The Fan Engagement Pod
Think Fan Engagement 101 episodes Sep 8, 2026
The Fan Engagement Pod is a podcast from Think Fan Engagement, hosted by Kevin Rye, exploring how clubs, brands and other organisations understand and build relationships with their fans. It features conversations with guests working in fan engagement and insight, plus recurring segments such as BasChat with consultant Bas Schnater on tactics and delivery, and Did They Ask The Fans with sports marketing expert Tim Crow. The show advocates a culture of listening to supporters and is tied to the annual Fan Engagement Index published by Think Fan Engagement. Episodes cover strategy, fan experience and practical work across sports organisations.
Episodes
Five things you should do to get your fan engagement right
In his final pod about the Fan Engagement Index 2026, Kevin Rye tells you five things you should do to get your fan engagement right. Go to fanengagement.net for more.Full results at https://fanengagement.net/fan-engagement-index-english-footballSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
National League Premier must prioritise fan engagement
Following the publication of the Fan Engagement Index 2026, Kev talks about the need for English National League Premier clubs to prioritise Fan Engagement. Full results at https://fanengagement.net/fan-engagement-index-english-footballThere are also concerns that as football moves towards full regulation by the IFR, many National League Premier clubs are clearly struggling to adapt, even though t
Fan Engagement Index 2026 - Overall Trends
Following the publication of the Fan Engagement Index 2026, Kev talks about the trends in Fan Engagement in English football.Full results at https://fanengagement.net/fan-engagement-index-english-footballThe key trends in brief:1. Across the top five divisions of English football covered by the index over the 2025/2026 season, it is obvious that fan engagement has become a significant focus of eve
Independent fans make fan engagement better. This is why.
When it comes to football clubs and independence of mind, it’s always been clear to me that the only way that this position can be held effectively is through an independent body, established under its own aegis, usually through the desire of fans to be represented in some way and to hold the club to account.Read the full transcript/article at https://fanengagement.net/independent-fans-make-fan-en
Fan Advisory Boards have been misunderstood. This is why it matters
It's been four years since the Premier League announced that every club in the competition would have to have a Fan Advisory Board. It wasn't long after the collapse of the European Super League, around the time the fan-led review began, so we've had quite a long time to take stock.I think we need to be much clearer about what they are, what they're not, what they do and why that matters.Read the
Rewind: Dan McGeachie (ex-Man City/Bradford City)
January 2026 - This is the first ever episode of the pod, and the second most popular episode we've ever recorded. Dan is now at Eleven Sports Media running Global Partnerships Development. Find him on LinkedIn as Daniel McGeachie.Our guest in Episode One is Dan McGeachie, who most recently led the marketing for one of City Football Group’s new businesses within Manchester City FC (read Dan M
Rewind: State of Fan Engagement | How to establish an FAB/Shadow Board
January 2026Part oneAs we head towards a new season (2022/2023), I lay out the position we appear to be in when it comes to Fan Engagement as part of the government’s Fan Led Review. This is after all the context for every discussion about reform of Fan Engagement. I look at where The Premier League are and where The EFL are on this critical issue.Part twoThe main part of this episode is where I t
We discuss our groundbreaking new research paper
Series 2 Episode 4 is all about our research paper, ‘Establishing Fan Engagement as a core value in the Football Industry during a New Era of Regulation’, with my colleagues Natasha Simms and Andrea Rossi.It’s a slightly longer episode than normal, so to help you navigate it these are the questions in the order we ask them:What makes the research distinct and what are the four pillars?What is the
Joined up thinking and growing gates with James Gibbins
This episode is with James Gibbins, Experience & Engagement Director and part of the senior leadership team at Walsall Football Club.In it we talk about a wide range of subject, from personalisation to in-person engagement, structured fan engagement’s overlap with community engagement and their success in using this to grow their average attendances, and one of my go-to subjects: how good lead
Aaryaman Banerji, LCP: Fan Engagement Under the Regulator
This week it’s Aarayaman Banerji, Head of Football Governance at LCP. In it we discuss what the impact of the Independent Regulator is likely to be on fan engagement, looking at:Overview of what the regulator is likely to focus onWhat could regulation look like in practiceMinimum standards across the pyramid – different clubs are in different starting positionsResources, leadership and cultureWe a
Back to basics with Kevin Rye
We’re returning the pod to a regular episode. From now on we’ll be publishing an episode once a month on various subjects. This week is a chat between me and my new colleague Natasha Simms, our new Fan Engagement and Communications Associate, who was appointed in the summer.In it we go ‘back to basics’, asking what is fan engagement, what some of the misconceptions are about it and how fan en
Fan Engagement Index 2024 2025: the results!
