Updates on:
Broadcast of matches
Return of fans to stadia
Football Summit
FSA Premier League Network Meeting
Kick Off Against Hunger initiative
Business and Community Liaison Group report
Ticket amnesty and seat moves
Overseas membership proposition review
THST/ THFC Board-to-Board meeting
Charity cycle ride to Amsterdam, 3-5 September 2021
Ride for Ray
THST Forum
Supporting our non-league neighbours
Broadcast of matches
Return of fans to stadia
Football Summit
FSA Premier League Network Meeting
Kick Off Against Hunger initiative
Business and Community Liaison Group report
Ticket amnesty and seat moves
Overseas membership proposition review
THST/ THFC Board-to-Board meeting
Charity cycle ride to Amsterdam, 3-5 September 2021
Ride for Ray
THST Forum
Supporting our non-league neighbours
We start our November newsletter by paying our respects to Ray Clemence, who died on 15 November 2020. Ray was not only a Club legend but a football legend, having had a successful career with Liverpool FC before joining Spurs, and holding the England goalkeeper’s jersey for many years. More recently, he worked as a match-day host at Spurs and was a popular figure at the Club. We send our respects and condolences to Ray’s family and friends. Ray bravely battled prostate cancer for many years, and THST has raised funds for Prostate Cancer UK, one of our official charities, for some years through the efforts of our Cycle On You Spurs team of riders. The team are currently talking to Ray’s family, his son Stephen – a player here for some years – and the Club about a special effort in memory of Ray when the sponsored ride from London to Amsterdam resumes next year. We’ll publish details once confirmed. In the meantime, our Cycle On You Spurs team have decided to organise a very special, one-off charity cycle ride as a tribute to Ray and we're delighted share initial information with you later in this newsletter.
1. Broadcast of matches
As we reported on our website, fan campaigning secured a significant victory in forcing the Premier League and Broadcasters to drop the £14.95 pay-per-view fee that was being charged to watch games not selected as part of the standard broadcast package. THST has been at the forefront of campaigning to ensure a fair deal for fans throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and full details of our position are in the story linked above.
Matches will be broadcast for all fans with cable access until January. The Premier League and Broadcasters are going to announce what happens after that in the New Year. The recent announcement of a limited return of fans to stadiums in December will have some bearing on what happens next. But our position is very clear.
Until stadiums return to full capacity, we will continue to argue for games to be broadcast to allow fans unable to attend live games to watch their team. We are particularly keen to ensure that fans who choose not to attend because of the risk of contracting the virus are not penalised ahead of any vaccine roll out. Please keep following our forum and website for updates.
2. Return of fans to stadia
We’ve been in constant contact with the Club over the potential return of fans to stadiums. The situation has changed rapidly, and planning is not helped by the government making announcements before it has fully briefed the people who need to put plans into action. We also recognise this is an unprecedented and fast-developing situation that is not easy to plan for.
Plans for a very limited return of around 2,000 fans were announced last week, with the game against Arsenal the first at which fans will be present. They can be read here.
Throughout our discussions with the Club, we’ve kept to a number of basic principles:
We’ve also worked with the Club on the Code of Conduct fans will be required to sign up to as part of any return to the stadium. It’s important that we all play our part in showing games with some spectators allowed can go ahead safely.
Co-chair Martin Cloake has also continued to represent THST on Haringey’s Safety Advisory Group, ensuring the fan perspective is heard alongside the emergency services, planning authorities and Club officials whose statutory duty it is to ensure any events are safe.
3. Football summit
The government called the football authorities and representatives of players and fans together in November at what it dubbed a ‘Football Summit’ aimed at addressing some of the issues facing the game. Those issues were never going to be solved at one meeting, but it was a belated sign of progress that fan representation in the shape of the Football Supporters’ Association was invited.
You can read regular updates on the latest discussions about how the game is run on the news section of the FSA’s website. THST co-chair Martin Cloake also wrote a personal take on the meeting.
