ABOUT THE FAN ADVISORY BOARD
What is the Fan Advisory Board?
The Fan Advisory Board (FAB) is an independent body for in-depth consultation with Everton’s hierarchy, including members of the Club’s Board of Directors.
The proposal for a FAB for Everton was developed after the Club asked the Everton Stakeholder Steering Group (ESSG) to look at how fans could best be represented at Board level, following the Government’s fan-led review of football’s future. This came in the wake of the failed attempt by 12 clubs to create a European Super League in April 2021.
The ESSG sought and considered the views of Evertonians drawn from a wide range of sources, including email submissions to the Everton Fans’ Forum, a series of stakeholder workshops with fan group representatives, independent online forums, and the results of a survey undertaken by Everton Football Club.
The Club’s own survey identified that 91 per cent of respondents supported the creation of a committee or custodian group to help advise the Board on key fan-related matters.
What will the Fan Advisory Board be consulted on?
Under the Terms of Reference, the FAB will operate independently and will be consulted on:
- Everton’s strategic vision and objectives;
- Any proposals relating to Everton heritage;
- Everton’s plans for broader supporter engagement;
- Escalation, as agreed, of issues from organisations and supporter groups that engage in separate structured dialogue with the Club;
- Everton’s stadium relocation and the subsequent Goodison Legacy Project;
- Finance and revenue generation;
- Governance, regulation and compliance
Who will make up the Fan Advisory Board, and how will membership be determined?
The FAB will comprise 11 members, each over the age of 18, who represent the diversity of the fanbase.
The 11 positions of the FAB will be made up of seven ‘reserved’ and four ‘unreserved’ seats.
The seven reserved seats will be represented by one member from each of the following supporter groups:
- Everton Disabled Supporters’ Club (ESDA)
- Everton Fans’ Forum
- Everton Supporters’ Club Committee
- Everton Heritage Society
- Everton Women Supporters’ Club
- A member from an Everton group associated to the Football Supporters’ Association
- A representative of Everton’s International Supporters’ Club network
The four unreserved seats will be determined by an open and independently-verified election to appoint:
- One Everton shareholder, to serve an initial three-year term
- One Evertonian representing a group with a protected characteristic as defined by the Equality Act (2010), to serve an initial one-year term
- One Evertonian with a supporter number but no further eligibility requirements, to serve an initial three-year term
- One Evertonian with a supporter number but no further eligibility requirements, to serve an initial one-year term
No members of the Fan Advisory Board will receive payment, benefit or preferential treatment from Everton Football Club.
To read biographies of the 11 members of the inaugural Fan Advisory Board, click here.
Will the Fan Advisory Board have officers? How will they be appointed?
Yes, the officers of the Fan Advisory Board will be a Chairperson, Vice-Chair and Secretary. They will be elected at a FAB meeting on an annual/seasonal basis and the management of this process will be adjudicated by a member of the FAB who is not seeking election as an officer.
What Club representation will there be at Fan Advisory Board meetings? How will minutes be communicated?
The FAB will meet independently without Club representation, initially on a monthly basis, extending to quarterly once the FAB is fully established. All meeting minutes will be made available to the wider fanbase once approved at the subsequent FAB meeting.
Additionally, the FAB will meet with Everton Football Club executives on at least a quarterly basis, with guaranteed attendance of a representative from the Everton Board of Directors at all meetings. A public record outlining discussions at each meeting will be made available via Club and Fan Advisory Board channels.
The Club has also committed to discussing fan representation at Board meetings. The FAB will work with the Club to determine the best implementation process for this.