This year’s fan engagement index comes on the verge of the biggest shakeup in the way football is run in decades. The new independent regulator for football will for the first time see clubs regulated in part for their fan engagement. This is an important step, but not the only one. The fan engagement index has been running since the 2018/2019 season, and we’ve helped to drive standards in fo
Fan Engagement Pod Ep 80: Join us on May 14th in London!
Join Everton FC, Lincoln City FC, Manchester United & Chelsea Supporters Trusts, plus Rhion Jones, Consultation Guru and Lane Clark and Peacock on the 14th May in London for Life with Football Legislation; Preparing for meaningful fan engagement and consultation. This event is tailored for football club executives, senior managers, supporters’ trusts, industry bodies or specialists, those in m
Rhion Jones: Consultation & the Independent Regulator for Football
This episode is the first of what I hope will be several with the UK’s expert on consultation, Rhion Jones. Known professionally as the Consultation Guru, we’ve been collaborating for some months now as the Football Governance Bill makes its way through parliament, paying specific interest to the provisions on consultation and engagement. You can read the letter we wrote to the minister in charge
Three of the best in Fan Engagement: Gorringe, Scully, Sparks
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Pod. Don’t forget the first event of the Fan Engagement Network is on the 26th July at Bristol Rovers. It’s a joint event with Rovers and CEO Tom Gorringe will be speaking.If you work or volunteer in a fan engagement role at a club, a CEO, MD, director or owner and want to attend, drop us a line at hello@fanengagement.net and we’ll reserve you a place.This episod
Aaryaman Banerji/Civitas: Can we regulate Fan Engagement?
This episode is with Aaryaman Banerji, author of the Civitas report, Governing the Beautiful Game, The Future of Football in Civil Society.Aaryaman produced the report as Lead Football Analyst at Civitas, a political think tank based out of Westminster. Civitas is an independent think tank which conducts forensic research and analysis into critical topics within the British political ecosystem, in
Making friends with Gooners, meeting Daniel Levy with Kat Law & Martin Cloake
This is our first face-to-face recording, done at the RSA in John Adam Street, just off the Strand in London, where I’m a fellow. Apologies for some background noise at times.This episode is with Kat Law and Martin Cloake, who until last year were co-chairs of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust, and who formally stepped down from the board this year. If you want to know what meeting with
Women's Football with Deborah Dilworth
This episode is a chat with Deborah Dilworth, Head of Women’s Football at the Football Supporters Association. Our paths very nearly crossed, as she joined Supporters Direct not long after I left, though then working in the men’s game with supporters’ trusts. She took up a role post-merger of SD & the FSF, and now leads on The FSA’s work in the women’s game.She meets with The FA and other
Not just a wee success: Gerard Lawlor, NI Football League
This episode is a chat with Gerard Lawlor, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Football League.Gerard has been CEO since 2021. Professionally, he was in the hospitality industry as a chef for years, but crucially, always a fan and latterly director and chairman of Cliftonville FC. He has clear understanding of the needs of his member clubs both as institutions but also as businesses that
Changing Fan Behaviour: Time for a rethink
This episode discusses policing, at risk fans. We look at how to change the approach of dealing with anti-social behaviour and problem fans from one of removal and banning, to education and helping them to become better citizens. GuestsOwen West, former Chief Superintendent at West Yorkshire Police and now Senior Lecturer in Policing at Edge Hill University: https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/en
EPL & EFL failures | Establishing a Shadow Board
Part oneAs we head towards a new season, I lay out the position we appear to be in when it comes to Fan Engagement as part of the government’s Fan Led Review. This is after all the context for every discussion about reform of Fan Engagement. I look at where The Premier League are and where The EFL are on this critical issue.Part twoThe main part of this episode is where I try to get my head around
Fan Engagement Index 2020/2021 Special!
