New poll finds that lack of communication from Reading FC is leading to more than half of fans staying away from matches.
A poll of Reading FC fans, organised by the Sell Before We Dai campaign on X/Twitter, found that almost three in four supporters’ attendance at games has been negatively impacted, or could be in future, by the ongoing lack of communication from the club about the current ownership situation.
More than 1,200 Reading FC fans took part in the poll, in which 50.5% of fans said the lack of meaningful updates on the sale of the club has already led to a reduction in their attendance for league and/or cup games, with another 21.9% saying it could do so in the future. Only 27.5% said their attendance was unaffected.
Last Thursday, Sell Before We Dai challenged Reading FC to urgently improve communications with fans, calling its club’s leadership to provide an update on the situation with the short-term funding of the club. This is critical as the transfer window is set to open again soon and many fans are worried about the possible forced sale of key players, as well as the situation with the exclusivity status of the proposed sale, and indeed if the club can be sold, given the complex nature of the ownership arrangements.
Many fans also took to X/Twitter to comment on the impact the lack of communications from the club is having on their match attendance, with user @Reading106 saying: “Absolutely. Living a little way away and with three kids under 4, I have to pick and choose games to go to. This season more than ever I’ve just felt like nothing from the club. There’s absolutely no value exchange in taking an entire day to go up there.”
Similarly, user @ACW53 – a season ticket holder for over 50 years – responded that they “will miss the occasional match and not give a thought. Previously it would never cross my mind to miss a match no matter what”.
Becky Trotman, spokesperson for Sell Before We Dai, said: “Good communications cost nothing – but our poll shows the lack of any statement from the club in the last month is leading to fans getting increasingly frustrated, and costing the club money in lost ticket sales at a time when we know every penny counts.
“We’re calling again on Dayong Pang and the senior leadership of Reading FC to provide a substantive update ahead of this weekend’s match against Peterborough United.
“We’ve been told updates are difficult to provide due to NDAs, but Reading FC is nothing without its fans, and we simply don’t believe it’s impossible to provide a brief but meaningful update. We’ve even written our own statement that they could publish because they have refused to provide an update themselves. The club not providing any communication to fans who’ve supported it through thick and thin over recent years shows a real lack of respect and complacency.”
