FAW meeting with FAW Today minutes available Tomorrow

[corky]

I will put the minutes of Today's meeting on here Tomorrow

Agenda was

• Andorra report
• Bosnia and Cyprus report and observations
• Belgium ticket and general discussion
• Israel
• 3 match tournament ticket and membership update
• Points system
• Merchandising & Programmes
• FAW update
• FSF Cymru update
• Supporters Team
• Any other business including possible Friendlies

[ontheroadagain]

Oct 23, 2014 20:29:29 GMT corky said:

I will put the minutes of Today's meeting on here Tomorrow

Agenda was

• Andorra report
• Bosnia and Cyprus report and observations
• Belgium ticket and general discussion
• Israel
• 3 match tournament ticket and membership update
• Points system
• Merchandising & Programmes
• FAW update
• FSF Cymru update
• Supporters Team
• Any other business including possible Friendlies

Thanks corky.

[ontheroadagain]

For ease of reference here are the full minutes

FSF Cymru meeting with FAW Thursday October 23rd 2014 Cardiff City stadium

Agenda

• Andorra report
• Bosnia and Cyprus report and observations
• Belgium ticket and general discussion
• Israel
• 3 match tournament ticket and membership update
• Points system
• Merchandising & Programmes
• FAW update
• FSF Cymru update
• Supporters Team
• Any other business

Andorra report

We were informed of the 5,000 Euro fine, which was a minimum punishment, that UEFA had implemented but it came with a warning about future conduct.
The ground was not ready to stage games in reality and UEFA took that into account plus it was a non-violent pitch invasion

FSF Cymru were concerned about the severity of the 4 year ban that was imposed on one supporter who was not present at the court hearing and dealt with in his absence. FSF will be looking to organise a meeting soon with the South Wales police about the section 14b banning orders.

Other fans were given six month bans from Wales’ games by the FAW and there will be a section written on the FAW web site about the behaviour of members and possible short term bans that may have to be imposed at future matches. The bottom line is for fans not to go on the pitch during play under any circumstances. Bans from Wales’ games issued by law courts also mean bans from domestic games; this does not apply with short term FAW bans

No complaints about the Welsh stewards were made this trip, they were very helpful .The stewards in Belgium will be selected from South, West and North Wales.

Bosnia and Cyprus Feedback and observations

Everyone agreed there was no clear or reported inter- club rivalry and the atmospheres were great at both games although there were problems reported about traffic congestion and fans missing the kick off.

The back of the Canton stand was overcrowded due to fans wanting to congregate there instead of their ticketed seat, this was mainly to do with stewards keeping aisles clear rather than checking fans were in the correct seats. This was identified and was not a problem at the Cyprus game.

Programmes were difficult to find and there was no merchandise available, it was also felt that the ticket office could have been opened on the Sunday before the Cyprus game.
All the above points were noted by the FAW who intend to get merchandise and programmes into more outlets outside and inside the stadium and club shop for future games. It was also advised that the programme was too big and should revert back to the normal A5 format. The FAW explained that they produced only one programme for the two games because of the closeness of the fixtures and the fact that they could not get information about the Friday game processed in time for a separate programme on the Monday.

Regarding the opening of the stadium ticket office, FAW confirmed it had been open all day on the Saturday and sold approximately 1500 tickets. It had not been possible to fully staff the ticket office on the Sunday however tickets were on sale through the FAW website until about 3pm on the Monday and also available through the FAW dedicated booking line 0844 248 1876.

37 coaches arrived from mid and North Wales on the Friday and three on the Monday and there were a few problems with parking and access away from the stadium, this has been recognised and action is being taken to cope better in the future.

The crowds were very good at both games but Mark Evans said that the players and administration staff of the FAW had no intention of moving the group games to the Millennium stadium; they believe that would give the advantage to our opponents.

