We now have the results of the Foxes Trust recent Engagement Survey in which towards 1000 fans participated. The responses paint a concerning picture about the way fans feel about their relationship with the Club, with the key features of the results telling us:
• The Fan Engagement Framework (FEF), launched by the Club in July 2024, is not working in its current format – 86% of fans surveyed said it was not ensuring fans felt engaged, 80% felt the Fan Advisory Board isn’t working in a way that makes the FEF effective and worthwhile, and 78% said they were not an engaged supporter today.
• Participation with the Fan Engagement Framework is lacking – 89% of fans surveyed felt the club isn’t doing enough to ensure there is participation in the FEF across the whole fan base and only 15% of those surveyed had participated in a session themselves.
• There is good awareness of the Fan Engagement Framework – with 65% of survey respondents being aware it existed, BUT 80% were unaware of any changes that had arisen via the FEF thanks to supporter input, and 69% didn’t know where to find information on the Club’s website about FEF matters.
• The Fan Engagement Framework should NOT be the only way the Club engages with supporters and fan groups – 92% of fans surveyed said the club should also look to engage directly with representative bodies of Leicester City Supporters (such as The Foxes Trust, Union FS, Foxes Pride etc.) and 86% felt the Club should engage directly with supporters and hear and act on their views.
• Despite concerns about the effectiveness of the Fan Engagement Framework, 74% of supporters believe that the Foxes Trust should continue to remain involved with the process.
This Engagement Survey was prompted by the fact that our End of Season Survey, which last summer gathered over 3200 responses, showed that there was widespread disengagement amongst the fan base. The Trust felt that we needed to explore in more depth why there was such a disconnect, especially when the Club had launched a Fan Engagement Framework (FEF) in July 2024.
It is clear, that even though the Trust contributed to the design of the Fan Engagement Framework, and is involved in the 90 Minutes sessions, the Fans Consultative Committee (and associated Working Groups) and has a representative on the Fan’s Advisory Board, the overwhelming perception of supporters is that it isn’t delivering better engagement.
We will be sharing the results of this survey with the Club in-full and we will be telling them that the Fan Engagement Framework – and how they engage with supporters more broadly – must improve.
Our commitment will be to support the Club in taking steps to do this, however we will be keeping a close eye on changes that are made and continually re-assessing whether the Fan Engagement Framework is fit for purpose.
Ultimately, for the Trust to continue to support and endorse the Fan Engagement Framework, it has to be doing a better job at engaging Leicester City supporters and ensuring that feedback from fans is leading to actual change.
If it is not, we’ll review whether the Trust can, in good faith, continue to remain involved.
We asked supporters to describe in one word their relationship with the Football Club today and the Word Cloud below shows words used, with prominence given to the most frequent word used.
Our survey gathered 967 responses, of which 304 were from Foxes Trust members.
Thanks to everyone that completed the survey and shared their views.