

If a supporter is at risk of not meeting the threshold, we will contact them to understand the reasons and offer any additional support they may need and take a measured approach in any potential sanctions. If a supporter fails to respond or engage with us and isn’t achieving the minimum utilisation, in the interest of fairness for other supporters on the waiting list, this may result in the loss of a season ticket, with an appropriate appeals process in place.

Supporters with specific circumstances which may make meeting the threshold of 13 games difficult, such as those with caring responsibilities, may be exempt and are therefore encouraged to contact the club if they have any concerns over the policy.

Q: Where Chelsea tickets appear on secondary platforms before official club sale dates, what does the club believe is happening?

A: As communicated recently, we have made significant progress towards tackling touting at Chelsea this season to help make sure more genuine fans are able to purchase general admission (GA) tickets at face value, but we know there is still work to do in this area.

Through our investigations, it is clear that many of these websites are engaging in what is known as ‘speculative selling’, where touts advertise tickets they do not have, and hope to source one later on.

We’ve seen at the TCP this season that those selling their seats to these third-party sites can range from long-standing Chelsea fans to large-scale organised crime groups operating with bot software.

As outlined in all of our communications and policies, Chelsea general admission match tickets are offered to our official members only. In the article we published last week regarding the impact of our anti-touting activity this season, we explicitly state that the only authorised channel to purchase GA tickets is via the club directly.

The only legitimate third-party resellers (who are able to sell a limited number of Club Chelsea packages to supporters outside of the UK) are our official Travel Partners. These seats form part of the existing hospitality inventory.

No tickets purchased outside of these avenues are valid for entry and we deny access to any tickets purchased via illegitimate sites. Any supporters found to be selling seats to these unauthorised third-party platforms are issued with permanent suspensions.

Q: Will members with access needs be treated differently within the season ticket waiting list process to reflect the limited availability of suitable accessible seating?

A: We recognise that supporters with access needs can face additional barriers to attending matches, particularly where there are long travel demands and short-notice fixture changes.

We will therefore create a separate waiting list for accessible season tickets, where the threshold is based on the availability of accessible seats and the number of eligible members.

Q: What analysis has the club done on empty seats, no-shows, ticket exchange availability, and away allocation usage?

A: The move to digital tickets has enabled better visibility of attendance and how fans interact with our tickets. It is evident that a Stamford Bridge at full capacity enhances the atmosphere which is one of the key reasons why we are introducing a minimum seat utilisation. Over the season, we have seen fans increased usage of the ticket exchange and ticket forwarding. We hope that the various changes, including an increased timeframe will help to create a smoother and more flexible platform.