Foxes_Trust

Google search for 'independent review definition': Independent Review "An independent review is an impartial evaluation conducted by a third party with no personal or financial stake in the subject being assessed. Its primary goal is to provide unbiased feedback, identify risks or underlying issues, and ensure compliance, fairness, or transparency" TL:DR - you're getting a bit too hung up on the use of the term 'Independent Review' (the content of the review and points contained within are the things worth focusing on)

A reminder that all of these Calls To Action are not dictated by what the Trust wants, but by what the 4,000+ who took the survey want. Our practical suggestion to the club was free home cup games which would be them giving something that they shouldn't be factoring as guaranteed income (they'e not to know how many home cup matches they will get - each one is a bonus opportunity for income). They can still sell general sale tickets for these matches to non season ticket holders, but season ticket holders should be given something back if the club is hearing their feedback. You've misunderstood the point around the review up to November. We will review the Trust's continued involvement in the Fan Engagement Framework - this is not the totality of the Trust's engagement with the Club and the Club still meets directly with supporter groups outside of this structure (and should continue to do so - there was continued overwhelming support for this in the survey results too and, as people have observed, only engaging with supporter groups via FEF severly restricts the scope of what can be discussed). But we've set out clearly that the Fan Engagement Framework isn't working and why. And how it should improve. If the Club doesn't make the changes to the Fan Engagement Framework then why would the Trust continue to support something it has proven is not working properly? It would be a futile exercise. So if we don't see progress (we hope not to get to this point), we'll go back to our members and say "this is what has/hasn't happened, should the Trust continue to pour time and effort into an exercise that is proving futile and that the club isn't willing to change even when given clear guidance on how and why?". We'd expect most Trust members would want it to invest time where it's actually worthwhile.

Understand your points and they're heard with appreciation. We have already done some of these things. We did a press release with the survey results (the coverage was disappointing - one journalist even responded to sympathetically say that although we were taking a sound approach we'd likely not see much coverage in the national media as now we're a League One club we're not high on the agenda) and we've deployed Open Letters previously. There's a time and place for both. There's a balance to be struck of the very public and visible challenge and the attempt to maintain constructive dialogue behind closed doors (which requires diplomacy). You can see from our other article that we published today (here) that we don''t think the way the club consults, engages and acts upon feedback is good enough. We've also set out that we will review up to November 2026 and discontinue our participation if we don't see improvements. On the ticketing Call To Action, we've suggested a practical solution: either a rebate or free home cup tickets. Let's see if we get any progress on that in the next few weeks (deadline was by end of July).

So the club has a Fan Engagement Team who own all of their consultation with supporters and supporter groups. That's entirely normal and expected for a Football Club. The four key stakeholders in recent times have been Anthony Herlihy (Communications Director), Imogen Ward (Head of Fan Engagement), Louise Hollingsworth (Supporter Engagement Manager) and Jim Donnelly (Supporter Liaison Officer). The Trust board met with that entire team to mark a new start in relations between the Trust and the Club given there had been such significant change to the Trust board in recent months - we wrote about that meeting here. The Head of Fan Engagement, Imogen, has left the club. She was present with the other three stakeholders in previous meetings but has not yet been replaced. Louise was on holiday the day of our most recent meeting, which is why it was with just Anthony and Jim. The Fan Engagement Team have either direct decision-making authority or major influence over 4 out of 5 of our Calls To Action. We understand the inner workings of the club well enough to know who is and isn't able to take action on the requests we make. The only one where they do not is the Call To Action for Jon Rudkin's departure. On that one, we have asked for a direct meeting with Top. We've not been granted that but we have been told that Monica (who he appointed as a direct report to be his link into the day to day running of the club) and the rest of the Executive Leadership team have seen the survey results. There are not many Supporter Trusts that get to meet with the owners of their club. That doesn't mean we don't try, but it is important to recognise that we can only try our hardest to reach the very top of the club (reminder - when we couldn't get meetings last year we posted a hard copy letter to King Power HQ in Thailand in the hope Top would see the results) and there are different avenues to try and achieve that aim.

Yes, of course. This review was conducted independently of our engagement with the Club so they had no influence over it. We consider an impartial evaluation of the Fan Engagement Framework having included consultation with those that have experience of active involvement with the FEF, the wider fan base via surveys and the Football Supporters Association.