It's a Fan Engagement Index 2020/2021 season special. As well as running down the table from 92 to 1, we chat with special guests including club CEOs, directors, supporters' trusts and fan groups, and experts in the field.Find out the full results at fanengagement.net/fan-engagement-indexPlease like, subscribe and share. It really does help our visibility.Support this show http://supporter.acast.c
The midst of a crisis for fans: Adam Keely from Push The Boundary (Oldham)
This episode takes a stark look at what it's like in the middle of a crisis with Adam Keely from Oldham Athletic activist group, Push The Boundary. It was recorded in mid-December, before the owner, Abdallah Lemsagam, publicly declared his intention to sell, though given the litany of broken promises, I suspect fans are holding their breath.Adam talks us through what it's been like organising agai
Making strategy work on the ground with Geoff Wilson -
This week we’re chatting with Geoff Wilson, expert in engagement at a strategic level across sports businesses and organisations.He’s the owner of Geoff Wilson Consultancy, which focuses on Sports Organisations/NGO's, Businesses involved in Sport, Community and Government organisations across the world. This includes FIFA, UEFA, The Asian Football Confederation, and other sports including work in
Creating new traditions with Anwar Uddin/Fans for Diversity
This week we’re chatting about access to and diversity in football with Anwar Uddin, who heads up the Fans for Diversity project for the Football Supporters Federation.Anwar’s one of the few people with his perspective, having played and coached before he went into the side of the business he’s in now. He was part of the Dagenham and Redbridge side that won promotion to League One in 2010, their h
What role for activists in change? Andrew Foster, activist & Bradford Bulls fan
This week we’re stepping back into the sport of Rugby League, in a chat with fan activist and Bradford Bulls fan, Andrew Foster. Andrew is a keen student and lover of the game, and has for some time been very concerned about the near permanent state of change and crisis that things appear to be in.Think Fan Engagement carried out an extensive survey in the summer of this year about the state
Spectatorship with Marco Sansoni
Marco Sansoni is an expert in the role of spectators in sports events, steeped in expertise in both Fan Experience and Fan Engagement. He’s a former Senior Advisor to the World Cup in Brazil, worked in senior spectator roles in some of the biggest sports events in the World including the Summer and Winter Olympics, for FIFA advising on spectator services, and now teaches at the prestigious Luiss B
Get Connected: Leigh Pomlett, Chairman/Owner Walsall FC
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Pod. This is the Fan Engagement Chat, where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement.This week we chat with Leigh Pomlett, Chairman and owner of Walsall FC. Leigh has a long career in business, working in freight and logistics, and remains Chairman of the Freight Transport Association. I can imagine he’s busy enough with that, but he’s also a progressive thi
Did They Ask The Fans #4: Seb White, Mundial/Hampton & Richmond Borough FC
Seb White is from Mundial. Seb is a fan and director of Hampton & Richmond Borough FC, but also still holds a candle for Yeovil Town FC, the club he was born into supporting. Go to mundialmag.com to find out more about Mundial, the sometime magazine, full-time agency and consultancy celebrating football and fan culture. Go to fanengagement.net to find out more about the work of Think Fan
Bas Chat #6 Surveying & Questionnaires
Surveying & Questionnaires: How to do itDefinition: a method of data collection where a sample is taken from the population and researched via a standardized questionnaireUses: Post match Fan ExperienceAnnual or mid-season Fan Engagement/Fan ExperienceAnnual fan survey by a league or FA/federation Done before season ticket campaigns Step One: Preparations1. Decide what you want
Did They Ask The Fans #3: David Evans, Labour Party General Secretary
This week it’s Labour Party General Secretary and Chester fan and activist, David Evans.He tells us all about how he fell in love with the club off the back of a 0-0 draw at Aldershot, goes into his personal journey as a fan - including the Terry Smith era, the US owner who famously had Chester players chasing imaginary balls. David was involved in the reformation of Chester back in 2010, sat on t
Supporter Liaison Officer: Not just an add-on. Stuart Dykes from SD Europe
Episode 61 is with Stuart Dykes from SD Europe’s Supporter Liaison (SLO) Project. SD Europe is one part of the legacy of Supporters Direct, and works across Europe with clubs, fans, leagues and federations on how to implement the role. Go to sdeurope.eu for more.The SLO role was first seen in German football, but can now be seen across all of UEFA’s member associations, including in men’s professi
Education, education, education: Steve Wignall, Marching Out Together
Episode 60 is a Fan Engagement Chat with Steve Wignall, Chair of Marching Out Together, the group for LGBT+ fans of Leeds United. You can find them at https://www.marchingouttogether.co.ukAlthough I had some conversations with members of Spurs group Proud Lilywhites some years back, it’s an area I’m not that familiar with and wanted to find out more about. It’s easy to presume that being fa
Back on the 7th September
We’re taking a break until 7th September. You can catch up on 59 episodes of the Fan Engagement Pod, including Did They Ask The Fans, and Bas Chat via your favourite podcast app, search Fan Engagement Pod. Or why not head to fanengagement.net where you can listen to the Pod, and also find out more about our work on the Fan Engagement Index, our new work in Rugby League, sign up for the Fan En
Bradford City's Ryan Sparks on communicating difficult decisions & building for the future
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. This one’s with Ryan Sparks, CEO of Bradford City AFCWe’d already interviewed him back in Episode 11, but decided to have a second chat with Ryan after he was appointed as the youngest CEO in the country. He was appointed in November 2020, and this interview was
International fans: how much do they really matter?
