Aston Villa's Fan Advisory Board have asked the club about physical tickets
Aston Villa fans at Villa Park
Aston Villa fans at Villa Park(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
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Aston Villa believe they have now issued physical cards to all supporters who require them, following criticism over the club’s earlier refusal to grant requests.
Before the start of the season, Villa implemented the Premier League’s new digital ticketing system — a change that caused distress for many fans just days before the new campaign kicked off.
For the vast majority of supporters, entry to Villa Park is now possible only by scanning a digital match ticket stored in the official Villa app. Many fans who requested a physical season ticket were refused, with the club emailing to explain that only those with a medical or accessibility-related need would be granted one.
BirminghamLive followed up with the Premier League, which confirmed that under league rules, by the 2026/27 season, each club must ensure that at least 70% of all available home tickets — including season tickets — are issued digitally. The remaining 30% may be issued at the club’s discretion, allowing for provisions for supporters unable to use digital tickets.
This means that when Villa Park is at full capacity on a matchday, more than 10,000 supporters could still use a physical ticket — provided they meet the eligibility criteria. The Premier League says it is up to individual clubs to consult with supporters’ representatives when setting such policies and exemptions.
The Fan Advisory Board (FAB) met with the club for its second meeting earlier this month, during which the issue of physical cards was discussed.
Here’s what was asked of the club by the FAB: “The Premier League guidelines state that the issuing of digital tickets should be set at 70%. Our impression is that the club has made this 100%. This creates a massive issue for older fans, or those who do not have smart phones. The FAB would like to know how many requests for physical cards have been received, and how many were granted? Can the club provide blanket exceptions or people to help triage issues?”
Villa responded: “The Club has decided to make digital ticketing a key component of the ticketing policy, and as a result, all tickets this season will be distributed through the AVFC app. We feel that this is consistent with most other venues and football clubs, and the reasons for such a decision are not only benefits to the Club, but also to supporters, allowing them to share and resell tickets much more easily.
“Having said that, we understand that a certain number of supporters are physically unable to use digital tickets and as a result we have distributed 912 physical season cards. Each of these applications was treated on a case-by-case basis to ensure that all worthy requests were granted. We're confident that we've now provided physical cards to all that require them, however, we've not and wouldn't want to assume that physical tickets are required just based on age as there are many older supporters who are comfortable with this technology.
“We have also provided support for all Season Ticket holders to be able to access the tickets in their app, this support ranges from direct email comms and "How to..." videos, through to training on matchday. We've opened the ticket office specifically to deal with these issues and for the Burnley game, we wrote specifically to all first-time visitors to Villa Park this season to explain how to use the tickets. As we are now several home games into the season, we are increasingly confident that the majority of supporters are now comfortable with the technology.”
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