Aston Villa is proud to support the introduction of the Fan Engagement Standard (FES).
All Premier League clubs in November 2022 unanimously approved the introduction of the Premier League Fan Engagement Standard.
The introduction of the FES reinforces the League and clubs’ commitment to ensuring long-term meaningful engagement with supporters. Building on existing work undertaken by clubs, the framework establishes a clear required standard for fan engagement and promotes the sharing of good practice.
In approving the FES, each Premier League club has agreed to a series of commitments. These include the introduction of a Fan Advisory Board (FAB) with the primary purpose of engaging in discussion, exchanging information and securing feedback from a fan’s perspective. The Fan Advisory Board will be a consultative body representative of club supporters.
The full Premier League FES article, published today, can be found here.
For several years now, Aston Villa has used the Fans Consultation Group (FCG) as our principal vehicle for structured dialogue with our fans. Particularly since our owners purchased the club in 2018, we have developed a strong and trusted relationship with the fan representatives on the FCG.
As demonstrated in recent years, consultation with the FCG has been a valuable tool prior to making some key strategic decisions. Wherever possible and appropriate, the club also looks to engage with as many fans as possible as part of an ongoing wider consultation process, as demonstrated with our crest consultation and recent Holte End season ticket holder fan survey.
As a solid starting point, the club has invited current FCG representatives to help us form our new-look Fan Advisory Board, with the first meeting due to take place in April 2023.
During our crest consultation in 2022, the club invited fans aged between 16 to 24 years to form a specific group to ensure the views of younger fans were represented about our crest. The club will be inviting two fans from this group to join the FAB across 2023.
At each FAB meeting, we will also hold places for two guest representatives from the wider fanbase to ensure opportunity for others to see the process in action. Please email lee.preece@avfc.co.uk if you wish to be considered to attend an FAB meeting as a guest.
FAB meetings will either be agenda based (where the agenda is driven and created by fan representatives and the club) or the club will invite the FAB to consult on specific projects.
We will aim to meet with the FAB on at least four occasions each season, with two of these meetings attended by CEO Christian Purslow.
We will publish a Fan Engagement Plan before the start of the 2023/24 campaign and each year thereafter, as well as produce a Fan Engagement Report at the end of every season.
The club will also enhance the Fans Consultation page on our official website, where we will publish FAB meeting notes and any other relevant items, including historical FCG notes, Working Groups reports and more.
Aston Villa is committed to maintaining ongoing and meaningful engagement with its loyal and valued supporters, not only via the Fan Advisory Board but, where feasible, by providing as many fans as possible with the opportunity to have their say on important matters to the club.
