The Aston Villa Fan Advisory Board (FAB) held its first full internal meeting on 23 September 2025, bringing all FAB members together in person to set our structure, elect key roles, and agree our priorities for the season ahead. This was an important moment in establishing how we will work on behalf of Villa supporters, ensuring your voice is represented clearly, consistently, and independently.
Establishing Leadership
A key item of business was electing our first Chair and Vice Chair, who will help guide the FAB’s work and ensure strong, constructive engagement with the Club.
After hearing from candidates and following an anonymous voting process, we are pleased to confirm:
- Chair: Karl Bowater (KB)
- Vice Chair: Nick Hoskins (NH)
Both will serve until 31 July 2026, with annual elections thereafter. This gives the FAB stability while we establish long-term working practices.
Setting Priorities for the Next Meeting with Aston Villa
The FAB discussed what matters most right now for supporters and agreed to place the following items on the agenda for our next structured meeting with the Club:
- Ticketing – A consolidated list of current issues with match tickets, membership schemes and processes, ordered by urgency.
- Maccabi Tel Aviv Home Fixture – Clarity on communication plans, matchday preparations and any potential impacts for fans.
- FAB Communication Channels – Agreement on support for an independent FAB website and email infrastructure.
- Working Group Engagement – Meetings requested between each Working Group and the relevant AVFC staff.
- Fan Engagement Plan 2025/26 – A request for earlier FAB involvement in future versions of the Plan and other related documents.
These items reflect what supporters have been telling us repeatedly: transparency, communication and early consultation matter.
Working Groups Agreed
To ensure we can make progress across multiple areas, FAB members were allocated to five Working Groups, based on interest and experience:
- Ticketing: KB, NH, SO, JM
- Fan Engagement & Communications: AC, JK, GA, MG
- Culture: CH, JK, SO, JM
- Accessibility: JM, SB
- Women’s Football: SB, SO, JM
Each group will now begin meeting independently, starting to shape their plans and priorities for the 2025/26 season.
Building Our Communication Channels
The FAB agreed that supporter-facing communication is a priority. We want to ensure fans hear from us clearly, regularly and independently.
The Board will therefore:
- Create an independent FAB website
- Establish official FAB email addresses
- Set up an internal document management and data repository
This work is already underway, and we expect to have initial platforms live in the coming weeks.
Other Updates
- The FAB agreed that Monday evenings work best for future internal meetings.
- A future meeting may be held at Villa Park before a Women’s home match, so we can support the team together and engage with supporters attending the fixture.
- Our next internal meeting is scheduled for 6 October 2025, held online.
A Final Word
This inaugural meeting was an important milestone in shaping how we work on behalf of Aston Villa supporters. Our mission is to represent you with clarity, independence and integrity — championing the issues that matter most, holding constructive conversations with the Club, and ensuring supporter perspectives help guide decision-making.
We look forward to updating you again soon as Working Groups progress and as we continue engaging with the Club on the issues highlighted above.
UTV — Prepared, one voice.