English Premier League club Liverpool is set to roll out the next phase of its enhanced Fan Update process, which aims to make ticketing more secure and combat forms of ticket touting.
Fan Update is the club’s identification scheme, which was launched in 2019. It requires fans purchasing tickets to games at Anfield Stadium to prove they are a genuine individual, helping to combat touts and make ticket access fairer.
Recently, Liverpool introduced an updated version of Fan Update which required supporters to take a photograph of themselves to prove a likeness in a face match. Two initial phases have been completed so far using this new technology, and has proven to be more effective at detecting suspicious accounts.
The next phase will begin today for any 13+ members and priority rights holders who have not yet completed the new Fan Update.
Combatting touting was identified as a major priority by fans who responded to a recent ticketing survey, which was sent to half a million supporters.
Over the course of the next two seasons, all supporters in Liverpool’s database will have completed the new Fan Update through a phased approach. Any fans that provide false identity documents will be reported to the police, the club said.
During the 2023-24 campaign, Liverpool closed down almost 100,000 fake ticketing accounts, with 75 lifetime bans and 136 indefinite suspensions issued. The number of accounts deactivated includes those cancelled as the result of investigations, while others were blocked from sales or ballots due to suspicious online activity or identified as bots.
Additionally, the club has recently introduced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), which helps to keep accounts secure and acts as a barrier to bots purchasing tickets and creating fake accounts.