Lagom targets fan consultation gaps ahead of licensing window

Lagom Sports Compliance has introduced a dedicated fan engagement service for English clubs, offering audits, managed consultation programmes and outsourced support ahead of the Independent Football Regulator’s provisional licence application window opening on November 2.The football governance and compliance consultancy has appointed Nicola Andrews as head of fan engagement, with the service designed to help clubs demonstrate that supporter consultation informs decisions and is properly documented.Jonathan Greenstein, Lagom’s co-founder and director, said: “Fan engagement is the licence condition clubs are most likely to assume they already satisfy. Most have a forum, most have a supporter liaison officer, and most genuinely care what their fans think.“The regulator will not be assessing sentiment. It will be looking for evidence that the right people were asked, at the right point, and that the board took the answer seriously. That is a design and documentation problem, and it is one clubs have very little time left to solve.”Under the Football Governance Act 2025, regular consultation with fan representatives is a mandatory operating licence condition for clubs in the top five tiers of English men’s football, covering strategic direction, business priorities, matchday operations, ticket pricing and heritage.Clubs must consult representatives elected by supporters or accepted by the regulator, while material changes to a crest or predominant home shirt colours require reasonable steps to establish majority fan support.The application window closes on February 26, 2027, with regulated clubs required to hold an operating licence to compete from the 2027/28 season and maintain fan consultation throughout the licence period.Lagom’s entry-level service includes an independent audit, assessment of representative structures and consultation records, gap analysis and a bespoke strategy presented to the board, while its managed offering adds delivery and documentation of consultation programmes.The outsourced option provides a fractional fan engagement officer working within the club for agreed periods, alongside supporter profiling, engagement with fan groups and regular board reporting.Andrews brings two decades of experience in communications, engagement and organisational change, including elected consultation structures and regulatory change programmes in financial services.She commented: “Fan engagement is often treated as a communications task, when it’s really a change challenge: asking people for a view and genuinely letting it shape the decision.“I’m thrilled to bring my experience of elected consultation structures and regulatory change at such a critical time for this industry. Football has a real advantage most sectors don’t: fans who already care deeply about the outcome.“Getting this right isn’t just about meeting the regulation, it’s about building the kind of trust with supporters that lasts well beyond any single decision.”Clubs can commission the service independently or combine it with Lagom’s wider licensing support, allowing consultation records to be prepared alongside the other evidence required for their applications.