Dear Charlton Athletic Supporters' Trust,

Thank you for getting in touch. We appreciate the role CAST plays in representing supporters and its continued commitment to helping Charlton Athletic move forward.

We recognise that a number of the points raised reflect genuine concerns shared by some supporters and, in areas such as catering and elements of the matchday experience, there are improvements we know we need to make. We therefore welcome the opportunity to address these points directly.

As you know, our collective aim is for Charlton to become the most cohesive and sustainable community-driven club in the UK competing at an elite level. We are pleased with the progress made across the club over the last three years and are grateful to the supporters who have played an important part in that journey.

While not every decision will be popular and we will not get everything right all of the time, every decision is taken with the best interests of the club at heart, in the context of our five-year plan and as much as possible informed by data and evidence. With that in mind, we have responded to the points raised in your letter below.

The introduction of the bag policy is about making matchdays safer for everyone attending The Valley and we appreciate members of your board working alongside club staff and Fan Advocates to review the initial proposals.

Following those discussions, updates to the policy were communicated yesterday. As part of that, we are subsidising the Bag Drop service, which comes at a cost to the club. As with all areas of the club's operation, we must carefully manage increasing costs and cannot absorb every additional expense indefinitely.

The club will review the policy with supporter representatives ahead of the 2027/28 season following the expected full implementation of Martyn's Law in spring 2027.

We are pleased that, through constructive dialogue with you and the Fan Advocates, changes could be made ahead of Saturday's game against Bristol City.

The first four home fixtures have highlighted some challenges with our matchday catering operation and we would like to update supporters on the work already underway to improve the experience at The Valley.

We recognise that elements of the catering operation have not consistently met the standards supporters rightly expect, particularly around queue times, speed of service and the reliability of key beer dispense systems. We understand the frustration this has caused and are committed to delivering a better and more consistent service.

At the end of the previous catering contract in May, it was clear that elements of the existing infrastructure, particularly cellar cooling, beer dispense and EPOS systems, required significant improvement and investment. With a limited summer window to complete the necessary works, it was not possible to deliver every improvement before the start of the season. However, considerable work has already taken place, with further investment now underway.

A specialist contractor has been appointed to upgrade the cellar cooling and beer dispense infrastructure, with the aim of improving both reliability and beer quality. Our EPOS and till systems have also been upgraded.

We are continuing to develop a back-pour drinks dispense model across the stadium to increase speed of service, alongside investment in food infrastructure to improve the quality, consistency and choice of the food offer. We have also strengthened the catering management team, with a clear operational focus on service, quality and consistency.

Some improvements can be delivered quickly, while others require more significant infrastructure works and investment. Supporters will therefore continue to see changes and improvements as the season progresses.

We are also finalising a new long-term catering agreement, which will bring additional expertise, investment and clear performance measures designed to improve both service standards and the overall matchday experience.

We appreciate the feedback received from supporters during the opening fixtures. Supporters can continue to share their views through matchday surveys or directly via fans@cafc.co.uk. We will continue to listen, invest and make improvements with the aim of delivering a faster, more reliable and higher-quality catering experience at The Valley.

We all want to see more supporters attending matches and helping create the best possible atmosphere at The Valley. Increasing ticketing revenue remains an important part of supporting the club's continued growth and competitiveness. Our footballing investment has increased considerably since the end of last season through new signings and improved contracts for key players. Growing ticketing revenue is one of the ways we can support that investment while remaining financially sustainable.

We welcome the suggestion of a task-and-complete group focused on long-term attendance growth and will work through the Charlton Advisory Board to establish this.

While a season ticket remains the best-value way to support the team at The Valley, and our entry-level match ticket pricing is competitive for the division, we recognise that these options are not right for everyone. That is why we continue to introduce flexible offers such as our Family Bundle, the new Silver Saver package and the upcoming two-game bundle, giving supporters more opportunities to watch Charlton while enjoying significant savings.

Alongside this, our Fan Growth team continues to develop initiatives designed to attract and retain new supporters, including the expansion of our Schools Partnership programme.

The club shop, both online and at The Valley, remains managed directly by the club through our retail team, who are supported by Levy Merchandising.

Sales have increased significantly compared with last season, which has created some challenges around stock availability, particularly for high-demand items such as the away shirt.

While availability issues are understandably frustrating, the increase in demand reflects the continued growth in supporter engagement and retail sales across the club.

We recognise that some supporters have experienced delays and service issues, which is frustrating and not the standard we expect to deliver. The team has worked hard to resolve issues as quickly as possible and improve the customer experience.

If any supporter is still experiencing difficulties, we would encourage them to contactfans@cafc.co.uk so their case can be directed to the appropriate team for resolution.

We have been pleased with the initial rollout of digital and print-at-home away ticketing.

While feedback and reported issues have been limited relative to the volume of tickets issued, including for high-demand fixtures such as Tottenham Hotspur and Watford, we recognise that any difficulty in accessing tickets can be frustrating for those affected.

Where issues have arisen, our ticket office team has worked quickly to assist supporters and provide solutions.

We welcome further feedback as the trial continues and remain confident that the system is operating effectively and in line with relevant requirements.

We have been pleased with the improvements made around supporter liaison in recent months, including the introduction of the Supporter Liaison Desk on matchdays.

Alongside this, fans@cafc.co.uk remains the primary point of contact for supporter enquiries, enabling issues to be directed quickly to the appropriate department. The Charlton Advisory Board, Fan Advocates and regular supporter engagement channels also play an important role in ensuring feedback is heard and acted upon. Recent supporter feedback has directly informed changes across a number of areas of the matchday experience, including ticketing, catering and the revised bag policy.

We appreciate the feedback received through these channels and remain committed to listening to supporters and making improvements where we can.

While we may not always agree on every issue, constructive challenge and feedback from supporters remain an important part of helping us improve. We welcome that dialogue and remain committed to engaging openly and respectfully when concerns are raised.

We would like to thank your members, and all Charlton supporters, for their continued passion, loyalty and support.

The progress made across the club in recent years has only been possible because of the shared commitment of supporters, staff, players and ownership. We know there is still more to do and we remain committed to working together to build a club that everyone connected to Charlton can be proud of.

We look forward to welcoming supporters back to The Valley for Saturday's match against Bristol City and thank you, as always, for your continued backing.

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