Aston Villa has overhauled its ticketing strategy ahead of the 2025/26 season, with a key change set to reshape how fans engage with both the men’s and women’s teams.
Supporters on the season ticket waiting list will now be able to earn loyalty points not only by attending men’s matches but also by going to Aston Villa Women’s home games, the club announced on May 29.
Points will also be awarded for attending Premier League fixtures, as well as domestic and European cup matches at Villa Park.
With around 45,000 people currently on the waiting list, this update is designed to create a more meaningful connection between fans and the wider Aston Villa ecosystem. It also ensures season tickets are prioritised for the most actively engaged supporters.
At a recent SportsPro Live event in April 2025, Manchester United was criticised for not giving enough attention to its women’s team, a common frustration among fans who support Premier League clubs with growing women’s sides. That scrutiny is putting pressure on clubs to better support their women’s teams in meaningful ways.
However, previous efforts across the league have not always gone smoothly. AFC Bournemouth initially included two mandatory women’s matches in their men’s season ticket package, charging an extra fee. After backlash from fans who wanted the option to choose, the club reversed the decision and made the tickets optional.
Villa’s approach appears to put these lessons into practice. Rather than forcing fans to pay for women’s games, the club is encouraging attendance by making it part of the loyalty points system.
While some concerns have been raised that fans might attend purely to climb the waiting list, or worse, buy tickets and not use them, the club already has systems in place to track ticket usage. These tools could be extended to manage attendance at women’s matches as well.
More changes yet to come
The changes to Aston Villa’s season ticket waiting list come as the club moves forward with major stadium development plans. This summer, an additional 379 seats and 14 new accessible seating areas will be added, marking a short-term boost to capacity.
Looking further ahead, the ongoing redevelopment of the North Stand is expected to raise Villa Park’s overall capacity to more than 50,000 by the end of 2027. This expansion will create thousands of new season ticket opportunities over the coming years.
While the decision to include women’s matches in the loyalty points system has made headlines, it is just one part of a broader update to Villa’s ticketing strategy.
Other key changes include a 5% increase in adult season tickets and matchday prices, a price freeze for Under-21s, and the introduction of a new season ticket usage policy. To be eligible for renewal, season ticket holders will need to attend at least 14 of the 19 home league matches.
A new era or just new packaging?
The club has framed the new model as a way to balance loyalty with opportunity, ensuring season tickets go to fans who show up, not just those who buy them.
On a recent episode of The Overlap, football finance expert Kieran Maguire addressed the issue directly. When asked whether it is fair to say the clubs have become the biggest touts, he responded:
“It is, but from the clubs’ point of view, the mark-ups are so great that you get 1/19th of your season ticket back… then you repackage it as an experience, as a product on the day… you can sell that for £600.”
The irony hasn’t gone unnoticed. Villa’s removal of the 20% resale fee on exchanged tickets appears fan-friendly on the surface. However, it also streamlines the process for the club to reclaim and resell high-demand seats at premium matchday prices.
By setting tighter attendance requirements and enabling resale through official channels, clubs gain more control over who’s in the stadium and at what price. For supporters, it raises the question: are these changes truly about loyalty, or are they about optimising revenue by using fan-first language?