Warning to season ticket holders – Now even tougher for Newcastle United members to get tickets | OneFootball

Fair to say, a lot of frustration when it comes to Newcastle United members and the ballots for Newcastle United home tickets.

We all know that demand far exceeds supply for every match at St James’ Park.

As reported on The Mag this morning, over 100,000 unsuccessful in the ballot for Newcastle v Barcelona tickets.

The same when it came to the queue sale for Newcastle United members, over 100,000 unsuccessful for the Barca match in that queue.

The fact that the club as handing over a load of tickets to pupils and teachers at a random private £20k a year school in Dundee doesn’t help, this obviously only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Newcastle United owners happy to divert tickets to neutrals, non-Newcastle United fans, instead of to the Newcastle United members paying £37 a year.

It gets worse though, for these Newcastle United members and their chances of getting a ticket.

This morning, Newcastle United members found out whether they were successful for the ballot for Bradford tickets in the Carabao Cup.

I have been in touch with a fair few members (double figures) who I know and none of them were successful in this ballot for a third round cup game against League One opposition.

The thing is, when Newcastle United got to Wembley earlier this year, it became clear that to stand any realistic chance of a Carabao Cup final ticket, as a season ticket holder you had to have been signed up to the club’s scheme to automatically get every home Carabao Cup ticket. Each round when drawn at home, the club automatically take the money from your bank and you are given a ticket. The club warning season ticket holders, sign up to automatically get all cup tickets or else you will not get a cup final ticket (if/when we next get to Wembley).

So when Newcastle United season ticket holders were offered ahead of this 2025/26 season, if they wanted to sign up to automatically get cup tickets for the Carabao Cup (and sign up for guaranteed FA Cup home tickets), I think we can take for granted that pretty much the vast majority of season ticket holders will have signed up to get every home cup ticket, whether they intend to go or not!!!

When tickets are as cheap as £20 and £10 concessions, it makes it an even easier decision. I don’t think in very many cases the home cup tickets will end up unused by season ticket holders, instead they will give/sell them to family and friends.

The net result of all that though, is that on top of all the other factors going against them in getting tickets, even for cup matches the Newcastle United members are now having a far lower chance than previously.

So thousands and thousands more Newcastle United members and thousands and thousands less cup tickets, not exactly improving the odds of being successful!

Back in June 2025 I wrote the following on The Mag in an article…

The frustration for Newcastle United members and trying to get tickets, that frustration felt is mainly down to two issues.

Firstly and most importantly of course, how many times Newcastle United members are successful (and unsuccessful…) in ticket ballots.

Secondly, an added frustration is the club’s refusal to be open in any way about the whole process. Many other clubs, such as Arsenal, who have similar balloting processes as Newcastle United, also give details on how many members enter each home ticket ballot, what percentage are successful and so on.

The latest (2025) annual survey from NUST (Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust) in June (2025) covered many areas, including ballots for home matches.

When they asked fans who replied to their survey, of the Newcastle United members who responded they gave a 16.8% (one in six) success rate when they enter ballots for home tickets.

NUST say that this corresponds very closely with past research they have carried out with Newcastle United members on ballot success.

NUST also state that the club dispute this roughly one in six success rate in home ticket ballots and claim it is higher. However, the club refuse to say what the figure is.

The club won’t even say how many Newcastle United members there are, never mind how many enter each ballot and what percentage are successful and unsuccessful.

Of all the people I know who are Newcastle United members, I don’t anybody who has a success rate one in six in ballots, never mind better than that, certainly not for Premier League home tickets. With anecdotal evidence I read from others, seemingly along the same lines.

‘The average ballot success rate stands at 16.8% which is consistent with our recent Mags Membership and Ballot Survey.

The club state that the success rate based on their data (which would be more accurate) is higher but have not given a figure.’

When asking around these Newcastle United members that I know, nobody seems to even have a 10% success rate in the home ticket ballots, certainly not since the start of the 2023/24 season up to the present day.

Maybe a move to Dundee would increase their success rate…

(Interested in the comments section if any Newcastle United members reading this, can let me know how successful or not they have been in the home ticket ballots)