Ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season, Chair of the Charlton Stakeholder Advisory Board, Marilyn Toft, has provided the following update on the group's progress…
It’s been 18 months since the Advisory Board was formed, and with the new season about to kick off, we wanted to give supporters an update on what we’ve been up to.
Promotion for both the men’s and women’s teams and increasing attendances have been brilliant. That’s not something we can take credit for, but we’re delighted with the progress and for everyone in the Charlton family.
Off the pitch, there’s been real progress too.
Fan Engagement
The Advisory Board is pleased to have contributed to improvements in fan engagement, with a clear structure now in place including the biannual Meet the Directors event, the Supporters’ Forum as well as Hannah Jacobs, the club’s Supporter Liaison Officer, in place. Improving access to the fan engagement team on matchdays, introducing regular fan surveys to test views as well as pausing developments to listen to fan feedback eg on a possible membership scheme and changes to away ticketing arrangements are all indicators of the club’s desire to work with the fans.
We believe there has been a positive shift in the club’s culture and openness to supporter feedback, and this is reflected in Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust annual survey results. Click here to read a summary.
We’re especially pleased with the launch of the club’s new official supporter group package, with several new groups now up and running. This came out of a working group led by the Advisory Board, in response to a club board request. There have been valuable lessons along the way, but the outcome speaks for itself – more active supporters’ groups than there have been in years.
We’ll continue to focus on ways we can improve the club’s engagement with fans.
Ticketing and membership
A key focus has been working to increase opportunities for supporter input into season and match ticket strategies. We welcomed this week’s news that consultation will continue around membership and away-ticket priority arrangements, which we know are important issues to supporters. We will continue to work closely with the club to increase opportunities for stakeholder input, bringing in views not only from the supporters, but also the community and the Ex Players’-Association.
What else we’ve been advising on
The Advisory Board’s role is also to give the club's board advice on the big strategic elements – planning, operations, communications, commercial decisions and supporter and community engagement. Our role is to provide advice and feedback and make sure supporters, stakeholders, communities and ex-players’ views are part of the conversation before decisions are made.
We’re often given information in confidence, so we can’t share everything in detail that we discuss. But in recent months we’ve advised on some big topics including:
- Season ticketing, balancing commercial growth with affordability
- Away ticketing
- Membership schemes
- Front-of-shirt sponsorship
- Stadium naming rights
- Protecting and developing the club’s culture
- Website development
Decisions ultimately lie with the club board, but we’re confident that a full range of views from across the Charlton family are represented and considered in the conversation.
Looking ahead to 2026/27 season
This season, we’ll keep focussing on strengthening stakeholder engagement, contributing to ticketing and membership discussions, supporting other consultation opportunities and making sure a wide range of stakeholder views remain part of the conversation as the club keeps progressing, on and off the pitch.
There’s plenty of work to do, but we’re encouraged by the process so far – and committed to making sure everyone has a real voice in Charlton’s future.
We are now looking forward to Saturday and the opening men's first-team league fixture of the season in front of what promises to be a busy Valley. We look forward to seeing as many supporters there as possible.
The Addicks kick off their 2026/27 Sky Bet Championship campaign at The Valley on Saturday against Derby County. Click here to get your tickets now.
Seasonal and matchday hospitality is available now for the 2026/27 campaign. For more information, click here, email hospitality@cafc.co.uk or phone 0208 333 4050. Click here to find out about the special hospitality offer for the opening-day fixture.
