Following the confirmation of the Premier League’s Fan Engagement Standard, Wolves are pleased to confirm that a new Fan Advisory Board will be introduced ahead of the 2023/24 season.
The Premier League’s Fan Engagement Standard is the latest in a series of league-wide measures designed to reinforce top-flight clubs’ commitment to ensuring long-term meaningful engagement with supporters.
All clubs, including Wolves, endorsed the development of the Fan Engagement Standard at a Premier League shareholders meeting in November 2022 and it is being introduced following a period of detailed planning.
The Fan Engagement Standard introduces a framework which clubs will follow when designing and implementing their own individual approaches to fan engagement, with Wolves’ Fan Advisory Board set to take shape ahead of next season.
What is a Fan Advisory Board?
The purpose of the fan advisory board is to create a consultative panel of supporters who will work alongside the club with the primary purpose of engaging in dialogue, exchanging information or ideas and securing feedback from the fan’s perspective.
How do Wolves currently listen to, and engage with, supporters?
The club currently has an inclusive strategy to ensure the fan voice is represented in club decisions.
Current initiatives include fan focus groups on ticketing, retail and commercial, matchday experience and EDI as well as regular fan surveys. Data from fan services enquiries is also crucial regarding fan engagement and consultation with over 60,000 enquiries received in 2022 alone. This data is used to identify trends and is shared with club senior management to help shape future decision making. The club have also used fan surveys as a proactive tool to understand supporters’ values on important issues such as EDI, matchday experience and environmental sustainability.
The club is committed to consulting with independent supporters’ groups on important issues as they arise, and the club welcomes the formation of an Independent Supporters Trust (Wolves1877 Trust) allowing Wolves supporters to be represented at a national level through their affiliation with the Football Supporters Association.
Today’s announcement signalling the club’s intention for a new Fan Advisory Board to be introduced follows consultation with the Wolves 1877 Trust.
Daniel Warren Wolves 1877 Trust Chair said "We have had ongoing discussions with Wolves about setting up a Fan Advisory Board from a very early stage and they have been very open in discussing their plans with the Trust. We are very encouraged to see this announcement and look forward to playing an active role in the Fan Advisory Board and its development over the coming seasons. We believe this is a continuation of a process where fans have a direct stake in the decision-making process at the club."
Who will be involved in the Fan Advisory Board?
To achieve consistency between the club’s other fan engagement and consultation initiatives, the fan advisory board will be made up of a representative from each of the club’s fan focus groups along with a representative from the Wolves 1877 Supporters Trust and a representative from the Wolves Disabled Supporters Association. Names of Fan Advisory Board members will be published on the club’s website; the members will then nominate a chairperson. There will be a mandatory rotation of 25% on the Fan Advisory Board membership every three seasons.
There will also be a space on the fan advisory board for an independent supporter representative via an application process. More details on how supporters can apply for this position will be detailed on the official club website in due course.
Who will represent the club on the Fan Advisory Board?
Russell Jones, general manager for marketing and commercial growth, is the club’s nominated board level official who is responsible for the fan engagement and consultation. In addition to this, the fan advisory board meetings will also include members of the senior management team based on items in each meeting’s agenda. A representative from the club’s ownership will also attend at least one fan advisory panel meeting per season.
What would the Fan Advisory Board discuss?
The Fan Advisory Board would be expected to discuss a range of topics during the course of a season such as the club’s strategic vision and objectives, short, medium and long-term business plans and stadium issues and plans. On the pitch matters or commercially sensitive matters will not be discussed in this forum.
When would the Fan Advisory Board meet?
The Fan Advisory Board would meet a minimum of twice a season. Meetings will be arranged by the club, however a representative from the Fan Advisory Board would work with the nominated board level official to organise meetings and to set meeting agendas.
More information on the Fan Advisory Board will be included in a fan engagement plan which will be outlined at the start each season.
What is a fan engagement plan?
The club will publish a dedicated fan engagement plan ahead of the 2023/24 season, which will detail the full terms of reference of the Fan Advisory Board as well as details of all fan consultation and engagement initiatives that will be in place throughout the season. For more information on the clubs existing fan engagement and consultation initiatives please visit wolves.co.uk/fan-services/fan-engagement.
For more information on the Wolves 1877 Trust, please click here.
