MATCHDAY GUIDE | NOTT'M FOREST (H)

Town take on Nottingham Forest at home in their next Premier League clash, with Portman Road set to be packed out for the visit of Nuno Espirito Santo's side. 

This fixture is the Club's dedicated matchday to Level Playing Field, and their 'Unite for Access' campaign, where the Club will be promoting accessibility and inclusion for disabled sports fans. The 'Unite for Access' campaign, run across two weeks, raises awareness for the importance of an inclusive sports experience for all fans, with further information on the Club's campaign available to view here. 

Town fans attending will also have the opportunity to obtain a limited edition Ed Sheeran panini sticker. The shiny sticker, which will not be available anywhere to buy, features music icon Ed in a player-like profile image donning the 2024/25 Town home kit. The best way to guarantee one of the special 'Ed-ition' stickers is by purchasing a matchday programme ahead of the game, with some stickers also being distributed in the FanZone, concourse kiosks and by Here2Help volunteers before kick-off at Portman Road. The matchday programme will include a poster of Ed with a unique area to place the sticker.

The below guide contains all the key details to be aware of ahead of matchday:

FanZone

The FanZone will be open from midday, with plenty going on for fans pre-match. 

Panini UK will be handing out sticker binders, which are perfect for young fans to get their sticker collection started. These will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis, with limited stock available. 

Also in the area will be Town legend David Johnson, who will be conducting an interview onstage at 2pm, giving his unique insight into proceedings.

On the FanZone screens will be the early Championship kick-off between Millwall and Stoke, with kick-off set for 12.30pm. The screens will then change to TownTV’s live preview show following full-time.

The FanZone also includes an array of vendors offering plenty of food and drink options, including cakes, hot drinks, curry goat, burgers, and vegan selections. Sheltered seating is also available in our heated marquee. 

There will be plenty of exhibitors in attendance too, including The British Racing School,  Suffolk Police and the Samaritans. The Ipswich Town Foundation will be in attendance as usual with their inflatable activities for younger Town fans pre-match. 

The FanZone is accessible by West Stand turnstiles 55-58.

Tickets

A sell-out has been confirmed for this fixture. Should any tickets be returned, they will only be available for sale to eligible 2024/25 members who are non-season ticket holders. Supporters that do not meet these criteria will not be able to purchase.

The ticket office telephone line (03330 050503) will open from 11am up until 2pm to assist with any enquiries on the day.  In-person assistance will be available at the matchday ticket office on Constantine Road, also from 11am up until 15 minutes after kick-off. 

The accessible ticket office will be open and available to assist disabled fans from 1.30pm. 

Fans who arrive late to Portman Road can continue to enter through select turnstiles up until half-time.

These turnstiles are: 

• Cobbold Stand: Turnstiles 10 (for visiting fans) and 21.
• Sir Bobby Robson Stand: Turnstiles 33 (lower tier) and 41 (upper tier).
• West Stand: Turnstile 45.
• Sir Alf Ramsey Stand: Turnstile 3.

Supporters who chose the 'mobile PDF/print at home' option can continue to scan their mobile PDF ticket through all turnstiles at Portman Road. Fans are advised to have their ticket ready to scan before arriving at the turnstile. 

A list of frequently asked ticketing questions can be viewed via the ticket office help centre here. 

will be in attendance as usual with their inflatable activities for younger Town fans pre-match. 

Planet Blue

The Club shop, Planet Blue, will be open from 10am up until kick-off on matchday. Fans can benefit from an additional 10% off sale price on all 2024/25 replica kit and training wear in-store.

Planet Blue will then be closed during the game, with doors opening again for 30 minutes post-match.

Bag searches and matchday safety

The Club takes the safety of supporters, staff and visitors very seriously. Working in partnership with Suffolk Constabulary, we have reviewed our security procedures to help ensure the safety of everyone at Portman Road. As part of this, no bags bigger than A4 will be allowed inside the stadium.

