The minutes from the latest Albion Assembly meeting can be found below.
Albion Assembly (AA) Meeting - The Hawthorns.
Thursday, April 24 - 7pm.
The following minutes are a general summary of the meeting and contain no direct quotations.
Club staff in attendance: Managing Director, Mark Miles (MM), Director of Communications & Fan Engagement, Ian Skidmore (IS), Supporter Liaison Officer, Cindy Groen (CG), Head of Marketing, Rachel Rankin (RR), Head of Security, Match Day Operations & Facilities, Howard Lewis-Jones (HLJ), and Senior Communications Officer, Sean Watts (SW).
Apologies: Natalie Mansell, Aisha Patel, Dean Walton, Iain Bate, Kevin Candon, Ann Staniland, Matthew James, Chloe Lane & Amanda Hume.
INTRODUCTIONS
Ian Skidmore (IS) opened the meeting by paying respect to AA member Paul Kent, who sadly passed away in April, with members applauding the tribute.
IS then formally introduced the club staff in attendance, before reading out the list of apologies and passing over to Rob Lake (RL).
THE ALBION FOUNDATION (TAF)
RL said their 2024/25 Foundation Day fixture - the men’s game against Sunderland - went really well. Fundraising was strong and the occasion highlighted their ‘see us to believe us’ campaign through engaging activities both pre-match and at half-time.
He also spoke about the blind team’s recent success, with them having won the National League, alongside the Powerchair team, who are top of their division.
RL revealed Albion's legends game against Birmingham City, too, and confirmed they will get a reasonable portion of the money collected from that.
He then told members how proud the Foundation was to see Smethwick-born 16-year-old Asiah Janny win an award at the club’s end of season dinner, saying it proved their ‘go local’ campaign is working.
Lastly, he updated members on fundraising events - most notably the trip to Petra raising £75,000.
FAN ADVISTORY BOARD (FAB)
IS thanked the working group for their involvement as the club continues forming its Fan Advisory Board.
He explained the working group had worked with the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) to produce a constitution, which includes a terms of reference, and explained the process of how the nine FAB members will be appointed, which is in line with FSA guidelines. IS confirmed further details will be made public in the summer, with an aim of the FAB being fully established by the end of 2025.
GOVERNANCE
MM confirmed the accounts for West Bromwich Albion Football Club Limited and West Bromwich Albion Group were submitted to Companies House ahead of the March deadline, and Group shareholders have received their copies.
He added that the AGM for Group, held on Wednesday, April 16 and chaired by Shilen Patel, went well, with around 100 shareholders present.
FOOTBALL
Men
MM admitted it had been a disappointing end to the season, and said Albion made the decision to part ways with Tony Mowbray following a poor spell of results. He added that the club immediately started the process – led by Sporting Director Andrew Nestor – to find a new head coach. A scenario he said the club is always prepared for.
Members asked questions about how long the process will take, what they were looking for, player contract expirations, and other subjects. MM answered by emphasising the club would complete a comprehensive recruitment process and select the person they thought was best to take the club forward - and also explained there will undoubtedly be adjustments to the squad during the summer.
Women
MM said the Birmingham County FA Challenge Cup Final was a great way to cap off a good season of progression for the women’s team.
He added that the club are looking to finalise a 2025/26 venue, and an announcement will be made regarding that as soon as it’s finalised.
Academy
MM told members 2024/25 had been a successful campaign for the club’s Academy - who were completing their signing evening for scholars on the same night. Mark stated he was pleased with the work Albion had done in securing the future of their young players.
Lastly, he celebrated the England v Portugal U21 international fixture that was held at The Hawthorns. He highlighted the excellent atmosphere and record-high ticket sales for an U21 friendly away from Wembley among various reasons as to why the event thrived.
TICKETS
IS confirmed early bird season ticket sales are positive, and that there are additionally a few hundred people on a waiting list.
He said the Friday coffee mornings in the Ticket Office had helped supporters who were worried about the move to digital, and urged anyone in a similar position to go along and seek their assistance anytime throughout the summer.
Some members who were not at the previous AA meeting asked questions on safe standing, stilecards and several subjects which had been covered in the February assembly or season ticket website story.
FACILITIES
Howard Lewis-Jones (HLJ) gave an update on two major projects. He confirmed the stadium refurbishment had started and was making good progress, and that drilling had taken place for the instillation of safe standing, which should be completed by the end of May.
He explained other activities will occur during the break, such as a general clean/paint, and the Millichip Suite renovation (details available here).
Members followed up with questions about facilities for transgender fans. This prompted an extended, heartening discussion around how The Hawthorns is open to everyone - regardless of a person’s race, gender or sexual orientation.
Regarding traffic issues, MM said cameras were hopefully being introduced at the nearby motorway island to further help traffic issues. And a point was raised around potential initiatives to keep supporters in the stadium for 90 minutes and beyond the match, such as areas to consume food and drink. MM confirmed this was being looked into.
Further topics covered included the current relaying of training pitches, improved behaviour at away fixtures, and a recent incident involving a Sunderland supporter near the ground - which the club was encouraging West Midlands Police to pursue.
Finally, HLJ asked members to feed back any facilities or safety improvements ahead of next year - and said they would continue recruiting and training stewards over the summer, in order to keep the quality levels high.
SOCIAL MEDIA MODERATION
The moderation of Albion’s social media channels was raised. IS said this is something the club takes incredibly seriously and regularly reports comments which breach the social media rules of respective sites. He added that the club also has a track record of reporting discriminatory comments to its designated football hate crime officer, helping to secure the first custodial sentence for the racial abuse of a footballer online in the UK.
IS acknowledged that the club cannot police the comments of all supporters online and urged fans to report any potential hate crime to the police. IS said that if a supporter is in any doubt as to whether a comment is a hate crime they should report it to the police, so the appropriate legal action is taken. For more information on reporting a hate crime, click here.
Following an additional question, IS added that the club cannot resolve online disputes between supporters regarding political opinion – and can only report comments that are a hate crime in law – or that breach the rules of the respective social media site. Since the meeting, IS has contacted other clubs to establish how they moderate social media. He will report back his findings at the next Albion Assembly meeting.
AOB
Members quizzed club staff on the end of season awards night - praising the evening while offering numerous opinions around the pricing and scheduling.
Final discussion points covered involved the Foundation’s Great Escape Pukka Pie event - which RL said tickets had sold well for - and a new hospitality logo that had been used in some graphics. Rachel Rankin said this was nothing bigger than a logo to be used for hospitality only.
Date of next meeting: TBC.