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. Abhishek Singh runs the Arsenal Naigpur Supporters Club, and is based in Naigpur, India. He works for Think Fan Engagement, and also runs his own business, Sport Ed India, working with sports organisations including football clubs, in India, on social media and o
Ryan McKnight: Thinking about fans
This is a chat with Ryan McKnight, CEO of the North of England Football Academy, former Stockport County CEO and adviser to a whole series of clubs, and ex-editor of FC Business Magazine.Ryan has been thinking a lot about the relationship between fans and clubs, and how that manifests itself in the practical - as well as emotional - sense. We talk about the mistakes clubs make in marketing, how lo
Jonathan Bradley from Bang The Table (online engagement specialists)
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. Recorded in March 2021, this is a chat with Jonathan Bradley from Bang The Table. Their mission states that ‘Robust democracy requires real public participation. Our mission is to enable this participation as a fundamental pillar of well-functioning 21st century
Bas Chat #5: Fan Journey Mapping
The latest Episode of BasChat, with Bas Schnater and Kevin Rye, focuses on Fan Journey Mapping. We’ve provided a breakdown of the steps to take, some resources to do it, and some tips, belowIf you want to get in touch with us to discuss this further, drop us a line via the contact details on our website Fan Journey Mapping: How to do itStep One: PreparationsFind a model that could help m
Darren Bernstein: re-creating Fan Engagement at Bury AFC
Recorded in Jan 2021, this is a chat with Darren Bernstein, Director of Bury AFC. Darren was previously in a number of senior Marketing & Communications roles at The EFL, FA, and British Squash and Racketball. He also teaches at the football university, UCFB at their Etihad Campus, and is an Independent Non Executive Director at British Orienteering.It’s a dig into the challenges that the club
Paul Cox: Fan Engagement in US Soccer
The Fan Engagement Chat is where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. Recorded in Jan 2021, this interview is a conversation with US football (Soccer) activist, Paul Cox.Paul, who lives in Valencia, Spain, has been a fan of Seattle Sounders for years, and when in the States was involved in the formation of a couple of fan groups/organisations, including the Seattle Sounders Fan
#2 Did They Ask The Fans? Did they heck! Simul Sports/Ex-Cardiff Julian Jenkins
This week Sports Marketing Guru Tim Crow and TFE's Kevin Rye chat with Julian Jenkins, whose Simul Sports Group recently put in a bid for Wigan Athletic, and is looking to buy - and radically change - a football club, based on Fan Engagement, Corporate Community Activism and a radical approach to the finances. Part One: Wrexham, Netflix and ThrillsPart Two: Cardiff City - Aren’t we supposed t
A man with purpose on his mind: Jacob Naish from Right to Dream Group
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. Until recently, Jacob Naish was Commercial Director at FC Nordsjælland - one of the most innovative sports organisations in the world and the youngest professional football team in Europe. The club - part of the Right to Dream Group - has a unique model for devel
How Exeter finished top of the 19/20 Fan Engagement Index
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. This week we hear from Nick Hawker, Chair of the Exeter City Supporters Trust. We hear about how they managed to achieve top place in the Fan Engagement Index for the second year in a row, and in 2019/2020, put even more points on the board.We talk about why ther
Leaders who listen: Howard Krais, ex-Intl Assoc of Business Communicators
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. This episode is a chat with Howard Krais, former President of the UK Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, and co-author of Who’s listening? A research project exploring how organisations listen to employees. We talked about the shar
Listening to fans online - Scott Goodacre
Scott Goodacre runs The Online Rule, which publishes The State of Football Social Media (new edition out now), which examines the use of social media by football clubs globally, and thought to be 'the biggest survey of football social media staff in the world' (but he adds that if it's not, he's going to claim it is until someone tells him otherwise!) Whatever it is, it's a really important contri
Fan Engagement Index 2019/2020: Rising Rovers
Welcome to the Fan Engagement Chat, the episode of the Fan Engagement Pod where we hear about someone’s approach to Fan Engagement. This episode takes a look at the fastest risers in the Fan Engagement Index for 2019/2020, Bristol Rovers, in a chat with Commercial Director Tom Gorringe, who you can also hear in Episode 5.He comes with a richly deserved reputation for being one of the most effectiv
#1 Did They Ask The Fans: The European Super League Clown Car
This is a new episode of the Fan Engagement Pod called Did They Ask The Fans, where Sports Marketing guru Tim Crow and Kevin Rye from Think Fan Engagement, talk about why fans don’t get listened to in football, and why that has to change. Guest this edition is Ronan Evain from Football Supporters Europe, talking about the clown-car of Super League and the lack of business acumen shown by all clubs
Launching 10/05/21: Did They Ask The Fans?
