Brentford's Fan Advisory Board (FAB) was set up in April 2023 as part of the club’s fan engagement work, following the launch of the Premier League’s Fan Engagement Standard.
The FAB’s primary role is to ensure that fans have a structured, meaningful voice in the strategic decision-making processes at the club, helping to foster a stronger connection between supporters and the club.
What does the FAB discuss?
The FAB covers non-football issues including the club’s strategic vision, industry developments, heritage assets and plans for supporter engagement.
How often does the FAB meet?
The FAB meets approximately four times per season.
Who sits on the FAB?
The FAB is currently made up of four representatives from supporters' trust Bees United, and four representatives from Brentford Independent Association of Supporters (BIAS). Both groups provide a co-chair for FAB.
Current membership
Brentford FC staff
Chief executive – Jon Varney
Corporate affairs director – Greig Mailer
Fan and community relations director – Sally Stephens
Supporter liaison officer – Hayley Carson
Bees United
Stuart Hatcher - co-chair (and Brentford non-executive director)
Stuart is a long-term Brentford fan and season ticket holder. For many years he was involved with Bees United behind the scenes working as a volunteer using his skills as a corporate lawyer.
In his day job, Stuart is head of the Forsters’ corporate team and advises across the full range of domestic and international corporate law issues, including M&A, venture capital, private equity and other shareholder investments, group reorganisations and the return of value to shareholders.
Stuart joined Forsters in 2020 following an 11-year period as a Partner at PwC Legal.
Chris Tate
Chris previously sat as a director on the board of the Brentford supporters' trust.
He became an associate in the property sector in 2015 and now works almost exclusively within the affordable housing sector, responsible for managing a client base across the home counties and acting as employer’s agent on a range of small, medium and large new-build mixed tenure residential developments.
Don Tanswell
Don is a recent season ticket holder acquiring his membership in the last 10 years.
His Bees journey started with his son, who is a UEFA coach, who wanted to visit London grounds.
He recalls his first trip through seeing numbers of Bees fans and many families.
Don’s matchday routine starts with a walk along the river from Chiswick and a pint on the return if Brentford win with a warm feeling from three points.
He joined Bees United to learn more about our club’s history.
Sharon Wright (deputy chair)
Sharon lives in Brentford, next door to Griffin Park, and is a season ticket holder in the north stand.
She has been a member of the Bees United Board since 2022.
Originally from Northern Ireland, she is a self-employed strategy and engagement consultant with particular expertise in engaging communities around the built environment, most often on the design of schools and colleges in the UK and internationally.
When not cheering at the Gtech, or running workshops on school toilets, she can be found enjoying the parks of west London, having a pint in one of Brentford’s excellent pubs and being a servant to her two delightful tabby cats.
BIAS
Angelo Basu
Angelo was born in Chiswick and has been a Brentford fan for over 30 years, the last 20 of which he has lived in Leeds.
He has a season ticket in the west stand and follows the club home and away with his teenage son.
Away from Brentford, Angelo works as a commercial lawyer in industry.
Allyson Woyak
Born and raised in the US on a healthy diet of baseball and American football, Allyson has been a passionate Brentford supporter since moving to the UK a few years ago.
In addition to serving on the FAB, she is an elected representative of BIAS. Allyson is committed to making sure every fan feels welcome and heard, whether a lifelong supporter or a new-Bee.
Other representatives can attend FAB meetings as required by the agenda.
Updates: Adam Hobbs stepped down as co-chair and from the FAB at the BIAS AGM earlier this month. Ronald Mansveld has also left his role on the FAB. We thank them both for their time and the positive contributions they’ve made to the FAB and to many other working groups. New representatives from the BIAS committee will be communicated shortly.
The latest FAB meeting
Our most recent FAB meeting took place earlier this month. The key topics discussed during the meeting included:
Season ticket strategy – the club provided a recap on the 2024/25 season ticket strategy and reflections so far. Discussion areas for the 2025/36 season ticket working group were also outlined.
TAPs review – the work of the TAPs review working group was discussed, including key proposals for the 2025/26 season.
Family consultation – one of the club’s key focus areas will be families coming to games. A survey is being planned to seek feedback on how the experience for families can be improved, both home and away.
Boosting away attendance – the work of the new away match working group was discussed. New initiatives such as the club’s 20 per cent discount for train travel outside of London and the expansion of the family friendly and singing sections were discussed.