Football in Berkshire is a treasure trove of experience and ideas so we thought we’d ask the team what they think clubs should be doing right now to engage and boost their support for 2025/26.
As well of course as actually taking some time out, avoiding burnout and getting the pitch ready.
There are though some great play-off battles, relegation fights and cup finals to come, there’s no better time to harness that engaged audience.
Please note, some of these ideas include links that may earn Football in Berkshire some revenue, but all services we recommend, we have used.
1 Start selling season tickets now We’re into the last weeks of the season. Get people committing now. Offering an Early Bird price if you pay before the end of the season to incentivise. Alternatively, at your final home game advertise a tantalising season ticket offer if you purchase there and then – but crucially, make sure you tell people loudly and clearly that that is what you are doing.
I know for some clubs, gate money is incredibly important and any discounts will have a negative effect, so perhaps your season ticket off is a non-discounted price, but free tea and coffee – or bring a mate for free.
2 Season tickets with friend passes I maintain selling season tickets right now while your audience is engaged, but here’s another way to do it. Slough Town have the right idea with this one I reckon. You’ve got a season ticket at the Rebels, and you spend hours boring your mates with how good an afternoon at Arbour Park is – 3pm Saturday football, no VAR, pint for under £8 (I hope – I should fact check that). But they always baulk at having to pay entry.
Well, if your season ticket comes with say, 10 freebies for your mates and family – you’re sorted. And when they have a brilliant time they can fork out for their own next game.
3 Start a mailing list I can’t stress enough how important this is. We’re always so focused on how many social media followers we have for diminishing returns. Start collecting legitimate email addresses. There is no algorithm to fight except time (perhaps the ultimate algorithm?). Every single decent-sized business I’ve visited in 2025 to talk about sponsorship is looking for your Newsletter subs number and open rate.
We have just launched on a service called Brevo and so far so good. But there are hundreds of services – if you don’t know where to start or want help getting setup – get in touch.
4 Get your website in order You don’t need much. Home, Fixtures, News, Contacts, Sponsors. So often the club website is neglected but without one you’ll be missing out audience. It doesn’t have to be a vast thing, just somewhere you can show off sponsors, fixtures and results and crucially collect newsletter subscribers.
There are services like Touchline and Pitchero, but we can also help here since we’ve teamed up with Headwall Hosting based in Woodley and can help with something a little more bespoke (minus the bespoke price tag).
5 Pub on the Pitch I’m pitching this to you with no expectation that you’ll be able to have people on your pitch over the summer. All I know is that in Burghfield Common every Friday evening from 5pm in July and August, hundreds of people turn up to the Recreation Ground and small, temporary bar. Kids go feral for a couple of hours, bar makes £1,000s and parents relax. Oh and there’s a food truck.
6 Factor in a small advertising budget for each match As per point 3, returns are diminishing on social media platforms. Advertising for each game takes time and effort. So why not have a small budget for each home fixture to boost to your local audience. Meta platforms (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp) are at the moment the best value and £5 – £10 per match would get you a decent local audience across all four. If you sold advance tickets online and got people to subscribe then you might even make that money back.
7 Card payments on the gate Please make this a priority for 2025/26. You might not like it, you might disagree with it, or like me, it might be weeks since you last used cash, but being able to take card payments at the gate is better than turning people away – and you’d suspect once people are in they’ll spend money in the ground. You can buy a Sumup machine from Amazon for about £35.
8 Replica shirts at cost – start selling next seasons now What better way to advertise your club around your village/town/city than all your supporters decked out in club colours? But with the price of replica shirts these days, what are the chances of you selling enough to make a difference?
Depending on the size of your fanbase, replica shirts aren’t the money spinners they would be even in the Championship. Sell shirts at cost (or cheaper with the shirt sponsor incentivised on the number sold) to get as many as you can on supporters out and about, and if you can get people to commit before the end of this season – even better.
9 Online club shop Talk to us about this. We have ideas and a little bit of experience – but if you want to sell shirts and other merch we can help.
10 Don’t dismiss LinkedIn I know I’ve just talked about diminishing returns on social media, but if there’s one I think that is worth a punt – it’s LinkedIn. Why? That’s where all your local business decision-makers are, the one’s that can sign off a sponsorship. Take a little time to create a page and think about a content plan – oh and invite people you know in your area (and a few you don’t). Don’t worry about posting results, share what the club is and what it does. Volunteers refurbing the club house? Post it. Community support? Post it. Business sponsors a match? Post it.
11 Set some crowd targets Nothing focuses the mind like trying to hit a target. They’ll help you review what you are doing and identify see what is and isn’t working. This isn’t pass/fail but it does help you be accountable.
12 The biggest audience numbers aren’t when you think In our experience the biggest audiences of the year are when the balls have been deflated and packed away. As soon as the forms are out for the new season and signings start happening, the FA Cup/Trophy/Vase draws are made, this is when people are the most engaged in non-league football. This is why right now is the time to sort the website out, start collecting subscribers and get those season tickets on sale.
13 Setup a Matchday page on your website Burnham do this brilliantly already, but I’d go a step further and turn it into an FAQ – a page you can throw out any time anyone asks – how much are tickets? do you do a printed programme? can I bring my dog?
