Could Hereford be the Family Club of the Year?

A press release earlier today from the Football League gives details of several new awards designed to promote 'excellent experiences for families and young supporters at their grounds'.

The new initiative is part of the 'Fans of the Future' programme which was launched in September 2005. It's main aim is to 'encourage the next generation of supporters to watch live football at their local League club and provides a range of innovative ticketing initiatives for families and young fans'. Half a million youngsters have attended matches without being charged over the last two seasons.

The new 'Football League Family Charter Mark' represents a further step forward for The League in terms of recognising and sharing best practice in this area. Those clubs receiving the Charter Mark will have provided a genuine commitment to attracting and retaining family groups to their matches.

Whilst developing the new standards the Football League carried out an independent assessment at 15 League clubs of how families enjoyed their time. This season the League intend to carry out more research - 'mystery fan exercises' - at every club including Hereford United.

The way the research is carried out is interesting. The Football League sends a family to a club as they can sample the whole matchday experience.

According to Ciderspace: Yeovil Town were selected last season for a similar exercise, which involved the 'family' visiting the ticket office, club shop, food bars, asking stewards for assistance to generally build up a picture of how that club operates. The Glovers came out of it fairly well, with the Ticket Office and Club Shop coming in for particular praise - the main area of criticism were the tea bars.

The League says: These assessments will form part of the criteria used to determine whether clubs qualify for the Charter Mark. Clubs will also be assessed on whether their pricing policies are in line with the spirit of 'Fans of the Future', along with evidence that child protection and safety practices have been implemented.

And there will be a 'Family Club of the Year' award, which is for the 'best family experience', for each Football League Division.

---