Ticketing regulations for 2023/24

Aston Villa supporters are advised of further measures the club have put in place to combat ticket touting ahead of the 2023/24 season.

The club announced in September 2021 the need to address supporter conduct with regards to ticket ownership for both home and away matches.

That touting policy has now been enhanced and new measures put in place to prevent the resale of tickets as well as passing on tickets outside of official club processes, thus breaching ticketing terms and conditions.

Fans have been consulted on the new processes and are supportive in taking appropriate action if anyone is found to be selling/trading their tickets, including the possible removal of ticketing booking history.

Last season the club issued several touting-related sanctions having tracked tickets listed on a variety of websites and social media platforms, as well as targeted activity at both home and away matches.

The club has become aware of the need to further address supporter conduct with regards to ticket ownership for both home and away fixtures.

Therefore, to maintain club integrity, any individuals who are found to have offered their ticket for sale or are passing on tickets will be subject to the below strengthened sanctions that have now been put in place to prevent offences from taking place.

If you have been offered tickets or have any information in relation to tickets being advertised or offered, please report this to the club via ticketsales@avfc.co.uk.

We strongly advise all supporters NOT to purchase tickets from any unofficial websites or social media platforms. However, anyone that does and has concerns about the validity of their tickets can provide us with the details of their purchase by emailing ticketsales@avfc.co.uk and titling their email ‘Suspected Unofficial Ticket Purchase’.

While we are unable to assist in guaranteeing access to the stadium to attend the match concerned, the information provided will allow us to provide support to individuals in claiming any funds back on unauthorised tickets from credit card issuers. Such information will also assist us to continue to do everything possible to ensure genuine tickets are allocated to genuine supporters and allow us to act against unofficial sellers.

If anyone has any other information regarding touting-related issues, they should also be reported using the above email address. This will again help us to ensure tickets are allocated to genuine fans and in line with our own allocation rules and procedures.

Please note, all information we receive from supporters is treated in the strictest confidence and is never disclosed to third parties or the individual(s) who have resold their tickets.

Authorised channels for ticket purchase/distribution

The only legitimate way to purchase tickets is through Aston Villa’s official website or by calling our ticket office on 0333 323 1874.

Please note, it is not authorised for any tickets to be sold or transferred via social media platforms or third-party websites.

We understand that supporters’ plans change and you cannot always attend every game. Therefore, when it comes to cancelling or transferring tickets, please be advised of the following:

- If you have purchased match tickets, these can i) be refunded within the set refund deadline which is stated within the sales information for each individual game. A refund can be obtained by calling our ticket office 0333 323 1874, emailing ticketsales@avfc.co.uk or messaging us @AVFCSupport on Twitter. Or ii) re-assign the ticket to the named individual attending in their place, subject to that individual being eligible to take ownership of that ticket. This can be done by calling our ticket office, emailing ticketsales@avfc.co.uk or messaging us @AVFCSupport on Twitter; the latter two options are available provided no payment is required to upgrade a concession ticket. 

- If a season ticket holder cannot attend a game, they can i) re-sell their seats back to the club on a match-by-match basis via the resale scheme. Or ii) re-assign their season ticket seat to the named individual attending in their place. Please note, this can only be transferred to a close friend or family member as it is the season ticket holder’s responsibility that a known individual will be occupying that seat. This can be done by calling our ticket office, emailing ticketsales@avfc.co.uk or messaging us on @AVFCSupport on Twitter; the latter two options are available provided no payment is required to upgrade a concession ticket. 

Away tickets

We are aware that numerous tickets for our away fixtures are re-sold, offered for sale or passed on to supporters who do not qualify for tickets to away matches.

As a result, genuine supporters who may otherwise qualify for a ticket are denied the opportunity to support the team away from home.

Again, this is often done online via unofficial websites and social media platforms. We regularly monitor such sites and will take the strongest possible action against any season ticket holders who are found to be acquiring match tickets with the intention of selling them on and/or to boost their away booking history.

Any supporter found to have purchased away tickets and subsequently sold or passed them on to other supporters or offered for sale, will be subject to our newly-introduced sanction of all previous away booking history being removed.

In a further effort to ensure the correct supporters are using away match tickets, periodically throughout the season, purchasers for domestic away fixtures could be selected at random and asked to collect tickets from the host stadium on a matchday. Those fans will be asked to produce valid photo ID to validate the away ticket is being used by the named individual assigned.

Appeals process

Our appeals process provides supporters with a route to follow if they have a dispute with a decision or action taken by the club relating to any of the above ticketing offences. Any supporter wishing to appeal a club sanction due to a ticketing issue can email fancomplaints@avfc.co.uk.