Belgium ticket and general discussion

There appears to be huge demand for this game and we have to ensure that the most loyal fans do not miss out. Lucy Mason explained that we had to agree our allocation many months ago and 2,400 tickets were allocated to us, since then the interest has increased greatly and the FAW tried to secure more tickets but the Belgians resisted and actually sold out all their home tickets in one day.
Members will only be allowed to apply for tickets and in total there are 1500 members who were members for the current and previous 2 qualifying campaigns (Euro 2016, 2014 World Cup and Euro 2012). After that the points system or number of matches attended will have to come into place with a closing date set for next Thursday October 30th.
Please note: Once the deadline date has passed, the remaining tickets, if any, will go on general sale to members only on a first come first served basis.
If it becomes oversubscribed and many fans are without tickets but still travelling, the Belgium authorities will be informed and hopefully there will be provision for all fans to be able to watch the game in the bars. Nearly all the bars around the Grand Place will be showing the game live

Israel

Fans are desperate for an update and some clear direction about this fixture to enable them to start booking their trips but again it’s hard to give constructive advice because the situation could easily change. Easy jet is offering refunds on flights if it’s deemed unsafe to fly to Israel but please get your own confirmation of this when booking.
The Israeli FA and authorities are desperate for us to attend the game there in the City of Haifa and will do everything they can to assist Welsh fans including tips for Hotels and travel from Tel Aviv, where they advise all fans to stay during the trip.
The FAW are doing a reconnaissance trip out there in December and more information will be available then.
Also keep an eye on the Know before you go website on the Israel section, the Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO) will keep it updated

3 match tournament ticket and membership update

We asked the FAW

To ease congestion and lower potential walk up crowds in the rest of this campaign would it be possible for them to introduce a 3 match tournament ticket
They had already been working on this and were happy to tell us that they will be available after the Belgium game for a reduced cost than buying individual tickets also allowing the holder to collect 4tournament points.
Membership will remain open and we are on 7,607 at the moment and we have sold 5,100 tournament tickets. 125 clubs and schools have registered as members of the 1876 Wales Supporters Club and purchased tickets for Wales v Bosnia and Wales v Cyprus under the Kickback Scheme. The FAW has rebated over £8,000 to those organisations to benefit grass root football off the back of these two home matches alone.

Points system

We have got an accurate record of points amassed by all Welsh fans who may apply for away tickets. These points’ totals will soon be available for all fans to see for themselves in the near future when they check their FAW account online.
Always remember to quote your membership number when buying tickets.
We expect the system to come into place for Bosnia and possibly Cyprus and with this in mind the FAW are considering that all fans that travel to Israel may be required to pick tickets up in Tel Aviv or at the ground rather than the UK to prove they travelled. This is to stop people buying tickets just to get points and then not travelling to games.

FAW update

A friendly match is trying to be arranged at home for March and another in the period between the end of this season and the Belgium home fixture in June. No away friendlies will be played in 2015 and we will not be playing Argentina away contrary to rumours.

FSF Cymru update

Our information Booklet is now complete and on the FSF website. We are also getting 1,000 hard copies to send out with match tickets. The FAW are also helping us get a Fan embassy flag and wear red for Wales badges which we can distribute free of charge to supporters.

Supporter’s team

The FAW have graciously agreed to donate a match kit to the team that can be used for the fans match in Brussels and the December trip to Belgium.

Any other business

The next meeting of this kind will be held in Wrexham and we hope to invite some fans from North Wales to give some different input into the meeting, we have to keep numbers realistic or nobody gets heard but we will be in contact with fans shortly and the meeting will be in December this year.

[sleepy]

Thanks for posting this. All good stuff and nice to be kept so well informed.

[cymro]

Thanka for this. Very interesting read. Especially the part about only 1500 fans having memberships for the past 3 campaigns. Should be safe for a Belgium ticket in that case. Also the news of a reduced tournament ticket is great. Will definitely be getting one as I'm in a position to buy one now. Also glad that we will be staying at the CCS. It's starting to feel like home.

[marsvolta]

Thanks for posting, interesting read