The minutes from the latest Albion Assembly meeting can be found below.
Albion Assembly (AA) meeting - The Hawthorns.
Thursday, September 24, 2026 - 7pm.
The following minutes are a general summary of the meeting and contain no direct quotations.
Club staff in attendance: Ian Skidmore (Chief of Staff & Communications Officer), Sam Jeffery (Chief Business Officer), Chris Harris (Director of Operations & SHE (Safety, Health & Environment)), Gary Wallis (Head of Event Safety & Security), Rob Lake (Director, The Albion Foundation), Sean Watts (Head of Media Relations).
Apologies: Aisha Patel, Karen Geddes, Sandra Hughes, Lizzie Whale, Claire Byatt, Dean Walton, Matt James and Amanda Hume.
Resignations: Chris Jones.
INTRODUCTIONS
Ian Skidmore (IS) opened the meeting, mentioned the apologies, and noted the low turnout from AA members on the night. Although the Assembly’s constitution does not require a minimum number of votes, IS asked those in attendance if they were still happy to complete the planned election of officers. AA members decided unanimously to proceed with the election as planned.
IS also announced the resignation of Chris Jones. He thanked him for his long-standing contributions as he had been a member since the launch of the AA.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
All members present voted for a Fan Co-Chair, Vice-Chair and Membership Secretary.
Richard Jefferson acted as the adjudicator for the vote. IS then verified the results and informed the Assembly of the results.
Matt James was elected as Fan Co-Chair.
Rebecca Collings was elected as Vice-Chair.
Lizzie Whale was elected as Membership Secretary.
IS congratulated all three and then introduced the next agenda item, offering Chief Business Officer Sam Jeffery (SJ) a warm welcome and handing over to him.
COMMERCIAL
SJ summarised his role and gave an update on the club’s commercial activity. He described himself as a forceful optimist who was hard working and always glass half full. He explained that his first six months at the club had been busy, starting with a discovery phase - where he got to know West Bromwich Albion, its partners, and its processes.
He felt pragmatism was key over the summer because they wanted to get a lot done quickly. This included updating the branding, as last season was ‘125’ specific, as well as assessing and recruiting staff to expand the partnership and commercial teams. The thought process was that more sales people should lead to quicker revenue growth - which is important in the age of SCR (Squad Cost Ratio).
SJ said they had enjoyed some early wins, particularly with DPD - a significant partnership that has scope to grow. They had made strides in connecting well with other departments across the football club, too, and were in the first phase of a brand evolution - which would become visible over the coming months. He talked about wanting to be more ambitious with The Hawthorns, potentially getting it ready for concerts and other events.
Additionally, he outlined the strategy for retail and marketing. He praised the kits for this season, revealing sales were up in the away and third strips from last year. He said he wants to encourage more entrepreneurialism going forward, and also explore international markets - such as the USA, India, and countries where Albion may receive increased interest in its players, like Norway.
Members quizzed SJ on a variety of topics, including advertising opportunities around the outside of the stadium, the club’s current partnerships with kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors, partnership strategies, future stadium developments, and hospitality ideas. A discussion also took place regarding the delicate subject of which organisations Albion should and should not partner with, and how the club would balance the desire for their investment alongside its values. SJ described the process, saying the ownership group signs off on all partnership agreements and they make considered decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Finally, the AA asked if progress had been made between the EFL and the Premier League on a new deal. IS confirmed negotiations are ongoing, but they do not know a timescale for completion.
FACILITIES
IS handed over to Chris Harris (CH). He told members that the new PA System had been delivered on time, with no incidents or accidents. He reflected on the first game (Burnley) and suggestions it was initially too loud. CH said they were not surprised by the initial reaction as they needed to start loud in order to measure the quality and spread of the sound. After taking feedback on board, they made adjustments for the following games. This then seemed to work as they haven’t had any formal complaints since.
He explained the nuances around how the sound is affected by a variety of things, including how many people are in the stadium bowl at the time and differences between where supporters are sat. But CH believes the sound quality is noticeably better, and they think they have hit the right spot now - with no adjustments planned before the Birmingham fixture.
Members congratulated the club for implementing the new system and praised the addition of Andy Gulch as the new DJ. They did mention that interviewees still aren’t always clearly heard, and CH said that may be a problem regarding how guests hold the microphone - which they would continue trying to rectify. The AA also asked whether cap presentations could be filmed, which IS said the club would look into, but the priority is for them to be enjoyed live on a matchday.
Lastly, CH confirmed solar panels are in the process of being put on the training ground and stadium roofs. He said the legal side had all been completed, and they just needed to install them during the least disruptive periods. He explained how it would make a made difference to Albion’s continued sustainability drive, which was starting to produce really encouraging results.
TICKETING, SAFETY & SECURITY
IS and GW both spoke about the new measures that had been implemented to tackle concession ticket misuse. IS began by apologising for the inconvenience caused to some supporters at the Burnley game. He said the new system was put in ahead of that first home fixture - and although some supporters experienced frustrating queuing issues, GW said the reasons why it happened were identified and rectified by the team before the next match versus Charlton. He mentioned feedback since the opening day was very positive after the initial issues.
