Welcome to the new online home of the Aston Villa Fan Advisory Board (FAB) — and thank you for being here.
Today marks 100 days since our first official meeting with the Club on 26th August, and we wanted to take a moment to share what we’ve achieved, what we’re building, and how you — the heart and voice of Aston Villa — can get involved.
These first three months have been busy, collaborative and energising. Most importantly, they’ve shown us what Villa fans have always known: when supporters come together with purpose, we can achieve big things.
What We’ve Achieved in Our First 100 Days
1. Building strong foundations with the Club
We’ve now met with senior leadership and various teams across ticketing, finance, communications, and supporter services. These early conversations have helped establish trust, clarify expectations, and set up the structured, transparent dialogue required under the Premier League Fan Engagement Standard (FES) and soon the Independent Football Regulator (IFR).
2. Establishing five Working Groups
To ensure in-depth focus across key priority areas, we created five specialist groups:
Each group has already begun work, setting agendas, identifying early issues, and developing longer-term plans with relevant Club staff.
3. Putting Governance in Place: Electing Our Leadership & Group Leads
A strong structure is essential for delivering real impact, so one of our first major steps was establishing clear internal governance.
- Chair: Karl Bowater — bringing experience, professionalism, and a level-headed approach to steering Board priorities and keeping discussions focused and constructive.
- Vice Chair: Nick Hoskins — offering deep knowledge of supporter issues, strong organisational skills, and excellent attention to detail.
- Working Group Leads:
- Accessibility: Joanne McKibbens — bringing lived experience, insight, and a determination to ensure all fans can experience Villa Park with dignity and ease.
- Culture: Craig Hamilton — with expertise in culture, heritage, creativity and community engagement.
- Fan Engagement & Communication: Andy Carlill — with strong professional experience in comms, messaging, and supporter-facing work.
- Ticketing: Sue — bringing analytical skills, calm judgement, and a deep understanding of the football governance landscape.
- Women’s Football: Sarah Breslin — a passionate advocate for the women’s game, with experience supporting women’s football initiatives.
Agreeing this structure early has ensured that every piece of work has a clear owner, a clear route for escalation, and a clear voice representing fans across different areas of expertise.
4. Creating a shared mission: Prepared… One Voice and launching this website
We agreed a shared motto and set of principles that anchor all our work:
- listening to supporters
- engaging widely with all fan groups
- challenging the Club respectfully when needed
- supporting the Club where it benefits fans and our future
We’ll bring all of this together on this website, a central place for updates, minutes, surveys, working group activity and ways to get involved — an important step towards transparency and accessibility.
5. Beginning major long-term strategic work
We’ve started preparing for the new era of football governance — including the IFR — by initiating work on:
- heritage protection
- fan culture visibility
- ticketing transparency
- price fairness, aligned with the FSA’s Price Freeze initiative
- issue tracking and reporting
- women’s football development
- inclusive matchday experience planning
These long-term projects will run throughout the season and beyond.
..and we’ve also had some small ‘wins’
While much of our work is long-term and structural, we’ve also made early progress on several small but meaningful improvements:
- Lower Grounds availability – The Lower Grounds now available during half-time
- Changes to Ticketing FAQs – Clarification of issues around allocations, purchasing windows, etc.
- Removal of European Away Trip paperwork – Reducing the administrative burden on fans ahead of European travel
- Agreed a programme of FAB Matchday clinics – A series of events where supporters can meet with FAB to discuss issues
- Signed the FSA Price Freeze – Part of ongoing discussions with the club over pricing
These are stepping stones — and they matter, because they show the process is working.
How You Can Get Involved
Join the FAB Mailing List
This is the best way to:
- hear about upcoming surveys
- get updates from each Working Group
- contribute to consultations
- see what’s changing and why
Your voice genuinely shapes our work.
Tell us what matters to you
Our surveys, listening sessions, and consultation events will run throughout the season. Please make your voice heard — it strengthens our case and ensures all parts of the fanbase are represented.
Talk to us at the FAB Matchday clinics
We have agreed with the club to run regular matchday clinics where supporters can meet with us face-to-face to share ideas, voice concerns, and get involved with our initiatives.
Spread the word
The FAB wants to create a strong network of Villa fans. Please let other Villa fans know about this site, and encourage them to get involved.
Thank You — and Up the Villa
These first 100 days have shown us that fans are not just stakeholders — we are a community with a voice, a history and a future worth protecting.
We’re proud of the work so far, excited for what’s coming next, and grateful to every supporter who has shown interest, shared feedback or offered help.
Please explore the site, sign up to stay informed, and get in touch if you can support the work. Together we can make sure that Aston Villa continues to lead the way in fan engagement — prepared… one voice.
Up the Villa.