New-look Fan Engagement Index 23/24 sees Doncaster Rovers receive prestigious accolade

Now in its sixth year, the index provides the only objective measurement of fan engagement in English men’s football, benchmarked against other clubs, recognising and rewarding clubs that practise good fan engagement, and helping them to identify where they could improve.

Exeter City lead the way with their sixth first-placed finish, with Carlisle United and Lincoln City joining them in winning a Gold award. Silver awards go to AFC Wimbledon, Norwich City, Cambridge United, Doncaster Rovers and Swansea City while Bronze awards go to

Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers, Brentford, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Grimsby Town and Bristol City.

Brighton, Brentford and Everton were all recognised for their outstanding progress in engagement which sets them apart from most of their rivals. Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Manchester United all have plenty of work to do around the bottom of the table, although Liverpool have done well over the past two seasons which puts them close to securing a Bronze award.

Merit awards for increasing more than 50 points in a season go to Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United, who have made big improvements in their relationships with their supporters, with the Blades introducing a new Fan Advisory Board (FAB), and Blackburn establishing structured dialogue with the Rovers Trust.

Founder of Think Fan Engagement, Kevin Rye, said: “We’ve been really encouraged by the reception that clubs across the divisions have given us for this innovation, and we’re really excited to have rolled out the new Fan Engagement Awards along with the usual table of 92,

which is still an important part of what we do.

“Doncaster have done really well this year, which is really pleasing to see, and it shows how willing football clubs in this country are to adapting and improving their fan engagement and understanding how important it is to nurture their relationships with their fanbase.

“The aim with the Awards is to reward them for their work in a more practical and visible way. We are also offering an opportunity for those clubs who win one of the four categories of awards to acquire decals that they can display both online and at their stadium.

“Fan engagement is about the relationship between a club and its fans, its most important stakeholder, and fan engagement is all about how clubs listen and communicate with them. Most importantly, it’s about how they are involved in the day-to-day life of the club and the

decisions that get made.

“The first thing to think about is the relationship and how it works, not what you’re selling fans or trying to monetise. Only when you’ve learned to do the basics – to listen and engage meaningfully – will you be able to do the rest well.”

Despite a difficult season on the pitch which saw manager Mauricio Pochettino leave this summer, Chelsea have also earned a Merit award and CFC Board Director Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE commented: “We are delighted to have been recognised by the Fan Engagement Index for this Award. We have worked incredibly hard to ensure our supporters feel they are heard by their football club, and we have made significant strides across the last 12 months.

“We have certainly got a lot more to do and much work still in front of us. The efforts must always continue as we continue to work closely with the Fan Advisory Board to develop the level of engagement with our supporters across the 2024/25 season.”

With initiatives like the new fan engagement plans being rolled out across the EFL and Premier League – and changes in regulation – including the new Independent Regulator for football – fan engagement is becoming even more important to get right for every club.

The first Fan Engagement Index was published for the 2018/2019 season, and scores clubs in the top four divisions of English Football using publicly available data on their dialogue, governance and transparency in fan engagement. Clubs were also asked for their comment

on the data collected.

Dialogue is defined as the formal conversations and meetings clubs are encouraged or required to have by the rules or expectations laid out by the EFL or Premier League, or by their own commitments; governance is the things that ‘underpin’ or make those meetings happen, or provide guarantees that engagement will happen; and transparency is whether the club lets people know what happened at those formal meetings and conversations.

Think Fan Engagement works with clubs and other rights, brands and other organisations who seek to understand fans and the relationships they have with their clubs.

A spokesman added: “We work predominantly in football, but also in rugby league, strongly advocating a culture of listening.

"We publish the annual Fan Engagement Index, covering the top four divisions of English men’s football, and the Fan Engagement Pod, available wherever you get your podcasts.

“Later in the year, TFE will commence a new series of events and activity to help clubs navigate their way through the new landscape, including a new research report and an event in late Autumn with the UK’s leading authority on consultation.

The full table for 2023/2024, including biggest risers and fallers, can be accessed at fanengagement.net/fan-engagement-index, and you can also see the results for 2022-2203 as well.