AFC Wimbledon have been crowned London’s best club for fan engagement despite a monumental rise for Chelsea, new research has revealed.
The Fan Engagement Index has ranked The Dons fourth in the country, behind Exeter City, Carlisle United and Lincoln City.
The highest ranked Premier League team is Brentford, in 12th, while Chelsea have shot upwards into the top 35.
Points are benchmarked against other clubs for men’s football, “recognising and rewarding clubs that practise good fan engagement”.
Stamford Bridge club Chelsea also received a merit award for accumulating 50 extra points inside one season – they now sit on 105 points with leaders Exeter on 240. Wimbledon have 195 points and are the highest ranked side not with a gold rating.
The Dons
Chelsea FC 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.”
Fan engagement matters
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.
“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 index was published for the 2018/2019 season.
Norwich City, Cambridge United, Doncaster Rovers, Swansea City, Bradford City and Portsmouth completes the top 10 behind Wimbledon.
Millwall are ranked 32nd, three spots above Chelsea, with Sutton in 37th, QPR (42), Fulham (49), Spurs (55), Watford (59), West Ham (67), Arsenal (73), Charlton (81), Leyton Orient (85) and Crystal Palace (89) also featured in the four-league table.