IS explained how the club’s investment in the new scanners and other actions had already been offset by paid upgrades. Those numbers behind the upgrades proved what they expected regarding how widespread the issue was, but it also demonstrated offenders now understood there were now consequences that would be enforced.
Next, IS raised the current loyalty points structure, which had been brought up in meetings with the Fan Advisory Board and Independent Supporters’ Trust, too. He suggested a joint working group to review it and explore other avenues that could be applied in the future, however no changes would be made this season.
Follow-up discussions were held on the above subjects, alongside a potential concern involving a small number of fans potentially using disabled entrances, which GW said he would investigate. He also took questions on both home and away stewarding.
GOVERNANCE
IS read out a pre-prepared statement on behalf of Executive Director, Mark Miles, who was not able to attend the Assembly. It covered both the Governance and Football sections of the agenda.
He spoke about the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) - which includes IS, SJ, RL, CH and other senior leaders - now being well established. He explained the club management had rolled out a business framework called EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). MM returned to the club being supportive of the ongoing talks between the EFL and the Premier League. And, lastly, he confirmed that (SCR) rules were in place for the 2026/27 Sky Bet Championship season, and reassured members that Albion are fully compliant this year and expect to be in the coming campaigns.
FOOTBALL
Men
MM said the men had completed a reasonably good start to the 2026/27 campaign. Clearly, they would have liked to have earned a result in the final game before the international break, but otherwise the points tally after eight games was encouraging. He recounted that it was a busy summer for the club, supporting James Morrison with the addition of new staff, 10 first-team players, and contract renewals for Max O’Leary, Callum Styles, Ousmane Diakite and Harry Whitwell.
Members asked if they had spending room for the January transfer window. IS reiterated they are compliant with the rules and have budgeted appropriately if there is a need to do business.
Women
MM offered congratulations to Siobhan Hodgetts-Still following the birth of her son, and said interim head coach Charlie Fripp was doing an outstanding job while she is on maternity leave. At the time of the meeting, the women had won five consecutive matches across all competitions.
The women will continue to play at the Alexander Stadium for the majority of their home matches this season, MM added, with a number of games to also be played at The Hawthorns. He also said the women’s under-18s programme was officially now under the club’s umbrella, and was being launched publicly.
Members questioned how the club handles any potential bad behaviour online towards women’s players. IS stated they take the matter very seriously and constantly monitor all social media channels. To further highlight this, Sean Watts confirmed communications staff had spent several hours moderating a recent high-profile post on the women’s channels, and that they were in regular dialogue with the organisation Her Game Too. GW confirmed he also looks into anything that is reported, and he talks to Albion’s dedicated football police officers if he believes anything may meet a crime threshold - such as violence towards women & girls or malicious communications.
Academy
Next, MM expressed his delight at the academy thriving, citing a recent report which rated Albion highly - among the top 10 in England - in their ability to produce players for senior football. He gave credit to the academy’s leaders, and was pleased that graduate Harry Whitwell signed his new deal.
MM explained the improvements made in developing a pathway into the first-team - which Technical Director Dominic Price was working on. He also said he was encouraged by the quality coming through, which was backed-up by the amount of players chosen for international duty. And, finally, he highlighted the U16 team - who were the only non-Premier League club to qualify for the Premier League International Tournament in Spain, which is another testament to the academy’s work.
THE ALBION FOUNDATION (TAF)
Rob Lake (RL) gave an update on the Foundation. He explained how they restructured over the summer, with an increased focus on staff retention for the long-term good of the organisation.
He then described their recent strategy launch as one of the proudest moments during his time at the Foundation. The day gave them a platform to showcase what they’re about, tell powerful stories, and get people to fall in love with TAF. They received a fantastic response, and he read out some positive feedback from a local headteacher who mentioned how special their work in the community is. CH described the event as a factory of happiness.
RL continued on to the Foundation’s dedicated matchday - which took place a few days after their strategy launch. He paid tribute to Deputy Director, Jon Ward, and the staff for their idea and efforts in arranging the spectacular stadium-wide montage, and said the 25,000 clappers used to create it helped them reach more people than usual because the strategy was printed on each one.
Ultimately, RL said they had hit the ground running and needed to now execute their strategy over the coming years. AA members said the whole thing was excellent and a testament to the Foundation’s great team.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Members began the AOB section by noting a few upcoming anniversaries - including the club’s 150th year, the 60th anniversary of Albion’s 1968 FA Cup win, and 50 years since the Three Degrees first played together. IS said they plan to celebrate them all, but ideas for the 150th anniversary were already being put in place, and more detailed planning would step-up over the course of this season and next. The AA asked if they could help and IS said yes, in time, alongside the Independent Supporters’ Trust.
They also asked if Club Historian Dave Bowler was still working on an online Albion archive project. IS confirmed he was, but the scale was such that it would take time to compile everything.
Opinions were offered regarding food and drink in the concourse - containing both praise and constructive comments. Members requested a further, longer discussion on the topic in the future. They agreed they would try and experience the different offerings on matchdays over the coming months first.
Date of next meeting: TBC.