By The Everton Fan Advisory Board (3 July 2023)
The process to elect three new members to Everton’s Fan Advisory Board (FAB) has now been completed and independently verified by the Football Supporters’ Association; the national, democratic, representative body for football supporters in England and Wales.
Three positions were determined by Evertonians, through a fan vote, and the application window for these positions was open from 24 May – 11 Jun. This was followed by a shortlisting process carried out by a panel consisting of Ellen Loudon (Director of Social Justice and Cannon Chancellor at Diocese of Liverpool), Frank McKenna (local business leader), Jazz Bal (FAB Chair), Dave Kelly (FAB Vice-Chair) and Catherine Wright (EFC Director of Governance).
Following shortlisting, nine candidates were identified to progress to the fan vote; however, one of these withdrew ahead of the vote commencing. The results of the fan vote, which ran from 19-30 June 2023, were:
Julie Clarke will assume a three year term in the position representing fans with a protected characteristic, as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
Paul Rigby fills the role of an Evertonian with no further eligibility requirements; also for a three-year term.
In order to satisfy the election rules to fill a one-year position for a Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) member, Paul McMonnies will assume this role due to being the highest remaining FSA member, despite receiving the fourth most votes.
Jazz Bal, