Supporter engagement at Pompey: “Pride on and off the pitch”

The FSA is the leading proponent of supporter engagement nationally as, when done well, it gives supporters a real chance to raise their voice and ensure they are heard on critical issues related to the running and ownership of their clubs.

Over the coming weeks and months we’ll be sharing case studies of supporter engagement at club level, hearing from supporter groups first hand about their experiences. Last time we heard from the chair of Liverpool’s supporters board, Joe Blott from the Spirit of Shankly supporters union.

And this week, chair of Pompey Supporters’ Trust chair Donald Vass supporters’ union talks to us about the supporter engagement work taking place on the south coast…

It’s been a great year for Portsmouth fans, winning promotion back to the Championship, and we’re really proud of the Pompey Supporters’ Trust achievements off-the-pitch as well.

The ‘Matchday Experience Working Group’, which we help run, was nominated for an EFL Fan Engagement Award and we meet with the club’s owners quarterly, ensuring they understand how supporters are feeling.

Following work with Her Game Too, we added more female representation to the club’s Fans’ Conference, which sees various fan groups come together to hold the club to account. Minutes are published so the wider fanbase can see how we represent them.

The club kindly agreed to give us advanced sight of their financial accounts, which meant we were able to produce our own independent review to publish alongside them, to help fans understand what they mean in plain English.

In March, almost 2,500 fans completed our supporter survey, helping us to better understand their views. We put our findings to Pompey’s CEO in a recorded Q&A, which was published on the club’s YouTube channel.

We’ve also led on a number of other projects this year – funding a statue of club legend Jimmy Dickinson, commissioning a street art mural of former club icons, and organising a fan ‘tifo’ display for the final home game of the season.

Donald Vass
Pompey Supporters’ Trust Chair