17 Aug 2006
Football fans entering Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage ground next week to watch the team’s first home game of the season will do so using smartcard tickets enabled with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
The club has issued more than 20,000 smartcards to members, season ticket holders and casual fans to speed up access to the ground and improve safety.
It successfully piloted the system at a friendly match against Boavista last weekend, attended by 4,000 fans, ahead of next week’s opener against Bolton.
Matthew McGrory, Fulham’s head of IT, says the club had to overcome a number of technical issues when installing readers for the smartcards.
‘All the turnstiles are on one side of the ground, and as the ground is heritage-listed we cannot alter them,’ he said.
Smartcard readers were installed at each turnstile, either mounted on a separate pole or inside customer service kiosks.
‘Smartcards will enable fans to enter the ground quicker, which is important as we are getting closer to regular sell-outs,’ said McGrory.
‘It is also easier to buy tickets for busy match days. Fans can just phone up and state which game they want to attend, and the system will be updated.’
Smartcards will improve safety at the ground, as the club can identify people who have been banned and reduce the number of fans outside before a match.
Fortress GB has provided the system, which can also detect paper tickets with barcodes for casual and away fans. In the event of a power failure, staff can read tickets with handheld readers.
Peter Harrop, chairman of RFID researcher ID TechEx, says more smaller clubs will start considering contactless smartcards as prices fall.
‘Smartcards can be used to offer discounts, enable fans to purchase merchandise and determine patterns of attendance for marketing,’ he said.
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