What comes next is not clear – especially with the continuing battle against COVID-19 still in progress. But the prospect of the fan-led review of the game that the government committed to in its election manifesto does seem to be closer. A “fan-led review” is a term coined by the government, and it is yet to be made clear what this means. What is clearer than ever is that football cannot be left to regulate itself. Our position, along with the FSA, is that fans must be equal participants in any reform.
4. FSA Premier League Network Meeting
The role of supporters and their input into both the Premier League’s strategic review and the Government’s “fan-led” review were also high on the agenda at November’s FSA Premier League Network Group meeting. THST, represented by co-chairs Martin Cloake and Kat Law, is keen to see movement on both reviews in the near future and will continue to lobby the authorities and the Club accordingly.
PPV was also discussed at length, ahead of the latest Premier League announcement, and views were exchanged around best practice for the return of fans across the division.
Steve Moulds of Foxes Trust was elected to serve alongside Dave Pennington (MUST) and Kat as Premier League Network Representatives for the Football Supporters’ Association. Congratulations, Steve!
5. Kick Off Against Hunger initiative
Spurs fans raised a magnificent £50,000 for Tottenham Foodbank as part of the Charity not PPV protest. But the need to support the foodbank continues even after that campaign has paused. So we launched #kickoffagainsthunger, urging fans to contribute the price of a pie, a pint or a programme every time Tottenham Hotspur FC kick off.
We’ll continue to push the campaign throughout the rest of the season, and we’re currently talking to the Club about joint campaigning to support both Tottenham and Enfield Foodbanks.
Please give what you can every time the whistle blows and the cockerel crows.
6. Business and Community Liaison Group report
Our secretary, Pete Haine, attended the recent meeting of the Business and Community Liaison Group on Zoom. Here’s a brief round up of key points.
7. Ticket amnesty and seat moves
The Club concluded its seat move process towards the middle of November, having manually relocated over 5,000 fans from the 9,000 who’d applied to change seats. Requests were prioritised for medical reasons first and then in date order of application. The relocation window will open again in the spring and those unsuccessful this time will be given priority next time. Please try to be as flexible as possible when requesting a move as it’s extremely difficult to move into specific blocks and rows, especially in popular areas where the seats are already full, and this can limit your chances of a successful relocation.
The Club continues to work through the photographic ID submitted to verify the identity of Season Ticket holders and to change the ownership of Season Tickets, where requested. At the time of writing, over 20,000 supporters had returned their identification with roughly 10% requesting a name change. We expect the number providing ID to increase significantly now fans are to be allowed to return to stadia from 2 December onwards.
If you’re waiting to hear from the Club on the name amnesty, drop the ticket office a line on ticket.office@tottenhamhotspur.com.
8. Overseas membership proposition
With fans unable to attend games, the One Hotspur membership package and particularly the overseas package does not represent good value in our opinion. We’ve had some suggestions for alternative, improved offerings from members of overseas Supporters Clubs and we’ve been happy to facilitate discussion with relevant Club staff on this topic.
Pleasingly, the Club is currently reviewing their membership offering and is committed to delivering a far better overall package in future.
We’d encourage any overseas One Hotspur members or overseas Official Supporters Clubs with suggestions on how to improve the Club’s One Hotspur offering to them, including price points, benefits and package, to write to us at info@THSTOfficial.com in the first instance and we’ll gladly add to the mix!
9. THST/ THFC Board-to-Board meeting
Members of the THST Board are meeting Daniel Levy, members of the THFC Executive Board and senior staff for one of our regular meetings – albeit one delayed by the Covid-19 crisis – on 1 December. The meeting will be via video conference. These meetings are an important opportunity to discuss overarching Club policy and establish clear positions on key points and compliment the regular and more detailed meetings between individuals from the Trust Board and the Club. As always, minutes will be published as soon as possible after the meeting.
