New-look Fan Engagement Index 23/24 shows Premier League clubs have plenty to do
- Exeter City top with a perfect score, leading the way for the sixth season
- Chelsea earn Merit award after significant improvements
- Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford and Everton the other stand-out award winners from the Premier League
- Carlisle United and Lincoln City join Exeter with Gold award wins
Go to fanengagement.net/fan-engagement-index for the full tables for both 2023/2024 (including the Fan Engagement Awards) and the table for 2022/2023.
The 2023-24 Fan Engagement Index has been released today with Premier League clubs still struggling to reach the top ten.
Now in its sixth year, the index provides the only objective measurement of fan engagement in English men’s football, benchmarked against other clubs, recognising and rewarding clubs that practise good fan engagement, and helping them to identify where they could improve.
Exeter City lead the way with their sixth first-placed finish, with Carlisle United and Lincoln City joining them in winning a Gold award. Silver awards go to AFC Wimbledon, Norwich City, Cambridge United, Doncaster Rovers and Swansea City while Bronze awards go to Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers, Brentford, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Grimsby Town and Bristol City.
Brighton, Brentford and Everton were all recognised for their outstanding progress in engagement which sets them apart from most of their rivals. Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Manchester United all have plenty of work to do around the bottom of the table, although Liverpool have done well over the past two seasons which puts them close to securing a Bronze award.
Merit awards for increasing more than 50 points in a season go to Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United, who have made big improvements in their relationships with their supporters, with the Blades introducing a new Fan Advisory Board (FAB), and Blackburn establishing structured dialogue with the Rovers Trust.
Despite a difficult season on the pitch which saw manager Mauricio Pochettino leave this summer, Chelsea have also earned a Merit award and CFC Board Director Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE commented: “We are delighted to have been recognised by the Fan Engagement Index for this Award. We have worked incredibly hard to ensure our supporters feel they are heard by their football club, and we have made significant strides across the last 12 months.
“We have certainly got a lot more to do and much work still in front of us. The efforts must always continue as we continue to work closely with the Fan Advisory Board to develop the level of engagement with our supporters across the 2024/25 season.”
With initiatives like the new fan engagement plans being rolled out across the EFL and Premier League – and changes in regulation – including the new Independent Regulator for football – fan engagement is becoming even more important to get right for every club.
Founder of Think Fan Engagement, Kevin Rye, said, “We’ve been really encouraged by the reception that clubs across the divisions have given us for this innovation, and we’re really excited to have rolled out the new Fan Engagement Awards along with the usual table of 92, which is still an important part of what we do.
“The aim with the Awards is to reward them for their work in a more practical and visible way. We are also offering an opportunity for those clubs who win one of the four categories of awards to acquire decals that they can display both online and at their stadium.
“Fan engagement is about the relationship between a club and its fans, its most important stakeholder, and fan engagement is all about how clubs listen and communicate with them. Most importantly, it’s about how they are involved in the day-to-day life of the club and the decisions that get made.
“The first thing to think about is the relationship and how it works, not what you’re selling fans or trying to monetise. Only when you’ve learned to do the basics – to listen and engage meaningfully – will you be able to do the rest well.”
The first Fan Engagement Index was published for the 2018/2019 season, and scores clubs in the top four divisions of English Football using publicly available data on their dialogue, governance and transparency in fan engagement. Clubs were also asked for their comment on the data collected.
How the new Fan Engagement Awards (from 2023/2024) are scored
| Award | Fan Engagement Index points range needed |
| Gold | 215-240 |
| Silver | 180-210 |
| Bronze | 145-175 |
| Merit | Increase of 50 points or more on the previous season |
2023/2024 Fan Engagement Award Winners
| Place in the overall table | Club | Division | Overall Points | Fan Engagement Award |
| 1 | Exeter City | EFL1 | 240 | Gold |
| 2 | Carlisle United | EFL1 | 225 | Gold |
| 3 | Lincoln City | EFL1 | 215 | Gold |
| 4 | AFC Wimbledon | EFL2 | 195 | Silver |
| 5 | Norwich City | EFLC | 190 | Silver |
| 6 | Cambridge United | EFL1 | 185 | Silver |
| 7 | Doncaster Rovers | EFL2 | 180 | Silver |
| 8 | Swansea City | EFLC | 180 | Silver |
| 9 | Bradford City | EFL2 | 160 | Bronze |
| 10 | Portsmouth | EFL1 | 160 | Bronze |
| 11 | Bristol Rovers | EFLC | 150 | Bronze |
| 12 | Brentford | PL | 150 | Bronze |
| 13 | Everton | PL | 145 | Bronze |
| 14 | Brighton & Hove Albion | PL | 145 | Bronze |
| 15 | Grimsby Town | EFL2 | 145 | Bronze |
| 16 | Bristol City | EFLC | 145 | Bronze |
| 20 | Blackburn Rovers | EFLC | 135 | Merit |
| 34 | Sheffield United | PL | 105 | Merit |
| 35 | Chelsea | PL | 105 | Merit |