Thomas Sandgaard's letter to supporters as season tickets go on sale

 

Season tickets for the 2022/23 campaign will go on sale at 10.30am on Saturday, April 2nd. Please see below a letter from Owner, Thomas Sandgaard, to Charlton supporters, which is included in the club's season-ticket brochure.

Dear Charlton Supporters,

To start, I want to thank you all for your fantastic support this season. A year ago, we were just starting to welcome supporters back to The Valley. The presence of so many fans, made that first game of the 2021/22 season at The Valley against Sheffield Wednesday incredibly special.

Since the opening match, we’ve had some memorable days on the pitch, with the game against Plymouth Argyle instantly springing to mind. It was great to see the stadium rocking that day and the team securing three points. It was a day I think we all enjoyed and wanted to see more just like it.  

Unfortunately, there haven’t been enough days like that home and away this season, and it certainly hasn’t been what we set out to achieve. Still, you have supported Charlton. You have supported our men’s and women’s teams. Many have supported our academy through Valley Gold and cheered on our U23s and U18s. Each of our teams have had some great runs!

With costs going up in everyone’s everyday life, it was important to us that your Charlton season ticket was one that you could get, without an increase. For that reason, we have frozen season-ticket prices during our early-bird phase.

With the club also experiencing the impact of higher prices with inflation, the price of a season ticket and match-to-match tickets will be higher than last year, but only after the early-bird phase. You have asked for more transparency around pricing after the early-bird period, and we’ve provided the details in our season-ticket brochure and around the launch. The price increase only impacts purchases made after the early-bird period.  

Charlton have a history of offering affordable football, and our early pricing offers one of the most affordable season tickets in the division. Additionally, we’re offering a V12 Finance option, so supporters may purchase their 2022/23 season tickets and pay over either four or 10 months. 

Everyone at the club is intently focused on increasing the probability that we all get what we want next season – promotion. We are putting things in place as we look towards the 2022/23 season:

  • We have a talented, young Manager in Johnnie Jackson
  • We have good players in the squad on long-term deals, who are building blocks for us to add to in the summer window
  • We are adding to our coaching staff to ensure players can develop and improve through the season
  • We are investing in infrastructure as we work towards Category One academy status 
  • We have invested in medical equipment and staff to help improve prevention and management of injuries

As well as investments on the pitch, we are also looking to instil a “Premier League-ready” mentality off the pitch.

  • We are investing in new roles as well as hiring more staff at The Valley to improve our responsiveness and care of season-ticket holders as well as all fans
  • We are focused on responding more quickly and resolving complaints and queries we receive
  • We are engaging in more effective initiatives to grow our fanbase in the UK and globally 
  • We have fantastic new sponsorship partners, including RSK, supporting our teams 
  • We will continue to invest and improve the CharltonTV experience and will continue to offer the best live streaming product in the EFL
  • We will make continuous improvements with our catering services and offerings on matchdays – don’t forget to check out the very popular Upbeats Kitchen located in the Covered End.

I know there are always more opportunities for improvement, and we want you to be a part of making every matchday experience great both at The Valley and away from home. If you have feedback or ideas to share, please email us at: fans@cafc.co.uk.

As I am sure you all know, we will continue to do all we can to Fill The Valley, and we want to put a team on the pitch, every match, that plays winning, attractive, exciting football. We know it’s winning matches that will fill the 27,111 seats at The Valley. Our Fill The Valley campaign got off to an excellent start against Plymouth and, while we had some good momentum, we learned a lot from the initiatives that didn’t work so well. We appreciate hearing and learning from the season-ticket holders who’ve shared their understandable frustration. Season-ticket holders are a vital component of our club, and we have put things in place so you are not frustrated by future initiatives.  

My goal remains to Fill The Valley, and I still want to give as many people as possible, from all over, the opportunity to visit The Valley for the first time. It’s an incredible place, and a great matchday is something everyone should experience. For next season, ticket initiatives will be capped and will target select groups (young fans through schools, grassroots football clubs, football camps, key workers, community trust participants, and local community charitable groups). We will designate certain blocks, where seats are often empty, for these groups to ensure that any new supporters do not prevent our valued season-ticket holders from getting the seats they need or want for family or friends. Ticket distributions will be monitored, with closer follow-up with attendees as we look to turn them into long-term, paying, and passionate attending fans.  

We’re focused on building a much-improved 2022/23 season, and we want you to be part of it. As Charlton supporters, you have played a critical role in the club’s history, whether it be battling to return to The Valley, overcoming uncertain ownership changes, or getting loud in the Covered End to cheer the team to victory. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you next season to support our promotion goal. We are Charlton. 

Up the Addicks! 

Thomas Sandgaard

Click here to purchase your 2022/23 season ticket from 10.30am on Saturday, April 2nd.

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