10. Charity cycle ride to Amsterdam, 3-5 September 2021
For all keen cyclists, fans with bikes, in fact any of you out there who are looking for the chance to improve health and fitness, the big news is that registrations are OPEN for new recruits to join our Cycle On You Spurs team. In the last week we have been joined by two more Spurs fans and have a team of 29 with more promised shortly. So, join before the ride is full!
11. Ride for Ray
Following the very sad news of Ray Clemence’s death, Cycle On You Spurs have decided to dedicate a charity cycle ride as a tribute to him. The details have yet to be finalised but the plan is to ride from Liverpool (Anfield or training ground) to Spurs (stadium or training ground). It will be a two-day ride, provisionally during the first weekend of June 2021.
Ray was well known and loved by all at Prostate Cancer UK for his campaigning work in fighting this dreadful disease; so the ride will be a fundraiser for PCUK.
12. THST Forum
Full Trust members can join our member’s forum to discuss any of the issues in this newsletter, or anything else Spurs-fan related. The forum is starting to become a vital part of our relationship with members, so make sure you are not missing out.
You need to apply to join through the link on our site, and set yourself up an account. We should emphasise that Trust membership alone doesn’t give you automatic access to the forum, you need to register via the link.
To join the THST Forum, you’ll need to be in FULL or LIFE membership of the Trust. To JOIN the Trust, please register here. To UPGRADE from free Associate Membership of the Trust to Full membership, please click here.
If you’re already a Full or Life member of the Trust, click here to register for our Forum.
13. Supporting our non-league neighbours
As we finished this edition, our non-league neighbours Wingate & Finchley FC and Enfield Town FC were still working out arrangements for a limited return of fans to games. Please check the club websites at the links above for the latest details.
MEDIA:
Podcasts
Top of the shop and The Beauty Of Winning Ugly
Rob White and Pete Haine feature in episodes of The Spurs Show
Articles
Club to pay tribute to Ray Clemence at Manchester City match
Return of fans to stadium
Videos
39 minutes in, José answered our Secretary Pete Haine’s question on what he missed most about the lack of fans in the stadium
https://youtu.be/EWPNNlY48jw
THST Board
30 November 2020
For more exclusive and live updates follow us on our social media sites:
Twitter: @THSTOfficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/THSTOfficial
TO BECOME A TRUST MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
1. Broadcast of matches
As we reported on our website, fan campaigning secured a significant victory in forcing the Premier League and Broadcasters to drop the £14.95 pay-per-view fee that was being charged to watch games not selected as part of the standard broadcast package. THST has been at the forefront of campaigning to ensure a fair deal for fans throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and full details of our position are in the story linked above.
Matches will be broadcast for all fans with cable access until January. The Premier League and Broadcasters are going to announce what happens after that in the New Year. The recent announcement of a limited return of fans to stadiums in December will have some bearing on what happens next. But our position is very clear.
Until stadiums return to full capacity, we will continue to argue for games to be broadcast to allow fans unable to attend live games to watch their team. We are particularly keen to ensure that fans who choose not to attend because of the risk of contracting the virus are not penalised ahead of any vaccine roll out. Please keep following our forum and website for updates.
2. Return of fans to stadia
We’ve been in constant contact with the Club over the potential return of fans to stadiums. The situation has changed rapidly, and planning is not helped by the government making announcements before it has fully briefed the people who need to put plans into action. We also recognise this is an unprecedented and fast-developing situation that is not easy to plan for.
Plans for a very limited return of around 2,000 fans were announced last week, with the game against Arsenal the first at which fans will be present. They can be read here.
Throughout our discussions with the Club, we’ve kept to a number of basic principles:
- Public health comes first.
- Football should be treated fairly in comparison with other parts of the leisure and entertainment sector.
- Any return should be implemented proportionately across premium and general admission ticket holders.
- No fan should be penalised for choosing not to return before they consider it safe to do so.