The Foxes Trust can today provide an update on dialogue with the Club regarding our End of Season Survey (full results available here) and the associated Calls To Action. Following our first meeting with the Club, we had requested the following next steps on each of our Calls To Action: Jon Rudkin’s Departure – we had requested the opportunity to meet with Top to share survey findings (given that those in the Fan Engagement team we had met with did not have the appropriate remit to discuss this one with us) Reset The Fan Engagement Framework (FEF) – we shared this paper [Read it here] with the Club detailing our full review of the FEF and suggested changes Reduce Ticket Prices – we requested matchday ticket prices be reduced and season ticket holders be offered either a rebate or some form of other compensation given the club’s relegation (with our suggestion being free home cup tickets) Communicate A Credible 5-Year Plan – we recommended the club run a Q&A Forum with fans with senior leaders like Kevin Davies and Jon Rudkin on the panel to answer questions and share plans for improvement Consult Fans On Matchday Experience – we requested that the first Your 90 Minutes session of the new season to be on Matchday Experience and this to be hosted online to allow as many fans as possible to participate, with a record taken of suggested improvements so that progress through the Fan Engagement Framework to the point of actual change/implementation could be tracked as well as each supporter group having the opportunity to meet with the club direct to discuss what they’d like On Friday 26th June, members of the Foxes Trust board (Jamie Barnard, Steve Potter and Lynn Wyeth) met again with the Club (Anthony Herlihy Communications Director and Jim Donnellly Supporter Liaison Officer) as the agreed next step to re-convene before the end of June, and once the results of the survey had gone live, from our previous meeting on Tuesday 26th May. It should be acknowledged that the Club’s willingness to meet with us regarding the survey results twice in a just a few weeks shows that they have received the survey results with an openness to listen and hear what supporters who participated are saying. Meeting after the results went live gave us the opportunity to also feedback what we’d heard from supporters following their publication and get an update on what the Club has done with the results and the actions we requested. We shared that the Trust had received a largely positive response to the survey results thus far but that there had also been some scepticism that the club wanted to listen or would take action. The Club confirmed that the full survey results had been shared with the Executive leadership of the club (including Kevin Davies, Jon Rudkin and Kamonthip ‘Monica’ Netthanomsak) for their review which showed us that the results have reached a senior audience within the Club. Our most recent meeting provided the opportunity to discuss next steps on our 5 Calls To Action and the associated next steps we had requested: Jon Rudkin’s departure – Club representatives confirmed that matters relating to club staffing sat outside the defined scope of supporter engagement and consultation and, while the right of supporters to express their views was acknowledged and respected, it would not be appropriate to progress the matter through supporter engagement or consultation. It was confirmed that the complete findings of the survey and all five of the Trust Board’s Calls to Action had been shared with the club’s executive leadership. Reset the Fan Engagement Framework – the Club acknowledged that the Fan Engagement Framework is not perfect and that all football clubs are still in the process of learning how they can improve what are relatively new structured processes. That said, the Club acknowledged the findings of the Trust’s review, the time taken to conduct the review and that it raised a number of constructive suggestions. It was recognised that a number of the proposals would have implications for the wider Fan Engagement Framework and supporter engagement beyond the Trust itself. The club therefore explained that these would require wider consideration before any structural changes could be taken forward. The club welcomed the Trust’s continued contribution to those discussions, which the Trust intends to review up to November 2026. Reduce Ticket Prices – the Club is evaluating options and fan feedback received on this topic, alongside wider operational and financial factors. They shared that when it comes to ticket pricing for cup games there are a number of factors that need to be considered such as required split of gate receipts with opposing clubs, the cost of a matchday operation and requirements by football authorities that have to be met. We had asked for progress before the end of July so will wait to see what happens next. Communicate A Credible 5-Year Plan – the Club has heard the sentiment from supporters that they want greater clarity about its direction, and acknowledged the importance of clear communication from senior leadership over time. Consult Fans On Matchday Experience – the Club has already taken action to do this. There will be a Your 90 Minutes session on Matchday Experience on Wednesday 22nd July at 6:30pm and this will be hosted online to allow as many supporters as possible to attend (which aligned with the Trust’s recommendations). The Club will also agree to document the key themes that come from this session on the night, so that they can be tracked for progress as they move through the Fan Engagement Framework to the Fans Consultative Committee and then the Fan Advisory Board. We will now await further developments on the above and the Club knows that the Trust is available to consult on and partner with any areas relating to the survey. We will maintain an ongoing dialogue as we continue to fulfil our role and objectives to: Lobby, campaign and engage in regular, constructive dialogue with Leicester City Football Club, at executive level, and to publicise, when relevant, any resultant actions taken. Hold Leicester City Football Club and its owners to account for the highest standards of business management, and operational and commercial decisions that directly affect Foxes Trust members and the wider supporter base. Join The Foxes Trust – 50% off membership. Full membership with voting rights from £5 – Full Membership is currently half price at £5 for adults (22-64 years old) and £2.50 for concessions (65+), young adult £1.50 (18-21) and children free (under 18). Free Membership is also available – This membership does not get privileges associated with full paid membership, but it will still help us to stay connected with a bigger number of Leicester City supporters. Visit our website here to join – Join Us – Membership – Foxes Trust

