Wolves will introduce a revised booking fee structure for match-by-match tickets with immediate effect, following clarification from the EFL over regulations which apply to Championship clubs.
Under the new structure, the club’s existing £1 transaction fee on away ticket purchases will be removed, while a single 50p-per-ticket booking fee will apply consistently to both home and away match tickets.
The changes follow several weeks of discussions between Wolves and the EFL regarding Regulation 35.7.4, which requires clubs applying booking or transaction fees to away tickets to charge exactly the same fees on tickets for their own home matches.
Wolves had previously charged a 50p booking fee per away ticket, plus a £1 transaction fee, reflecting the costs associated with administering and processing individual ticket sales on behalf of another club. No equivalent charges were applied to home match tickets.
Having returned to the EFL this season, Wolves sought clarification over the application of the regulation and explored whether the club’s existing approach could be retained without introducing a booking fee for home tickets.
However, the EFL has confirmed that if Wolves continue to charge fees when selling away tickets, the same charging structure must apply to home match tickets.
The club therefore reviewed all available options before agreeing a revised structure designed to limit the financial impact on supporters while continuing to contribute towards the costs associated with providing the ticketing service.
Rather than extending the existing away ticket charging structure to home tickets, Wolves will remove the £1 transaction fee completely and introduce one consistent booking fee of 50p per match ticket.
As a result, supporters purchasing away tickets will pay less than under the club’s previous structure. For example, a supporter purchasing one away ticket will now pay 50p in fees rather than £1.50, while a supporter purchasing four away tickets in a single transaction will pay £2 rather than the previous £3.
The club will also refund the £1 transaction fees already paid by supporters when purchasing away match tickets this season. These will be automatically returned as credit to the relevant supporter’s ticketing account and can be redeemed against future ticket purchases, with supporters not required to take any action.
However, the 50p fee will now also apply to all home match-by-match tickets, which has been set below the equivalent charges applied by the majority of Championship clubs.
James Davies, head of ticketing at Wolves, said: “We’ve spent a number of weeks discussing this regulation with the EFL, because our preference was to retain our existing model.
“However, the EFL have confirmed that if we continue to charge fees when selling away tickets, the same charging structure must apply to home match tickets. We therefore looked carefully at all of the options available to us.
“There are a number of costs associated with administering and processing individual match ticket sales and, having reviewed the position, we felt the best approach was to significantly simplify and reduce the existing structure.
“We have therefore removed the £1 transaction fee completely and introduced one consistent 50p fee per match ticket. That means supporters buying away tickets will pay less than they have previously, while the fee applying to home tickets has been kept as low as possible and below the equivalent charge applied by the majority of Championship clubs."
The revised structure will apply to all match-by-match home and away ticket purchases with immediate effect.
