Further to a Club statement earlier in the week, and after fans raised concerns about the ballot we will be holding to allocate tickets for the FA Cup third-round tie at Boreham Wood, we have reviewed the ticket sale process for the game.
The original process was conceived by the Club and Trust to ensure as many people as possible would be able to go if they required a friend/guardian/helper, but we realise that a better process could be implemented that would enable that, whilst giving season ticket holders more chances for tickets and we hold our hands up for not proposing this earlier. We also had some question marks over GDPR compliance that we needed to resolve.
As a result, we have decided to make the following adjustments to correct the process and to make sure it is compliant with data regulations.
First, each ballot winner will be offered one ticket for the game - instead of two as originally proposed. However, we will be holding back 50 tickets for any winners who might need to be accompanied by a helper or adult, for example;
- Fans who want to be entered into the ballot will have to agree to their email address being shared with Boreham Wood. This is to enable our opponents to allocate tickets with a priority mechanism in place and to ensure our procedures are GDPR data compliant;
- Before the ballot happens, all season ticket holders will be emailed and asked to complete a Google form. This will confirm they are happy to enter and happy for their email address to be shared with Boreham Wood. It will include a tick box which must be filled. Due to the ticketing process Boreham Wood wish to implement, you will not be able to participate in the priority ballot if you are not happy to share your details.
- The ballot is for all season ticket holders only. Although debenture-only holders have equal priority for home Cup matches, they do not have the same privilege for away matches.
- We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the general priority system in place for Cup ticketing.
For matches at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, the following structure applies:
- 1st - season ticket holders and debenture holders (including those who hold both);
- 2nd – Dons Trust Plus, Dons Trust Members & Stadium Card holders;
- 3rd PLC shareholder, Seedrs shareholder and Plough Lane Bond holders;
- 4th - General sale.
For Cup matches away from home, then the order is as follows:
- 1st – season ticket holders;
- 2nd – Debenture holders;
- 3rd – Dons Trust Plus, Dons Trust Members and Stadium Card holders;
- 4th – PLC shareholders, Seedrs shareholders and Plough Lane bond holders;
- 5th – General sale.
*For away matches where there are plenty of tickets available, we may reduce the number of priority groups to speed up the process.
While we have attempted to plan for most ticketing scenarios, one thing that has been clear from the feedback is that there have been several ticketing scenarios this year that we currently don’t have a policy or previous precedent for.
We therefore plan to consult supporters in order to better implement ticketing plans for a variety of scenarios that may arise in the future.
For example, we will be welcoming thoughts on how best to handle limited or very limited allocations for away tickets, providing email data to third parties (like Boreham Wood) or creating spaces for school children at home games where we do not expect a full house.
Please look out for when we will be doing this as your opinion really does matter.
Finally - while we would be happy to add season-ticket holders without email addresses to the ballot if they phone us, we have to flag that Boreham Wood’s policy is only to sell tickets to purchasers with an email address. So we recommend all applicants apply via the google form.
All season ticket holders will receive an email this evening which will include the link to the google form, please click the link and fill out the details. You will need your name, Fan ID and email address to complete the form. You will also need to tick the box confirming that you are happy to share your details with Boreham Wood.
The ballot will close on Monday 20th December at 7pm. If you do not receive an email this evening, please email tickets@afcwimbledon.ltd.uk.