Crewe Alexandra Football Club Appoint Supporters Liaison Officers
In response to the Football League’s directive that all clubs must appoint a Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO), Crewe Alexandra Football Club have appointed from the start of the coming season, Beverley Dyer the Clubs Customer Service Manager and Long Standing Supporter Dave Tomlinson to work jointly in the role of SLO in being the official channel of communication between the fans and the club shareholders/management.
UEFA first adopted the principle of the Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO) as part of their football club licensing platform, and it is centered on improving communication and providing a focal point for supporters to make their voice heard.
This role has been welcomed by the FSF (Football Supporters’ Federation) and Kevin Miles (Chief Executive, FSF): “FSF believes that the role of SLO is a vital one, and a real step forward in communicating with fans. Clubs and fans alike can benefit hugely from the work of an effective and proactive Supporter Liaison Officer”.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club has given great consideration to the process of appointing to this position, and is now pleased to announce that Bev and Dave will shortly take up their roles as SLOs at the Alexandra Stadium. As our Customer Services Manager Bev is a well-known and popular member of staff and Dave joins the club in an official voluntary position, both will provide even greater means of communication between fans and management at the club. Bevs work within the football club especially within the ticket office and Dave being an ardent Alex fan for many years will bring to the table excellent qualities and skills which complement each other. The club is delighted to welcome them on board, and will assist them in all their work on behalf of the supporters and the club.
Alison Bowler (Business operations Manager): “These are important appointments at the Football Club and we aim tofacilitate stronger communication between supporters and the Football Club, with the aim of enhancing the levels of service to all the club’s supporters.Crewe Alexandra is one of the few clubs that have appointed a Supporter to be involved in this role” UEFA have identified a need to appoint fans to the post as best practice across Europe and
Crewe Alexandra Supporters Liaison Officer explained
- Crewe Alexandra must have a Supporters Liaison Officer to act as a key contact point for supporters.
- The Supporter Liaison Officers will regularly attend meetings with the club’s management and will collaborate with the security officer on safety and security-related matters.
- principal aims are to: The Crewe Alexandra Supporters Liaison Officers
- Improve the dialogue between the club and its supporters.
- Enhance the relationship between Crewe Alexandra supporters and other Football stakeholders.
- The Supporter Liaison Officers (SLOs) will be a bridge between the Supporters and the club to help improve the dialogue between the two sides.
- The SLOs work is dependent on the information they receive from both sides and the credibility they enjoy with all parties.
- The SLOs will inform Supporters about relevant decisions made by the club management and, in the other direction, communicate the points of view of Supporters to the clubs management.
- The SLOs will build and develop both existing and new relationships not just with various Supporters groups and initiatives but also with the police and security officers, other liaison officers, the Football Association, the Football League and the media, etc.
- The SLOs will engage with SLOs of other clubs before matches to contribute to supporters behaving in accordance with security guidelines.
- The SLOs will be available as the main point of contact at the club for supporters.
- The SLOs will manage the information flow/communications/dialogue between the Supporters and the club.
- The SLOs will work towards being credible with the clubs Supporters and will develop contacts within the Supporter base at the club.
- Regular meetings between the SLOs and the various fan groups, will be staged.
- Crewe Alexandra will consult the SLOs on matters of relevance to Supporters.
- Three aspects of the SLOs work:
- Communication: talking to and sharing information with main stakeholders; ensuring the club understands the fans and vice-versa
- Service the club in decision-making and other relevant processes : helping fans and assisting
- Prevention
pre-match security/planning meetings
: cooperation with police and security to isolate troublemakers and protect ordinary fans against excessive security measures; attendance at
- Build a team as workload increases.
- In time the SLOs will develop a team of volunteers.
- The SLOs will work closely with the disability liaison officer (DLO).
- Be patient! Manage expectations!
The Crewe Alexandra Supporters liaison officers are:-
Beverley Dyer and David Tomlinson
Bev and Dave can be contacted via the following methods:
Post:
Supporters Liaison Officer
Crewe Alexandra Football Club
The Alexandra Stadium
Gresty Road
Crewe
Cheshire
CW2 6EB
Email:
Phone:
01270 213014 (ext 100)
The Crewe Alexandra Supporters Liaison Officer’s Description
the stadium, tickets, away travel, matchday entertainment, the media, or just about anything else that Supporters may have an issue with. any worries, concerns or ideas regarding by any supporter of Crewe Alexandra, to discuss Bev and Dave can be contacted
Their aim is to improve the communication between all Supporters and Crewe Alexandra.
They plan to hold regular meetings with the Crewe Alexandra management, the Clubs Security Officers and the various Supporters Groups; this will enable the club to hear all views before any decisions are made.
Their work is very much dependent on the information they receive from both sides and the credibility they enjoy with all parties.
Bev and Dave will be available to speak to supporters at Crewe Alexandra games both home and away and throughout the week at the Football club. On home matchdays the SLOs will be available in the Crewe Alexandra Suite and the Ticket Office prior to kick off and after the match they will be in the Carlsberg Lounge. At away matches the SLO will be travelling with our supporters and will be available in the away section of the ground.
Prior to Crewe Alexandra away fixtures they will be contacting the opposing club SLOs so that our supporters will have all the updated information to make their day run smoothly.