We’ve also worked with the Club on the Code of Conduct fans will be required to sign up to as part of any return to the stadium. It’s important that we all play our part in showing games with some spectators allowed can go ahead safely.
Co-chair Martin Cloake has also continued to represent THST on Haringey’s Safety Advisory Group, ensuring the fan perspective is heard alongside the emergency services, planning authorities and Club officials whose statutory duty it is to ensure any events are safe.
3. Football summit
The government called the football authorities and representatives of players and fans together in November at what it dubbed a ‘Football Summit’ aimed at addressing some of the issues facing the game. Those issues were never going to be solved at one meeting, but it was a belated sign of progress that fan representation in the shape of the Football Supporters’ Association was invited.
You can read regular updates on the latest discussions about how the game is run on the news section of the FSA’s website. THST co-chair Martin Cloake also wrote a personal take on the meeting.
What comes next is not clear – especially with the continuing battle against COVID-19 still in progress. But the prospect of the fan-led review of the game that the government committed to in its election manifesto does seem to be closer. A “fan-led review” is a term coined by the government, and it is yet to be made clear what this means. What is clearer than ever is that football cannot be left to regulate itself. Our position, along with the FSA, is that fans must be equal participants in any reform.
4. FSA Premier League Network Meeting
The role of supporters and their input into both the Premier League’s strategic review and the Government’s “fan-led” review were also high on the agenda at November’s FSA Premier League Network Group meeting. THST, represented by co-chairs Martin Cloake and Kat Law, is keen to see movement on both reviews in the near future and will continue to lobby the authorities and the Club accordingly.
PPV was also discussed at length, ahead of the latest Premier League announcement, and views were exchanged around best practice for the return of fans across the division.
Steve Moulds of Foxes Trust was elected to serve alongside Dave Pennington (MUST) and Kat as Premier League Network Representatives for the Football Supporters’ Association. Congratulations, Steve!
5. Kick Off Against Hunger initiative
Spurs fans raised a magnificent £50,000 for Tottenham Foodbank as part of the Charity not PPV protest. But the need to support the foodbank continues even after that campaign has paused. So we launched #kickoffagainsthunger, urging fans to contribute the price of a pie, a pint or a programme every time Tottenham Hotspur FC kick off.
We’ll continue to push the campaign throughout the rest of the season, and we’re currently talking to the Club about joint campaigning to support both Tottenham and Enfield Foodbanks.
Please give what you can every time the whistle blows and the cockerel crows.
6. Business and Community Liaison Group report
Our secretary, Pete Haine, attended the recent meeting of the Business and Community Liaison Group on Zoom. Here’s a brief round up of key points.
- An application has been made for the Club's former ticket office (the old Corner Pin pub) to return to use as a pub in partnership with Beavertown. The application (LPA Ref: HGY/2020/2710) is now going through the planning process.
- Repair works on the Northern Terrace are progressing well.
- An application has also been submitted for non-material amendments to the Worcester Avenue site opposite the Stadium service yard (HGY/2020/2730). After the meeting, we were advised that during the week commencing 23 November, the Club may be starting preparatory ground works to facilitate temporary car parking to support the limited return of fans. Cars can be parked under permitted development rights up to 28 times a year.
- Changes of ownership at Companies House were noted and that Daniel Levy is now named as a Director of Tottenham Residential Ltd, Tottenham Hotspur Leisure Ltd and Tottenham Hotspur Hotel Ltd. The Club confirmed it has created three new companies to enable the three separate South Stand developments – a hotel, a leisure complex and a residential development - to be progressed separately.
7. Ticket amnesty and seat moves
The Club concluded its seat move process towards the middle of November, having manually relocated over 5,000 fans from the 9,000 who’d applied to change seats. Requests were prioritised for medical reasons first and then in date order of application. The relocation window will open again in the spring and those unsuccessful this time will be given priority next time. Please try to be as flexible as possible when requesting a move as it’s extremely difficult to move into specific blocks and rows, especially in popular areas where the seats are already full, and this can limit your chances of a successful relocation.
