Trust’s dialogue with Fulham FC featured in Supporters Direct guidance
The Fulham Supporters’ Trust’s structured dialogue with Fulham Football Club has been featured as a leading case study in Supporters Direct’s set of guidance to English and Welsh football clubs on how to engage with the fans.
This recognition for the Fulham Supporters’ Trust’s innovative structured relationship with Fulham Football Club follows the success of the monthly meetings started in 2014 and the commendation in a report from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport earlier this year. The Fulham case study in SD’s ‘Engage’ document (which you can download here) states:
‘Since 2014, at the instigation of Fulham Football Club Chief Executive Officer Alistair Mackintosh, members of the Fulham Supporters Trust Board have met with senior representatives of Fulham Football Club on a monthly basis as part of a structured relationship between the Trust and the Club. The Trust representatives are free to ask any questions they wish, and notes from the meeting are prepared by the Trust Board for rapid circulation, first to members and then to the wider Fulham fanbase. The meetings are always attended by the CEO and a selection of the Club’s management board and have become an excellent forum for frank discussion and cooperation.
The structured relationship has served to help increase trust between the Club and the fans and has delivered a number of tangible benefits already for Fulham supporters, which include:
- Securing Fulham’s long-term future at Craven Cottage.
- Delivering a three-year season ticket price freeze.
- Regular meetings with the local police forces, local councils and the football authorities to raise concerns of Fulham fans.
- Supporting the award-winning work of the Fulham Foundation, including the ‘Fulham Memories’ and Walking Football projects.
- Holding successful supporters’ events, such as the Fulham History exhibition and the Trust’s end of season dinner, at Craven Cottage
