Club Announcement: Dartford v Chatham

Due to police intelligence around safety concerns, we have been advised to enforce a policy where youths aged 17 and under must produce their season tickets or be accompanied by an adult for the match against Chatham on Monday.

This is not a decision made lightly. After giving away 300 free youth season tickets at the beginning of the season and offering free entry to youths during the past two home matches, it is something we had made plans to continue – and very much see the large number of well-behaved youth supporters the club attracts as part of our future.

To make it clear, we are still offering tickets for free for youths aged 17 or under for the remainder of the season.

Unfortunately, police have been made aware of large groups of youths from different clubs – including some from ours – meeting up with rival factions, intent on fighting each other inside and outside the ground.

This is by no means limited to our young supporters, and something that the police are seeing as a growing trend around the south east, fuelled by social media.

While we have put on extra security, police resources are limited and after many discussions, this has been something they have requested at many matches across the non-league pyramid this season in an attempt to avoid and dilute potential hot-spots. When we have followed the advice, Princes Park has remained trouble-free and a safe space for families to enjoy the match experience.

We apologise to any genuine fans this may inconvenience. However, there are many youth season tickets that have not been collected from the office and we suggest those who are unable to come to the game with an adult, pick their season tickets up to avoid any problems with entry.

In matters of safety, we have a duty of care to all fans and must take on board all the advice from the dedicated football police team – and we have worked with Chatham on this matter.

We thank everyone for their understanding.