Our first season back in Wimbledon with supporters in attendance has received top marks from the EFL in its Family Excellence scheme.
After receiving a visit from a ‘mystery family’ for the Sunderland home game last season, we earned an average score of 9/10 in respect of the family experience at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
We were given an ‘excellent’ score in several categories, including for the Club Shop, food and refreshments, engagement from club representatives, the social media experience – and Haydon the Womble received a glowing report!
Our Interim Chair Mick Buckley said: “In achieving family excellence status for 2021/22 we scored very high marks when we received a visit for the Sunderland game. This is a reflection of the hard work put in by our club staff in ticketing, the club shop, our security operations team and the Foundation. Of course, our matchday volunteers also made vital contributions to the high scores.
“Considering this was our first season at the new stadium with supporters, this achievement is a credit to the Club. We will be striving to build upon this and to keep on improving the matchday experience for our supporters.”
Now in its 14th year, the Family Excellence Scheme is an ongoing consultation programme, which aims to drive continuous improvement and best practice in family engagement across the leagues.
The scheme sees each EFL Club receive two visits throughout the season, with their feedback and reports determining whether each respective club would achieve ‘Family Excellence’ status.
EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said: “Ensuring a memorable matchday experience is vital to attract the next generation of young fans, so it’s great to see clubs excelling in this area.
“Fans returning to EFL clubs in their millions this season has been fantastic to see and club staff should be commended for going the extra mile to make the matchdays engaging for families attending live games.”