Many directors of football clubs will consider themselves to be a fan of that club and will work tirelessly for their club for no financial reward.
Not to downplay that role but when we use the term ‘supporter director’, we are referring to an individual who is democratically elected by a Supporters’ Trust or similar organisation to represent the interests of a wider group of supporters on the board of a club.
The traditional way of becoming a director of a football club is to purchase a significant shareholding, but many companies have people on the board for other expertise they have or particular skills they possess.
At a football club, one such ‘skill’ is representing supporters’ views, arguably the principal stakeholder of any club.
Of course, the supporter director needs to be the right person and therefore we recommend a multistage election process. For example, the membership of a trust elects its board and the board will then elect the supporter director. A supporter base is made up of a hugely wide-ranging and diverse set of people from all walks of life.
This multistage process ensures an appropriate individual to work at board level is selected.
Watch our interview with Dave Matthews-Jones who talks about his experiences as the Cambridge United Fan Elected Director.
