Social Origins
You may recall a bit of silly social media ‘banter’ between staff at Aston Villa Football Club and Virgin Trains a couple of years ago, that sparked up after Roberto Di Matteo was sacked.
Well, after spawning a football match between Villa staff members and Virgin Trains, it seems something actually useful has come of it for Villa supporters.
Would our managerial candidates actually get here for interviews on time if they arrived via @VirginTrains?
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) October 4, 2016
Train Discounts For Away Fans
In recent years, one of the issues that MOMS has asked the club is the possibility of some kind of discount on train tickets to help away fans on the costly pursuit of following their team around the country – especially now there are more away fixtures in the Championship than the Premier League (and the PL have a match ticket cap of £30).
In a recent Football Supporters Federation (FSF) meeting in London that MOMS attended, it was suggested that FSF’s attempts at getting rail discounts for football fans had suffered a set back after a recent meeting with the relevant Rail bodies.
A FSF rep had reported that the British Transport Police and Rail Operating Companies focus ‘seems to have shifted from working with fans on consumer issues (e.g. our hope for ‘Fan Fare’ initiative) to more punitive security led approach’.
Positive Move by Villa & Virgin
Despite this apparent attitude from the rail authorities, MOMS has stumbled on some good news (it hasn’t been announced yet) for Aston Villa supporters that flies in the face of this perception. Aston Villa season ticket holders and Claret members, now can claim 20% discount on advance tickets on Virgin Trains.
The offer can be accessed via the following link https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/avfc and is a fantastic initiative in terms of being a proper benefit to season ticket holders (and Claret members) and in helping away fans with the cost of following their club on their travels.
The 20% discount can be extended to up to nine people in your party, as long as one person has photo ID on them when they travel and it can be used on journeys anywhere on the Virgin Trains network.
This is a progressive relationship for the club to make and should be applauded.