Notes from the April meeting with Fulham FC.
On Wednesday 15th April 2026 at 13.30, the Fulham Supporters’ Trust (FST) met with Fulham FC via video conference.
The Club was represented by:
- Jamie Nicholson, Head of Supporter Services (JN)
- Nicola Walworth, Supporter Relations Manager (NW)
- Nathan Blair, Disability Access Officer (NB)
- James Herman, Supporter Liaison Officer (JH)
The FST was represented by:
- Jerry Cope, Treasurer and Membership Secretary (JC)
- Hayley Davinson, Vice-Chair (HD)
- Tamara Dragadze (Board Member, TD)
HOW IT WORKS
This was the latest of the smaller meetings we have agreed to have with the Club to explore in more detail some of the areas of activity, which should be of interest to our members. It is expected these meetings will provide deeper insight into the way the Club operates and provide explanations for some of the more commonly asked questions.
JC opened the meeting asking each member of the supporter services team to explain their roles and what their work entails for the benefit of fans. JN, Head of Supporter Engagement, started by explaining about the overall structure of the team, which has expanded from two people to four over the last year. This now means there is a specific Disability Access Officer (NB) and that the club Supporter Relations Manager (NW) now has a two-person team with the appointment of JH. The increase in the size of the team directly reflected the growth of work in supporter relations, which was put down to two things – increased number of Fulham fans and the introduction of the FAB and other supporters’ groups.
JN’s role as head of the team was explained as two-fold. First, to liaise between the club and supporters on key issues, trying to ensure all views are considered. When fans have views, it is important that the club listen to them. It is not always possible to do as each fan wishes, but to try and ensure that views are heard.
Second is to understand what fans think and from those thoughts, create ideas that bring supporters closer to the club. JN is responsible for relationships with all of the fan groups, including FAB, Trust, DSA, Lillies and supporter fan groups. JN also has the responsibility to adhere to the Fan Engagement Standard and the Fan Engagement Plan that needs to be delivered to Premier League annually. He also works with the PL Fan Engagement Team and that means seeing the work of the PL in this area and work with equivalents in this role at other clubs and hear what issues are similar/ different approaches clubs apply in this field of work.
On matchdays, JN manages the ‘Here to Help’ team that are available to fans in and around the stadium. Externally the role needs JN to be as available as possible. Internally it is to keep the club as supporter listening as possible. The role is about navigating those two areas.
Next, NW explained her role as SLO, a role she has held in various guises for nearly 19 years at the club. She, alongside colleague JH, are the first point of call for enquiries sent into supporters. It covers everything from tickets falling in the wrong hands, to food, to away fans, to accessibility. No matter the query, the aim is always to treat the enquiry equally and fairly.
She explained that the role has changed over the years, the emails received have increased significantly due to popularity of the team. This was the reason for the appointment of JH and NB to spread the workload and ensure club could give better responses and more time to the enquiries received.
JC then asked if NW, or others, use data and other tools to judge between heated, topical issues, and one-off problems. NW explained that the issues brought up at Trust meetings are a good gauge of the size of an issue, and looking on social media can be a tool to understand the heat around a topic or conversation. The club do not usually reply or engage on topics on social media, but it can be a source of understanding the feeling around a topic.
TD then asked a question around disability enquiries and having a clear line of understanding for where to direct questions. NW explained that the topic of a query will have an impact on where best to send questions. The ticket office is specifically the place for ticketing questions, whereas NW and NB are both also involved with questions regarding disability matchday experience or similar topics. It was advised to contact NB first with any disability questions (nblair@fulhamfc.com) and he will know where to direct any questions.
NB then introduced his work in his newish role as Disabled Access Officer, where he is responsible for all supporter issues specific to those with disabilities – from matchday to tours to hospitality when required. This covers toilets and other similar facilities and means working closely with the Inclusion team, too. Every six weeks NB meets with the DSA and they were referred to as a ‘critical friend’, someone they need for feedback and ideas alongside other supporters’ groups, NB stressed that the age, and lack of space, of the stadium sometimes made solutions to issues difficult to find.
Finally, JH introduced self and role working with NW helping answer enquiries from supporters. JH advised that there were areas that he specifically assisted with. The first was liaising with the men’s first team in getting items signed for supporters. JH advised this was an important connection between the players and the supporters. JH mentioned the club are looking at future opportunities to further connect the players and supporters but that there were limitations to this.
JH is also the designated away game Supporter Liaison Officer. This is a role that has come into full effect since the start of the 25/26 season and means JH is visible (usually in black uniform) and is the designated person for fans to seek out should they need support on an away matchday. JH also takes feedback from fans that is fed back to JN to ensure that they are constantly looking for ways to improve the away day match experience. It was noted that now JH is becoming more recognised amongst regular away fans he is enjoying the relationship that it builds between himself and those attending.
