Helping clubs to grow.

Improving the experience for all fans.

How Can I Help You?

These are the areas I excel in and can most help you to grow.

Most clubs need more fans. Even in some of the leagues with the biggest attendances, stadium occupancy is still well under 100%. Yet many clubs budget to keep the fans they have, rather than fill the missing seats. But there is evidence that a solid increase is more than achievable if the focus is in the right areas.
It’s definitely not a one size fits all, but all fans want some kind of experience when attending a game. More and more, this experience has to be about more than the game. And the younger the fan, the more this applies. From core fans to new ones, it’s vital that clubs know who the fans are and what they want.
The growth in women’s football has been incredible. But while men have spent around 150 years getting it to where it is, women were banned from playing until the year I was born. So there’s a need to accelerate growth, learn quickly and not make the mistakes that have been made in men’s football. The best practice is out there, you just need to know where to look.
While clubs are very good with the younger children, the 5-12 year olds, they struggle with the older ones. This isn’t a surprise; they are a harder to reach demographic and they aren’t as easy to engage either. But there’s not a lot of choice. The next generation are the fans of tomorrow, and for a long time after that. Yes, they consume sport differently but they still consume it and anyone ignoring them does so at their peril.
Built around the typical match, this two-hour workshop has a warm-up, two very distinct halves with a short break, and even added time. Fun, informative and packed with data, ideas and interaction it’s the perfect way to get people at a league or club to fully understand and appreciate the importance of fans and their experience.
There is a lot of best practice out there. Whether it’s website information, ticketing, digital communications, fan zones, or staff training there are ways to improve significantly that don’t have to cost a lot, if anything. Being great at fan engagement is not about budgets or resources; it’s about wanting to do it. If you do, you will.

“Darren is extremely professional and knowledgeable in the area of measuring and improving the fan experience. His expertise was vital to the success of the Qatar World Cup 2022 project. He not only has the experience of dealing with global sporting events, but with leagues and clubs (especially smaller ones) to really understand their fans and to create innovative solutions to improve the overall journey that fans make.”

— Geoff Wilson, Global Sports Strategist

Portfolio

A brief description of some of the projects I have worked, or am working, on…

See Case Studies

As part of the Fan Experience Company, I have been involved in one of the most successful fan programmes in sport. Attendances have risen year-on-year, exceeding records set one hundred years ago, while the quality of the experience for fans at games has reached standards that were barely imaginable in the 1980s and 1990s. Every time a club opens a fan zone, or sends a post-game survey and many other innovations, it fills me with a sense of pride that I’ve played a part in the enhancement of the fan experience for millions of fans.
Although I’ve been involved in women’s football in other countries including Denmark, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Norway, the programme in England has led to the biggest changes and most success. To be able to share best practice and help so many clubs to drive change and improvement by giving them detailed reports and recommendations is a great way to drive the game forward much faster.
A two-hour workshop with City’s Playmakers - there to create a world-class experience for fans at all of their games - where we covered the who, why, what and how of delivering a best practice and memorable match day that will keep fans coming back and, hopefully, become lifelong fans of the club.
I was thrilled, and proud, to be asked to help the club I support (Walsall FC) with their fan engagement and match day experience. Helping them to develop and train their people, gain vital feedback from fans and also transform the match day with outdoor fan zones and a Here to Help Team has not only helped the club to climb the table for fan experience, but also grow their fanbase and significantly increase attendances even when they haven’t enjoyed success on the pitch.
As a UEFA Mentor, I’ve been able to help other countries across Europe to develop their fan experience strategies and put improvements in place. Some of the workshops have been a joy to attend, with so much enthusiasm and commitment to making the changes that fans want. I’ve also been involved in creating publications from some of the successful projects that have been distributed across the continent.
One of the proudest moments of my career so far was being invited to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Working at ten games in eleven days, and attending a few more as a fan, was an amazing insight into the way a tournament works. Being able to identify issues that were then resolved a day or so later showed the power of real-time assessments and, I hope, helped thousands of fans to have a better experience in Qatar, and longer-term, helped the overall World Cup experience become better in the future.

“Darren’s workshop here at Lincoln City FC was exceptional. He spoke with a wide variety of our workforce which included SLO’s, stewards and match day volunteers highlighting the importance of fan engagement in football. He also highlighted the areas which we excel in and provided key recommendations for us to improve further. We’d recommend him to other clubs looking to maximise their potential within this sector and we’ll certainly invite Darren back to speak with other members of our team.”

— Jake Longworth, Lincoln City FC

How important are fans?

Probably more important than ever, but also still not important enough.

Most clubs now have some kind of fan engagement plan, and maybe even a strategy around the match day experience. A few have people in a role that is solely dedicated to fans and engaging with them. But for the majority, that role will be combined with other tasks and when things get busy, more often than not, it will be the fan stuff that gets squeezed out. Fan experience tends to be third or fourth on the list, occasionally second; rarely, if ever, at the top.

But this invariably means that clubs are missing opportunities in the one area where they have complete control. And this means they are missing out on a lot of money too. Getting fans more engaged, enjoying the experience and spending more time and money at the club HAS to be a priority. Getting new fans, different types of fan and, crucially, the next generation of them is arguably the biggest challenge facing sport in 2025.

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“To get over 1,000 responses is brilliant and we will be working alongside Darren to take a deeper dive into the data. We are committed to improving the matchday experience and the feedback we receive is essential if we are to achieve this. There are some things we have already implemented and there are many more initiatives that we are determined to deliver. Working with Darren, we feel we have made real progress in recent months and we’d also like to place on record our thanks to the matchday staff who have really bought into what we are trying to achieve as we look to make visits to the Poundland Bescot Stadium as enjoyable an experience as we can.”

— Graham Whittaker, Associate Director and Supporter Liaison Officer, Walsall FC

I am consultant who has been helping sports (men’s and women’s) associations, leagues and clubs to grow their attendances by improving the way they engage with fans for the last ten years. This includes improving the fan experience at stadiums, increasing engagement at all times, gathering and using feedback, developing people and, in particular, focusing on the next generation of fans. I have worked with FIFA, UEFA, The FA, EFL, WSL and many other leagues and clubs across Europe. With an MBA and a background in customer service excellence, I bring the key principles and best practices from outside and inside sport, and the philosophy that has helped organisations win and keep new people for decades.