The Challenge of Rewarding Loyalty
Last season was the first in which County had operated a loyalty scheme to control the purchase of away tickets. Any such system is bound to be a blunt instrument but it was generally welcomed by the fans.
In the run-up to the coming season, it was unclear how the club were going to proceed with the system; they might even have started the points again from zero. At a meeting with the club, one member of the Co-op board offered to investigate how other clubs at our level dealt with the issue last season to assist County in reaching a decision.
Broadly, clubs fell into four categories:
• No formal loyalty scheme
Nine clubs had no rigid system in place. Priority could be based on season ticket status, paid membership, trust membership or previous purchase history:
This included Wimbledon, Blackpool, Burton Albion, Exeter City, Lincoln City, Northampton Town, Rotherham United, Stevenage and Wycombe Wanderers.
• Loyalty points schemes with no obvious expiry
Two clubs operated points systems which carried forward over multiple seasons, with no obvious reset period. While this type of system successfully rewards loyalty, it can prevent new or younger supporters getting a foothold:
Barnsley and Bradford City.
• Loyalty points schemes with restricted or rolling qualification periods
Eight clubs operated points systems but restricted how long points count for or used a rolling period to calculate eligibility. These schemes aim to balance rewarding regular supporters with avoiding permanent lock-out for newer fans:
Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Port Vale, Reading and Wigan Athletic.
• Paid membership or away-ticket schemes used for priority access
Four clubs used paid membership or specific away-ticket schemes to determine priority, sometimes alongside season ticket priority.
Bolton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town, Leyton Orient and Luton Town.
What can we conclude from the various ways in which loyalty is rewarded at our level?
Last season’s League One clubs had no consistent approach. Some rewarded long-term attendance through accumulated points, others limited points to recent seasons while many used simpler season ticket or membership-based priority. Several clubs applied loyalty or purchase-history rules only when demand for individual matches was expected to exceed supply.
The trend among clubs with formal schemes appears to be towards rolling points systems, which recognise regular attendance while keeping access more open to newer supporters.
Although County have now decided to carry last season’s points forward into 2026-27, they have kept their options open for 2027-28. Awarding loyalty points for non-football activities such as joining the membership scheme or attending events at the ground has been controversial in some quarters but the longer the loyalty scheme continues, the less effect these awards will have overall. Season ticket holders still have a great advantage which seems fair, given that they display loyalty by putting money up front without knowing how the season is going to pan out.
Article by John K Bilsbury
Photo credit Andrew Machin