The Club continues to work through the photographic ID submitted to verify the identity of Season Ticket holders and to change the ownership of Season Tickets, where requested. At the time of writing, over 20,000 supporters had returned their identification with roughly 10% requesting a name change. We expect the number providing ID to increase significantly now fans are to be allowed to return to stadia from 2 December onwards.
If you’re waiting to hear from the Club on the name amnesty, drop the ticket office a line on ticket.office@tottenhamhotspur.com.
8. Overseas membership proposition
With fans unable to attend games, the One Hotspur membership package and particularly the overseas package does not represent good value in our opinion. We’ve had some suggestions for alternative, improved offerings from members of overseas Supporters Clubs and we’ve been happy to facilitate discussion with relevant Club staff on this topic.
Pleasingly, the Club is currently reviewing their membership offering and is committed to delivering a far better overall package in future.
We’d encourage any overseas One Hotspur members or overseas Official Supporters Clubs with suggestions on how to improve the Club’s One Hotspur offering to them, including price points, benefits and package, to write to us at info@THSTOfficial.com in the first instance and we’ll gladly add to the mix!
9. THST/ THFC Board-to-Board meeting
Members of the THST Board are meeting Daniel Levy, members of the THFC Executive Board and senior staff for one of our regular meetings – albeit one delayed by the Covid-19 crisis – on 1 December. The meeting will be via video conference. These meetings are an important opportunity to discuss overarching Club policy and establish clear positions on key points and compliment the regular and more detailed meetings between individuals from the Trust Board and the Club. As always, minutes will be published as soon as possible after the meeting.
10. Charity cycle ride to Amsterdam, 3-5 September 2021
For all keen cyclists, fans with bikes, in fact any of you out there who are looking for the chance to improve health and fitness, the big news is that registrations are OPEN for new recruits to join our Cycle On You Spurs team. In the last week we have been joined by two more Spurs fans and have a team of 29 with more promised shortly. So, join before the ride is full!
11. Ride for Ray
Following the very sad news of Ray Clemence’s death, Cycle On You Spurs have decided to dedicate a charity cycle ride as a tribute to him. The details have yet to be finalised but the plan is to ride from Liverpool (Anfield or training ground) to Spurs (stadium or training ground). It will be a two-day ride, provisionally during the first weekend of June 2021.
Ray was well known and loved by all at Prostate Cancer UK for his campaigning work in fighting this dreadful disease; so the ride will be a fundraiser for PCUK.
12. THST Forum
Full Trust members can join our member’s forum to discuss any of the issues in this newsletter, or anything else Spurs-fan related. The forum is starting to become a vital part of our relationship with members, so make sure you are not missing out.
You need to apply to join through the link on our site, and set yourself up an account. We should emphasise that Trust membership alone doesn’t give you automatic access to the forum, you need to register via the link.
To join the THST Forum, you’ll need to be in FULL or LIFE membership of the Trust. To JOIN the Trust, please register here. To UPGRADE from free Associate Membership of the Trust to Full membership, please click here.
If you’re already a Full or Life member of the Trust, click here to register for our Forum.
13. Supporting our non-league neighbours
As we finished this edition, our non-league neighbours Wingate & Finchley FC and Enfield Town FC were still working out arrangements for a limited return of fans to games. Please check the club websites at the links above for the latest details.
MEDIA:
Podcasts
Top of the shop and The Beauty Of Winning Ugly
Rob White and Pete Haine feature in episodes of The Spurs Show
Articles
Club to pay tribute to Ray Clemence at Manchester City match
Return of fans to stadium
Videos
39 minutes in, José answered our Secretary Pete Haine’s question on what he missed most about the lack of fans in the stadium
https://youtu.be/EWPNNlY48jw
THST Board
30 November 2020
For more exclusive and live updates follow us on our social media sites:
Twitter: @THSTOfficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/THSTOfficial
TO BECOME A TRUST MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
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