We're launching a new episode of The Fan Engagement Pod called Did They Ask The Fans, and the first one drops on 10/05/21. Sports Marketing guru Tim Crow and me, Kevin Rye from Think Fan Engagement, talk about why fans don’t get listened to in football, and why that has to change. Tomorrow starts with Ronan Evain from Football Supporters Europe, talking about the clown-car of Super League and the
Back next week with a Fan Engagement Index Special!
The Fan Engagement Pod is taking a short break this week, but will return for the launch of the Fan Engagement Index for 2019/2020 season next Wednesday 5th May.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sports Marketing & Fan Engagement with Tim Crow
Episode 43 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a very timely chat with former CEO of sports marketing firm Synergy Global, Tim Crow. He now does a variety of things, including advising other sports, brands and clubs. In his spare time he’s a fan of Halifax Town.Given the talk of a European Super League, this episode is a great bit of insight into the world of sports marketing, the psychology of clubs and
Standing up for matchgoing fans: The FSA's Amanda Jacks
Episode 42 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with Amanda Jacks. Since 2008, Amanda has been been working to improve the treatment of matchgoing fans in England & Wales for the Football Supporters Federation, and now the Football Supporters Association.On a practical level she works with supporters in trouble, assisting them through the complaints process & improving their access to justi
Bonus Episode! Fiona Green on her new book!
Episode 41 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a bonus episode, with Fiona Green from sports industry data experts Winners, chatting about the new edition of her book, Winning with Data, published by Routledge. She’s well known in her field, and you can hear more about her and what Winners does in Episode 30. We’ve also got three copies of her book to give away. Listen to find out how!If you’re not
Fan Engagement at the coalface: EPL to National League
Episode 40 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a bit of a special one. We’ve gathered together five fan facing communications, media and social media managers and officers from clubs in the Premier League, Championship, League One, Two and National League North. They are: Alex O’Loughlin, Media Content Officer at Southampton FC, Elliot Byrne, Multimedia Journalist at AFC Bournemouth, Scott Demmerlin
Le Golf National's Chris Addison - loyalty & other leisure pursuits
Episode 39 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with Christopher Addison from Le Golf National in Paris, where he holds a customer experience and marketing role. He has also studied sport and management both at the renowned Stirling University, and at Dundee, where he did a Masters. This was recorded in Summer 2020, not long after the first nationwide lockdowns finished both at home and abroad
All change: it's BasChat #4
Episode 4 of BasChat is a bit of a departure, but for a reason. It’s the last one in its current format. As you’ll hear in this episode we’re going to be changing things around a little bit, and in the future, focusing on the club side of Fan Engagement with Bas.This time around we look at the value of Fan Engagement when you get that approach from a tech company, why clubs value sponsorships &
Being a fan on the board: Dave Matthews Jones, Cambridge Utd FC
Episode 38 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with Cambridge United Director, Dave Matthews Jones. Dave is the director elected by fans, via the Cambridge United supporters’ trust, Cambridge Fans United. He’s learned to accept the realities of the game and not let them get to him too much!This was recorded in late May 2020, towards the end of the first nationwide lockdown. The role Dave hold
The FSA's Ashley Brown. What it's like on both sides of the fence
Episode 37 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with the Football Supporters Association’s Ashley Brown. Ashley led the fan takeover of Portsmouth FC in 2013, and was a director until 2017 when US media mogul Michael Eisner took over. Under the stewardship of the supporters, the club was transformed off the pitch into a club unrecognisable from the one that collapsed twice and was caught up in
Cheltenham Town: Has Covid transformed engagement
