Elite Clubs Take 'A Walk on the Fan Side' at UCG

Clubs from across elite sport in the UK congregated at Uptonsteel County Ground to take ‘A Walk on the Fan Side’ during Leicestershire’s County Championship fixtures with Glamorgan last week.

The event, which was hosted by official Club partner, the Fan Experience Company, saw clubs and CEOs from football, rugby and cricket in attendance to exchange best practice fan engagement ideas across a variety of platforms.

FAW Chief Executive, Noel Mooney, headlined the event with a keynote speech, explaining how the Welsh FA are growing football through engagement focused on reflecting values important to Welsh communities.

Leicestershire CCC CEO, Sean Jarvis, also gave a presentation to share the progress the Club has made with its fan engagement off the field this season, including the enhancement of the matchday experience at Grace Road and the development of digital content, which saw record-breaking growth during June.

Discussing the day’s purpose, Fan Experience Company founder Mark Bradley, said: “The aim of the event was to discuss the importance of the fan experience in driving sustainable attendance growth for the UK's major spectator sports and to explore the leadership required to make this happen. 

“We focused on the role of the leader as the main catalyst for change and challenged them to experience the whole matchday from a fan's perspective.

“We received incredibly positive feedback, so I’d like to thank Sean and his amazing team for making this an outstanding day.”

Sean Jarvis, LCCC CEO, said: “At Leicestershire, we are determined to create a culture that encompasses supporters as the fabric of the Club.

“The event presented the perfect platform for organisations across UK sport to collaborate and share their knowledge on how to enhance the fan experience and create better long-term engagement.”

Other speakers included Yasir Sufi and Lynsey Talbot of Blackburn Rovers, who described their approach that delivered an ambition to ensure matchday attendances were an exact reflection of the diverse community in the town.

Darren Young, of the Fan Experience Company, presented a case study of his work with Walsall FC over the past six months, focused on getting matchday employees engaged in going the extra mile, while Charlie Daffern, of Rapid Retail, argued for an extended matchday experience and demonstrated what could be achieved via the medium of fan zones and fan parks.

The Running Foxes launched their own Fan Zone ahead of this summer’s T20 Vitality Blast campaign, allowing fans to soak up the pre-match atmosphere inside the ground with live entertainment, a roof-top bar and a range of gourmet food outlets, which will all be returning for the upcoming Royal London One-Day Cup campaign.