Last week, Brentford held its second fan advisory board (FAB) meeting of the year.

FAB meetings are a part of the club’s ongoing commitment to fan engagement and consultation and are a key element of the Premier League’s fan engagement standard published earlier this year.   

The meeting was attended by club executives together with FAB members drawn from Bees United and BIAS. Those representatives who sit on the FAB are: Adam Hobbs (co-chair), Ronald Mansveld, Angelo Basu, Taylor Dawson (all BIAS) and Stuart Hatcher (co-chair), Sharon Wright, Chris Tate and Don Tanswell (all Bees United).   

The purpose of the FAB, which centres on off-pitch matters, is to be a sounding board for the club to discuss strategic issues with fan representatives.

A number of working groups which focus on specific topics and projects such as ticketing, food and drink and heritage also report into the FAB providing detailed feedback helping to steer the club’s decisions and policies.  

Ahead of this meeting, a dedicated safety and security briefing was arranged, highlighting the club's ongoing efforts to ensure a secure atmosphere within the stadium premises. Members visited the matchday control room and were given an overview of how the emergency services and club staff work together on matchdays. They were given a demonstration of the stadium’s CCTV system and noted the different types of stewards working on matchdays and the roles undertaken by matchday operations staff.   

The formal part of the meeting began with an update on safeguarding matters, underscoring the club's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for staff, supporters, players and participants of all ages.  

A review of actions taken since the last meeting formed a significant part of the meeting. This included updates on the reviews of the club’s fan engagement plan, supporter charter and acceptable behaviour policy – all of which will be published shortly.  

Jon Varney, Brentford chief executive, then discussed the club's off-field strategic priorities for the season ahead. His presentation offered insights into the club’s updated plans for the next cycle.  

Matchday operations was the final item on the agenda for the meeting, with discussion around the relevant licenses and safety certificates in place for the new season and how our ‘every seat counts’ policy will work.  

Read more about the points discussed at our recent FAB meeting.