We have today published our full review of the Club's Fan Engagement Framework, including suggested improvements. This has been shared with the Club and we'll be reviewing progress up to November 2026 to assess the viability of the Trust remaining involved. You can read the release article on our website here (with a link to access the full whitepaper to read the entire review). The Foxes Trust has today published its independent review of Leicester City Football Club’s Fan Engagement Framework (FEF), two years after its introduction. The review examines how effectively the framework is working and makes a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening supporter engagement in the years ahead. The review concludes that while the framework has a solid structure and there is clear evidence that supporter consultation has influenced some important decisions – including safe standing and aspects of ticketing – it is not yet delivering consistently enough or visibly enough to meet supporter expectations. It identifies particular concerns around transparency, accountability, communication and demonstrating the impact of supporter feedback. Drawing on evidence from published club documents, Fan Advisory Board and Fans’ Consultative Committee meetings, comparisons with other clubs and the Trust’s own supporter survey, the report contains a series of practical recommendations. These include introducing a regular “You Said, We Did” reporting mechanism, improving governance and accountability, publishing meeting outcomes more quickly, broadening supporter participation and increasing transparency throughout the engagement process. Lynn Wyeth, Chair of the Foxes Trust said: “We welcome the work that has gone into establishing the Fan Engagement Framework and recognise that there have been some genuine successes over the past two years. However, our review shows there is significant room for improvement if supporters are to have confidence that their views are genuinely influencing decision-making. “This review is intended to be constructive. We believe Leicester City has the opportunity to become an example of best practice in supporter engagement, rather than simply meeting the minimum requirements. Better communication, greater transparency and clearer accountability would go a long way towards building trust with supporters. We have made it clear to the club we’ll be reviewing up to November 2026 to monitor what changes are made and the viability of the Trust remaining involved.” “We look forward to further discussing the report with the Club and other supporter representatives over the coming months.” The Trust hopes the review will contribute positively to the continuing development of the Fan Engagement Framework and encourage an open discussion about how supporter engagement can be strengthened for the benefit of both the Club and its fans.

The first step was for us to share the results with the contacts at the Club that we engage with regularly. Naturally that is the fan engagement team (Communications Director, Head of Fan Engagement, Supporter Engagement Manager and Supporter Liaison Officer). In that first meeting, it was acknowledged by all present (Trust and club) that those in the room didn't have the power to make every one of our Calls To Action a reality. But we were given assurances that ahead of our next meeting the results would be shared with the appropriate individuals within the Club who do have more decision-making ability on some of the matters covered. Our next meeting will be to discuss actions and next steps now that they have had time to analyse the data themselves and discuss internally. As part of that, we will be making very clear that we would like to ensure the results are seen by all of the relevant leadership team at the club and requesting direct engagement with the relevant people on the Calls To Action where the fan engagement team can't take decisions. We've followed up this week to push on getting that meeting in the diary. We can't guarantee the club will act on everything we have shared. We can guarantee that we will do everything we possibly can to get these results and Calls To Action in front of the people who have the power to make changes.

Let me reassure that it's just a case of capacity. We had a 2-hour board meeting last night (after all of our usual 9-5 jobs) and don't have someone on here monitoring 24/7. Give us a chance!

The draw has been made (recorded as it was done) and allocations should be with everyone on the email addresses shared. Check your junk/spam folder if not received and if reading on a phone click 'download full message' to get the video and shortened hyperlink to results. Good luck to everyone and thanks for the support!

Thank for sharing. This appearance on Blue Tinted Glasses, as well as our appearance on the When You're Smiling podcast, should give people a good understanding of the survey process, results and next steps.

With the 2026 World Cup starting on Thursday (11th June), we are running a sweepstake as a bit of fun for those who wish to play along but also to support the work of the Trust. For £10 you can enter into the competition and will have a team drawn for you at random (so this is a game of pure chance) for you to support and hopefully win a prize with. The following prizes are available: £200 if your team wins the tournament £100 if your team comes runner-up in the tournament £50 if your team wins the wooden spoon (by conceding the most goals in the group stage - in the event of a tie, the team that has picked up the most cards in the group stage will be awarded the spoon, if there is still more than one team meeting this criteria the prize fund will be split equally) Any remaining funds will go to fundraising for the Foxes Trust. You do not have to be a Trust member to play, so feel free to share with friends and family so that they can play too. Entries are open on a first come, first served basis (with a total of 48 places available) until midnight on Wednesday 10th June and teams will be drawn on Thursday 11th June and emailed to all participants by 12pm. To secure your entry and pay, please use this link. Good luck!

Two of our board members (Steve and Jamie) appeared on BBC Radio Leicester last night for a full episode of the When You're Smiling podcast dedicated to the Trust's End of Season Survey. They covered the 5 Calls To Action and approach to the survey, as well as the latest work of the Trust, via a discussion with Owynn Palmer Atkin and Matt Piper. You can listen back to it via your usual podcast providers or here.

You can find the full breakdown of the results and our five calls to action at https://foxestrust.co.uk/surveys …or watch back the live reveal here: