1457 Charlton supporters responded to the annual CAST survey of season ticket intentions and general attitudes towards the club. The survey ran from March 3^rd to March 25^th.

Results of season ticket intentions and expectations for this season were published last week:

https://www.castrust.org/2025/04/optimism-is-growing/

This week we report on responses to The Addicks Charter and the club's Fan Engagement Plan.

The Addicks' Charter was developed during and after the open fans' meeting in December 2022 and revised following an all fans survey in April/May 2023. It articulates what Charlton fans expect for our club and from its owners:

https://www.castrust.org/the-addicks-charter/

Survey respondents were asked to rank what were the most important points in the Addicks' Charter to them. The top four priorities currently are:

1. The Academy is supported and developed as part of our DNA
2. The club would not change any of our core traditions - red and white home colours, playing at The Valley, running out to The Red, Red, Robin - without the definitive consent of fans
3. There is a clear, considered and costed plan to reunite ownership of The Valley & training ground with the football club
4. It is affordable for fans to watch and attend matches

When asked to think about how Charlton Athletic are currently doing right now on these priorities:

• The Academy is supported and developed as part of our DNA - 95% agree
• The club would not change any of our core traditions - red and white home colours, playing at The Valley, running out to The Red, Red, Robin - without the definitive consent of fans - 78% agree
• There is a clear, considered and costed plan to reunite ownership of The Valley & training ground with the football club  - 39% agree
• It is affordable for fans to watch and attend matches - 72% agree

It is clear from the above that there is broad agreement that the club is doing well on three of the top priorities at present with a strong endorsement of performance on the top priority - The Academy.  However there is little confidence that there is any progress in bringing The Valley & training ground back into club ownership.

The Addicks Charter includes a further six expectations:

• Charlton’s community and family values are at the heart of the club and exemplified by Charlton Athletic Community Trust (93% agree CAFC doing right now)
• All are welcome and respected (94% agree)
• The club is run from The Valley by a competent and experienced CEO with a board of directors which follows legal and best practice governance principles (68% agree)
• Engagement with the community, partners, sponsors and businesses enables all to thrive (83% agree)
• The club involves, listens to, learns from and feeds back to fans (68% agree)
• Men’s & women’s team managers are given freedom to build squads and play to win without day-to-day ownership interference in on-the-field matters (81% agree)

The above suggests that there is still some work to do to convince supporters of the competence and integrity of the club's management. We note that recruitment of a new CEO is currently underway. There is also room for improvement on engagement with fans.

It is timely therefore that the survey asked respondents about the new Fan Engagement Plan and Charlton Athletic Advisory Board.

https://www.charltonafc.com/fans/fan-engagement-framework

We asked whether:

• Current club ownership is more committed to fan engagement than recent owners – 77% agree; 7% disagree, 16% don't know.
• The directors and SMT are honest and transparent with fanbase – 45% agree; 20% disagree, 35% don't know
• It’s all just lip service – 24% agree; 48% disagree, 29% don't know
• If I wish to raise an issue I know who to contact at club – 38% agree; 37% disagree, 26% don't know.
• The club responds quickly to issues raised by fans – 32% agree; 24% disagree, 44% don't know
• Charlton’s fan engagement among the best in EFL – 43% agree; 12% disagree, 45% don't know
• If Addicks abuse other Addicks, they are letting the club down –91% agree; A, 5% disagree, 4% don't know

Two thirds of respondents were not clear about who to contact at the club about issues and a quarter thought that the club did not respond quickly to issues raised. Even though three quarters agreed that the current club ownership is more committed to fan engagement, a quarter thought that the Fan Engagement Plan and Advisory Board were just lip service.

There is recognition of progress being made, while clearly work still to do to in raising the profile of the Fan Engagement Plan and enhancing the credibility of its contents.

The vast majority (91%) agreed that Addicks abusing other Addicks was letting the club down.

Of the 1457 respondents to the survey:

• 12% under 34
• 20%  35-54
• 54%  55-74
• 14%  75+
• 88% are male
• 60% are CAST members
• 58% currently have a season ticket
• 79% live in South East England (including 12% within Royal Borough of Greenwich)
• 17% live elsewhere in the UK. 4% live abroad.
• 45% attend The Valley by public transport
• 40% attend The Valley by car