Episode 36 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with Cheltenham Town Media Manager, Richard Joyce and Associate Director Murry Toms.Like many clubs of their size and level, they don’t have teams of people working on communications & engagement. Richard works across the piece, whilst Murry provides support on a practical and strategic level for Richard’s work. This interview provides a real
After Covid: Known Unknowns - It's BasChat #3
Welcome to BasChat episode three. This is where me, Kevin Rye and Bas Schnater, Fan Engagement consultant and expert, chat about marketing, commercial and activations with a Fan Engagement Flavour. This month we look at the known unknown of what happens after Covid and the return of fans to stadiums, focusing on whether brands will pull back from their involvement in clubs, season ticket ‘no-
Man in the Middle: The FA's Andy Ambler
Welcome to Episode 35 of the Fan Engagement Pod, a chat with the person responsible at The FA for relationships with The Football Supporters Association, as well as clubs and others, Director of Professional Game Relations, Andy Ambler. Andy used to run Millwall and before that, Fulham, under quite different owners, John Berylson and Muhammed Fayed. At Millwall they had a fan on the board (an
Paul Barber: Leadership in Fan Engagement
Episode 34 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a wide ranging conversation with Brighton & Hove Albion Chief Executive & Vice Chair, Paul Barber.Paul is someone liked and respected throughout the industry, and we cover plenty of ground, ranging from the way in which leadership and values shape the way the club is run at all levels, involving all staff, and how that impacts on engagement with fans
Portsmouth's Mark Catlin: Football isn't a secret society
Welcome to Episode 33 of the Fan Engagement Pod, a chat with another Mark, this time Mark Catlin the Chief Executive of Portsmouth FC. Mark is someone I don’t need to persuade of the merits of open and transparent communication, and good Fan Engagement, as they finished 9th in the inaugural Fan Engagement Index. We chat about the prospects for football whenever it is we emerge from the pandem
Mark Bradley: Has Covid changed matchgoing habits for good?
This episode is a chat with Mark Bradley from the Fan Experience Company. Mark doesn’t need much introduction to people in English football, or increasingly, European football, given his UEFA funded grow work across the continent.We chat extensively about the roots of his work from starting off at the Halifax Building Society, progressive customer service, and developing the fan journey with the P
Epsorts with Trev Keane from Took Consulting
This episode is one of the most fascinating I’ve done, because I learned such a huge amount about a subject I knew very little about: esports. It centres around a chat with Trev Keane, a Dublin-based consultant with Took Media and a founding board member of Ireland Esports. There’s a lot of talk about whether football - and other sports - should see esports as a threat to their business model
Trump & Borussia Dortmund? It's Bas Chat #2
In this episode, we chat about how to ensure that insight from the fans is part of how you work with your commercial partners. Not as some kind of necessary evil, or a brake on something, but as a positive way of ensuring that you get the most out of your sponsorship and activation. We take a particular look at Borussia Dortmund, and Bas also muses about loyalty and the attempted coup by Donald Tr
Data isn't just about numbers: Fiona Green from Winners
This episode is a chat with Fiona Green, Director and Co-Founder of Winners, a technology-neutral provider of services that helps sports rights owners increase revenue, participation and engagement. Fiona is an expert in the field of data, and is passionate about getting people to understand the absolute centrality of data for rights holders.She talks about where clubs have struggled for vari
Fan-activism that engages the club with Niamh O'Mahony
This episode is a chat with Niamh O’Mahony, Secretary of the Irish Football Supporters Network, and one of the two representatives of fans on the FAI (Football Association of Ireland) Council. She is also a former acting CEO of SD Europe, and one of the people behind the saving of her own Cork City in 2010. Niamh is steeped in the Irish and European supporters' trust and supporters’ movement.