Please do not be alarmed by the extra security measures, they are in place to ensure that everyone’s time at Portman Road is as safe as possible. For more information, please visit itfc.co.uk. For further details and advice regarding travelling and planning journeys to Portman Road, please visit itfc.co.uk/portmanroad/visitus.

For reasons associated with the security measures and expected busier traffic on matchdays, we encourage supporters to arrive in good time (up to 90 minutes before kick-off) ahead of first-team matches at Portman Road.

Programme

Luke Woolfenden is the cover star of Saturday's programme, which is priced at £3.50. An in-depth interview with the Suffolk-born defender is included, alongside the number six’s thoughts ahead of kick-off.

Programmes are expected to be in high demand, particularly given the Ed Sheeran X Panini promotion, and supporters wishing to purchase are advised that an early arrival is the best way to guarantee a copy. 

The programme is available from Planet Blue as well as various programme stations around the ground. The Club will be running a fully cashless operation across all programme kiosks and programme trolleys, both inside and outside the stadium. This includes the Club's Planet Blue store, which is fully cashless. 

Here2Help Team

As with all home fixtures, the Here2Help team will be present around the stadium, at the train station and within the town centre, available to assist supporters throughout the day. The team also have plenty of stickers for young fans to collect throughout the season. 

The Club's Here2Help team can be identified by their pink and blue hi-vis vests with 'Here2Help' printed on the back and will also be engaging with fans. Be sure to find a member of the friendly Here2Help team, who will all be happy to chat all things Town in the build-up to kick-off.

Officials

• Referee: Michael Salisbury
• Assistants: Simon Bennett, Akil Howson
• Fourth official: Steve Martin
• VAR: Jarred Gillett
• Assistant VAR: Dan Cook

Michael Salisbury is the man in the middle on Saturday, making the journey back to Portman Road having also taken charge of Town’s clash against AFC Bournemouth back in December.

This season, the official has distributed 57 bookings across his 17 fixtures, sending four players off.

Visiting supporters

Away fans making the journey to Portman Road on Saturday can familiarise themselves with the area by taking a look at the visiting fan guide below. 

Ipswich Fans Supporting Foodbanks

The Ipswich Fans Supporting Foodbanks group will be attendance on matchday, holding collections for food donations. Supporters can bring food donations to the FanZone or take donations to the collection point which will be opposite Planet Blue. 

Matchday text number

Ipswich Town Football Club does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.

Portman Road is a welcoming and inclusive stadium where every fan should feel safe attending a match.

Offensive chanting, gesturing and displaying offensive messages is not acceptable.

Should a supporter see or hear something that doesn’t look right, they should send a message to the dedicated reporting number – text “ITFC + message” to 60650, which will go straight to the Club's control room and be received immediately by a member of the safety team. All messages will be treated with discretion with appropriate action taken. You may be contacted for further information following your text. 

Fans can also report any incidents to a nearby steward, who will be available to assist. 

Costa Coffee

Members and season ticket holders can benefit from a 25% discount on hand-crafted drinks at qualifying Costa Coffee stores on matchdays, simply by presenting a season ticket or membership card. 

This benefit can be acquired at the following stores:

• Ipswich, Queen St
• Ipswich, Carr St
• Ipswich, Station
• Ipswich, Interchange RP
• Ipswich, Anglia RP, DT
• Ipswich, Euro RP, DT
• Ipswich, Martlesham Heath, DT
• Ipswich, Next
• Woodbridge
• Stowmarket, Tesco

Extra information

Supporters should note that a road closure remains in place at Princes Street at the end of Portman Road, meaning supporters parking in the NCP Portman Road car park will need to either turn right towards Handford Road or go straight over down Sir Alf Ramsey Way.

The Club has introduced a traffic management plan for all home fixtures this season, which will include road closures on Sir Alf Ramsey Way and Portman Road. Access routes to the West Stand and Sir Bobby Robson Stand, sponsored by the KBB Centre, on each of these roads are often heavily congested and therefore, to ensure the safety of all supporters, road closures will be in place from 90 minutes before kick-off until 30 minutes after the final whistle.