Ticketing sits at the heart of every football club. But do the people who run it get the respect they deserve?
In this episode of Don't Forget Your Tickets, host Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg sits down with two of the five winners of the TicketCo Ticketing Manager of the Year Awards 2026, Natasha Fitzgerald of Woking FC, who won the National League award, and Scott Smyth of Coleraine FC, who won the NIFL award.
This is a warm and honest conversation about what it actually takes to run ticketing at a football club. Natasha explains how she landed in ticketing almost by accident, after taking what she thought would be an easy admin role at Woking, and how she has since grown into a sales and events coordinator, working to turn Kingfield Stadium into a venue for concerts, festivals and a Christmas market. Scott talks about growing up around Coleraine Football Club from the age of four or five, and taking on ticketing alongside the retail shop as the club moved into digital sales and prepared for European football for the first time.
Carl-Erik, Natasha and Scott talk about what it means to win an award voted for by fans, the trust built up over years of match days, and the small moments that matter most, such as sourcing a lost ticket for a fan two hours before kick off for an away match in Finland. They also discuss the balance between digital ticketing and cash, the challenge of serving older fans who still want a paper ticket or a phone call, and the ambition both clubs share to make their stadiums useful beyond ninety minutes on a Saturday.
In this episode we cover the following topics.
- How they fell into ticketing. Natasha's move from an admin role into ticketing and retail at Woking, and Scott's path from ball boy and shop volunteer to running Coleraine's ticketing.
- Meet Woking and Coleraine. The history and ambitions of both clubs, including Woking's long history at Kingfield and Coleraine's approaching centenary at the Showgrounds.
- Playing in Europe. What it took for Coleraine to prepare for European football for the first time, under digital ticketing and UEFA rules.
- What winning feels like. How it felt for both Natasha and Scott to be voted Ticketing Manager of the Year by fans, and what it says about the relationships they have built.
- A ticketing emergency in Finland. Scott's story of sorting out a fan's lost ticket at the stadium gates in Helsinki, just before kick off.
- Digital ticketing for every fan. How both clubs balance digital sales with cash and phone bookings, so no fan is left behind.
- Turning stadiums into event spaces. Natasha's plans to bring concerts, festivals and a Christmas market to Kingfield Stadium, and Scott's growing calendar of summer camps and Halloween events at Coleraine.
- Funding stadium improvements. Scott on Coleraine's long wait for support from the Northern Ireland Football Fund, and the work already under way to improve the ground.