JC suggested profiling JH for the Trust newsletter to raise his profile, which was agreed.
HD asked if the Supporter Services team are able to watch much of the game when they are working, as it is a significant commitment, particularly for JH to travel, with the primary reason being to offer support rather than just attend the game. The majority of the team’s responsibility takes place pre-match and in dealing with the enquiries post match. During matches, both home and away, the team are reactive to incidents while observing surroundings and provide assistance when required.
JC wanted at this point to say on behalf of the Trust that they have huge appreciation for the whole team and their work to help fans. It was agreed it was tough work as it is not possible to please all fans all the time, and there are other pressures on the Club, however NW noted it is because they have a good team that they do enjoy it!
Conversation moved on and JC asked about the communication between club and fans as this has often been an area where fans have felt the club could do more. It is often felt by the Trust and supporters that the club are reactive rather than proactive and sometimes there are opportunities to improve relations, or lessen the damage of difficult or unpopular news, but the club rarely seem to wish to say more on topics than strictly necessary. JN said that overall, the Supporter team will defer comms to the Comms team (who the Trust met with in a similar session to this one, you can read the notes from that meeting here). An example was suggested by JC on the announcement of the club’s accounts. Rather than just announcing the £44m loss this week, the club could aim to explain how the need to reduce this loss links to the strategy on the Pier and other approaches to make the Club financially sustainable.
JN said it was always possible to review comms individually and see where improvements can be made, so he would take this feedback to the comms team.
HD then asked about the set-up of supporter groups at Fulham and if the team could explain how they see this working now, and how they would like it to work in future.
JN said they would ideally like to see even more supporter groups and work is in progress to create a toolkit to make it easier for supporter groups to form should more fans wish to come forward and start their own. He realises that supporter groups may not be the only way to encourage more supporters to engage with the club, for example younger fans may wish to come up with their own less formal ideas, for which he is open to hear and help where possible. Also he has plans to enable these groups to work closer together where this will be possible and where the groups will want to collaborate.
Conversation then moved on to recent comments about away fans in home areas. TD explained that there had been a lot of frustration amongst fans who felt that the club did not take seriously enough the level of anger when away fans are close by to their seats. NW said the focus of club work on this problem is focussed on preventing people from buying the tickets and significant work has been done to prevent the purchase of tickets and the prevention of entry to the stadium on any possible risky sale of tickets. Those who provided tickets to away-fans were tracked down on the basis of information provided by stewards and supporters and often had their season tickets or membership revoked. TD pointed out that it is important also to be aware that all fans should be screened upon entry to the stadium, so obvious signs of away fans (shirts/scarfs etc) are picked up before ticket holders take their seats. With more searches likely next year under Martyn’s Law this might prove more possible although entry to the stadium was already not as fast as some fans would like, and a balance had to be struck.
It was noted that emails to the club regarding this issue have decreased this season and further training has been provided to stewards to enable them to act appropriately when there are problems. It was also agreed by JN that there is still further work to do on the issue and around the comms of what the club does to stop people entering the stadium in the wrong areas of the ground. He stressed the importance of intelligence on which seats were involved so purchase could be tracked back.
HD asked about the comms regarding ongoing supporter issues such as catering and facilities, both of which JN explained there is work being done in these areas, including a catering survey in process to get feedback and ideas on where to improve on these issues and a working group to look again at the toilets and water supply in the Hammersmith End, which had been a difficult and ongoing problem. The Trust had a representative on this new Working Group, and outcomes will be fed back when possible and support will be sought to get any news on these topics out to supporters.
TD asked about the disabled toilet in the Hammersmith End and access for it only for eligible supporters. NB explained a Radar key will open the door, which people in need will either already
have, or they will be able to get one from a nearby steward. All access point information is available in the Accessibility part of the website. TD said the system does not seem to have worked properly recently and the Trust will forward separate correspondence on the subject to NB
HD asked about supporter liaison work on matchdays at Craven Cottage for women and academy games. It had been noted by the team that with recent progress and improved attendances there will be further discussion and planning will be required soon.
JC asked about the coverage of games on FFCTV, as it is only ever around 24 hours before a game is played that it is confirmed on television. NW explained this is to encourage live attendance. JN agreed to feedback this lack of notice for further internal discussion.
TD asked about sharing transport news (such as no District line) earlier with supporters so they could plan their trips accordingly, and this was noted by the team.
The meeting closed at 14.25.
