We hold our hands up and acknowledge that putting an end of October deadline on season tickets sales was a mistake, especially without us providing clairty around the reason.

For 2023 we will be implementing a new turnstile ticketing and entry system, this means season tickets will have unique embeded RFID chips.

This system is designed to speed up entry for fans.

Crowd numbers will be substantially more than we have experienced before, and we want to avoid fans having to queue.

This entry system and the season ticket cards are being developed and manufactured overseas to save the club significant costs.

This strategy ensures we have the best, most efficient tech-entry system possble.

It does mean we need additional time for the manufacturing and integration of the cards into the technology hardware.

We are keen to ensure when the season starts we have everything in place in good time, so we erred on the side of caution, by setting the 31st of October deadline.

We have taken on board that fans have expressed they would like more time given the cost of living crisis, and that they would like to see the fixture list released.

We have therefore worked overnight with our development partners, to come up with a solution which allows us to extend the deadline to Christmas Day to allow for Christmas purchases.

We have also decided to allow for those fans who need more time than that to pay, and are unable to do so before the deadline, the opportunity to reserve a  season ticket, with payment being deferred to the beginning of the season.

To apply for this, please send your details to ryan@cougarmania.co.uk

This issue has clearly highlighted the cost of living crisis that our fans are suffering.

Cougars are therefore working to come up with innovative solutions to help.

The first solution is that we will be providing interest-free, spread payment installment options to fans for online purchases, such as merchandise, ticketing and events.

This is aimed to help fans manage their household budgets, when we know they’re under strain.

We will announce details on this shortly.

We pride ourselves on listening and responding with solutions to help our fans whenever and wherever we can.

Your feedback helps us make this club bigger and better, helps steer us when we might get it wrong, and brings us together as one Cougar family.

As we posted yesterday on the socials, please email any further suggestions on how we can improve off the field in regards to facilities and gamedays to josh@cougarmania.co.uk

Josh will in turn pass these onto myself, Kaue, and Lynne, and respond to those emails once he returns from annual leave next Wednesday.   

By Ryan O’Neill, Chief Executive.