Exeter City’s ‘City For All’ scheme scores big for community inclusion

A community tickets scheme which has paid for hundreds of people who might not otherwise have been able to afford it to attend Exeter City matches will run again this season.

City For All, which was established after an idea from Exeter City Supporters’ Trust member Tom White, began during the 22/23 season and since then has provided more than 840 tickets to supporters enabling them to attend matches and watch the team they love.

The scheme was initially available to supporters and families, last season it was extended to community organisations, including Devon Young Carers, several NHS departments, Julian House, St Sidwell’s Community Centre, St Petrock’s and the YMCA.

A group of Afghan refugees who are on a resettlement programme with South Hams District Council, attended a match last season through the scheme.

Tom Sewell, resettlement officer at South Hams District Council, said: “Thank you for the tickets and refreshment vouchers which were provided for the group of Afghan refugees, it was very generous of the club and very much appreciated. It was the first proper outing the families have had since their arrival to the UK at the end of December. Even though the result wasn’t in Exeter’s favour, they had a great day out and loved the atmosphere in the ground.”

Clive Harrison, club director and chair of the club’s supporter experience committee, said: “We established the scheme in response to the cost-of-living crisis to ensure supporters could still attend and watch the team they love. It’s been clear from demand that this scheme is still very much needed.

“As a supporter-owned community football club, it is important to us that people aren’t prevented from attending because of their economic circumstances. We’re also very grateful for all of the contributions we have received from our supporters in terms of both financial contributions and through season ticket donations.”

The Club and Supporters’ Trust donate the tickets towards the scheme and do not make a profit from ticket sales.

Supporters can contribute either by donating toward the cost of further tickets https://exetercityfc.ktckts.com/brand/donations or by donating season tickets for matches they are unable to attend by emailing cityforall@ecfc.co.uk

Once the fixtures are released on June 26 supporters can apply for them via https://forms.office.com/e/MDgbqEF8Jh