Watford’s new Supporters’ Board ‘not a box-ticking exercise’.

Watford sees the soon-to-be-formed Supporters’ Board as having a top-tier commitment to transparency.

This week, the club announced the new initiative as part of their Fan Engagement Plan, which was published earlier in the 2024/25 season.

The Supporters’ Board will operate independently of the club and serve as a formal platform for improving clarity, accountability, and meaningful dialogue between the football club and its fans.

The Board will also work to ensure that fans’ voices are included in the club’s strategic decision-making processes, particularly in areas affecting the club’s long-term viability and values.

Communication has been an issue for some time, and as a result, many supporters have lost trust in those running the club.

Owner Gino Pozzo hosted a fan forum two years ago, but since his family took over the club in 2012, fans have rarely heard from him, either orally or in writing.

However, he has made public comments twice this year, first in January when it was rumoured that then-head coach Tom Cleverley was under threat, and more recently when the axe was dropped.

With changes in both the football and administrative areas of the club, it is understood that the owner is approaching the 25/26 season with renewed vigour, stating that he wants to keep the club’s best players while aiming for play-off qualification and even promotion under new head coach Paulo Pezzolano.

Nonetheless, supporter confidence in senior club officials is generally low, and the announcement of the Supporter Board has elicited mixed reactions.

Many welcome the idea and see it as an olive branch that must be grasped, while others are sceptical that it is anything more than a sop to fans, and that it will be filled by fellow supporters eager to raise their own profile and/or toe the party line, rather than attempting to carry out the Supporters’ Board’s intended purpose.

A club spokesman stated, “Finalising the formation of the Supporters’ Board is a priority for the club.”

“It is not a box-ticking exercise; it is a commitment to transparency and openness, which is an important part of the club’s re-set this summer, as Gino Pozzo has demanded at all levels.

“We investigated how other clubs implemented their models and the success they achieved.

“We want the Watford Supporters’ Board to represent and include all segments of the fan base.

“It will be there to work alongside the club board, to become ‘one’ board, providing insight, expertise and awareness of all the issues involving the club.

“We want to be unified in our approach going forward. It must be best-in-class and implemented as soon as possible within the framework of the current process.”

As part of its Fan Engagement Plan, the club pledged to uphold EFL Regulation 128.

The inception of the Supporters’ Board, which was initially described by its working title of ‘Fan Advisory Board’, demonstrates that commitment.

More information, including the inception process, can be found in a comprehensive Supporters’ Board constitution document created by the Watford Supporters’ Trust in collaboration with the Football Supporters’ Association and approved by the club, which can be viewed by clicking here.

The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 1.

Steve Temple, chairman of the Watford Supporters’ Trust, has collaborated with fellow supporters Michael Hartt and Simon Parkins, Watford’s former Head of Communications and Media Relations Richard Walker, and other club officials to get to this point.

“We are pleased to have been working with the club to establish the Supporters’ Board as it is an important step towards strengthening the engagement between the club and us as fans,” Temple told the crowd.

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“The Supporters’ Trust developed the constitution document in consultation with the club and the Football Supporters’ Association, and the Board will play an important role in the club’s ongoing Fan Engagement Plan.

“Over 80,000 Watford fans have received invitations to apply to the Board.” After the application process is complete, applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed before a final vote.

“A panel of representatives from the Football Supporters’ Association and fans who are not affiliated with the club or the Supporters’ Trust will conduct the shortlisting and interviews.

“We encourage supporters to read the details and get involved as it will provide the opportunity to further represent fans’ voices in the club’s decision-making processes.”