Young Canaries fans will no longer have to raid piggy banks or parents' pockets to join Norwich City's season ticket waiting list, thanks to a move designed to encourage the next generation.

Young Canaries fans will no longer have to raid piggy banks or parents' pockets to join Norwich City's season ticket waiting list, thanks to a move designed to encourage the next generation.

Children under 12 can now join the list free of charge with parental consent while those over 12 will have to pay £10 rather than £50 to add their names.

With a season ticket cap of 20,096 for the current campaign and 450 fans already on the waiting list, the changes are designed to make it easier for more supporters, especially families, to land a season ticket in 2007-08.

People already signed up who paid £50 have been notified by post of their refund options.

City's director of sales and marketing Andrew Cullen said: “We are extremely grateful to all supporters for their resilience and dedication and achieving a sell-out of season tickets for a third consecutive season.

“However, this has presented some challenges for the club as the mix of under-12 season ticket holders continues to fall each season. A number of families have commented that the £50 deposit per season ticket restricts their opportunity to sign up.

“We hope by enabling under-12s to join the waiting list free of charge, and reducing the price elsewhere to £10, that we will encourage a greater number of supporters to sign up for next season.”

Roy Blower, chairman of the Norwich City Independent Supporters Association (NCISA), said the slashing of waiting list prices for youngsters was “excellent” news.

“Norwich are top of the league as far as attracting young people to the football club and that shows in the figures - we've been very successful and credit must go to Mr Cullen and his team,” he said.

The Evening News contacted a number of other Championship clubs to see if they charged young fans to be on season ticket waiting lists, but of the clubs to get back to us Derby, Sunderland, Colchester, and Southend all said they had no charge as there was no waiting list.

All existing season ticket holders who recommend another person to join the waiting list before March 31, 2007, will also receive a £5 Canary Store voucher if they go on to purchase a season ticket.

What do you think of the move? Write to Evening News Letters, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE, e-mail eveningnewsletters@archant. co.uk or visit www.eveningnews24.co.uk