match day experience group
Following the announcement by Wolves that they plan to launch fan consultation groups - https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/club/20210506-wolves-launch-fan-consultation-groups/ we asked Wolves 1877 Trust member Jack Finch, who is also a member of the existing ‘’match day experience group’, to outline how the group currently operates and the benefits it brings to the wider supporter network……
The Matchday Experience Group was set up in 2017 by Russell Jones, who had joined the club’s marketing department. The brief was simple- to consult with a wide range of supporters on every aspect of the Molineux matchday, to ensure the experience was as good as it could be.
The group usually meets 3-4 times a season, and last year all meetings were held virtually due to the pandemic. In addition to this, there is a dedicated WhatsApp group for all members, plus club officials, to discuss and dissect elements of the Matchday Experience. Each meeting is focused on a particular issue, and the club asks all members of the group to bring ideas or thoughts to the meeting. The WhatsApp group is useful for providing instance reaction or feedback, if there is something we like or don’t like about a matchday, or if there is something impressive at an away ground that could be implemented at Molineux.
There have been a lot of successful examples of how the group has worked with the club to improve the matchday experience of Wolves fans. At one of the early meetings, it was suggested that many supporters access Molineux via the subway, and that although an essential part of matchday, it wasn’t a particular pleasant one. The club worked with the group and ultimately commissioned the mural-style artwork that currently lines the walls of the subway. The pre-match light shows were also an idea from the group, and the club purchased specific LED floodlights for the purpose, a show of commitment to the group.
After it became clear that football would restart during the pandemic without supporters, the group met virtually to discuss how best to show our support for the players from home. It was from those discussions that the fan mural in the South Bank was conceived, and it became one of the most iconic and popular fan murals across the League. In addition, when Raul Jimenez suffered his terrible injury last season, it was the Matchday Experience Group, with support from the club officials, who facilitated the ‘Fuerza Raul’ banner.
The great thing about the group, and I hope will be the great thing about all the consultation groups, is that the club are completely open to ideas. Nothing is off the table when we discuss ideas, and because it is made up of a wide spectrum of supporters, it gives a voice to the match-going fans. It puts the supporters front and centre of the matchday experience, which can only be a good thing.