Fan Engagement Pod Returns 19/01/21
The Fan Engagement Pod returns tomorrow, 19/01/21. Don't forget Bas Chat, the last Thursday of every month.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How to convert emotion into income with Brøndby IF's Troels Johnsen
Welcome to Episode 28 of the Fan Engagement Pod. This episode is back to a chat with a guest about their experience and perspective on Fan Engagement, with an old friend of mine from my days working in European football, Digital Project Manager at Brøndby IF, Troels Johnsen.We really get into some of the commercial issues around converting loyalty, identity, belonging and being part of something b
Bas Chat #1
In this episode, we have a chat about Bas’s view on data breadcrumbs, where it segways with relationships, about a natty new activation between Budweiser and US women’s soccer, Bas’s take on the Premier League’s now defunct Pay Per View plans, passion products and why he calls fans ‘customer plus’. Mark Bradley and the work of the Fan Experience Company also get a very honourable mention.If you wa
Being a fan and a professional in Fan Engagement : Matt Cecil, Wycombe Wanderers
Episode 26 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with Wycombe Wanderers Head of Media, Matt Cecil. We looked at whether being a fan of a club like him is beneficial in roles like his, how he focuses on what the numbers tell him, and how not to spend too much time reading Twitter or messageboards.We also chat about how he’s moved seamlessly between three different models of ownership, helping th
New Episode Bas Chat - Lands on 26/11/20!
Welcome to a new, monthly episode of the Fan Engagement Pod which we call Bas Chat, where Kevin Rye and new co-host, Bas Schnater, go into more detail about Fan Engagement, tapping into Bas’s vast knowledge of what’s happening in Fan Engagement now. We take a particular look at activations, sponsorships and partnerships between brands and rights holders. I’m hoping to pick up some new ideas and le
Karl Fitzpatrick: the fine line between entertainment product & institution
Episode 25 of the Fan Engagement Pod is an interview with the CEO of Rugby League club, Warrington Wolves, Karl Fitzpatrick. Warrington is itself close to football hotbeds, Manchester and Liverpool, so you can’t just do ‘more of the same’.Under Karl they’ve become known for their innovative approach to marketing a sport and a club that has to work far harder than football for eyeballs and money. H
Special: Paul Musa from What The Footie & Kevin Rye, Fan Insights
Welcome to Episode 24 of the Fan Engagement Pod, and this is a bit of a special: it’s a pretty free-ranging conversation between myself and Paul Musa, who runs the What the Footie podcast, with this episode published by both What the Footie, and the Fan Insights Fan Engagement Pod.Paul’s podcast was set up to help crack open some of the secrets in the game, and is worth a listen: he looks at loads
Football Activism with Niall Couper, Amnesty International & AFC Wimbledon
We return this episode to football activism, in a chat with Niall Couper, Head of Media, PR and Supporter Communications for Amnesty International UK, playing an important role to promote activism in the UK.It’s critical for anyone running a club or working in football in a Fan Engagement role to understand how activists think and work, which make this, and Episode 6, with Fulham, Spurs and Liverp
No nonsense Fan Engagement with Julian Tagg, President, Exeter City FC
Episode 22 of the Fan Engagement Pod is with Julian Tagg, Club President and Director of External Affairs at Exeter City FC - the club that finished top of the first Fan Engagement Index in 2019. The 2020 edition will be out in the next couple of months.He talks about the challenge of operating what are in effect several businesses in one, resilience, whilst keeping fans involved and committed. Al
Fan Engagement is good for the bottom line with Shaun Lockwood, Doncaster Rovers
If you ever wanted to understand what the business case for Fan Engagement is, listen to this interview with Shaun Lockwood, Group Head of Marketing and Communications at Club Doncaster (which includes Doncaster Rovers, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Doncaster Rugby League clubs). He’s a relative rarity in football and wider sport, in that he gets that the nature of the relationship between the fan a
Strategy, leadership & being effortless, with Ben Kensell, COO, Norwich City FC
This episode is with Ben Kensell, Chief Operating Officer of Norwich City FC, and former Commercial Operations Controller at Arsenal, and then Chief Commercial Officer at Charlton Athletic. This chat with Ben moves into an area that doesn't traditionally get talked about enough in Fan Engagement, and that’s strategy.Strategy is, as Ben explains, what makes what Norwich City do, effortless, as well
Cut-through & sincerity with Damian Irvine, Ebbsfleet Utd
This episode has something for everyone at every level of sport, an absolutely fascinating chat with CEO of Ebbsfleet United FC, Damian Irvine. He started out in sport with an existential challenge as Chairman of Cronulla Sharks in Australian Rugby League, and is now CEO of Ebbsfleet United FC in the National League South, via turnaround jobs at Notts County and Wycombe Wanderers.He’s got a great
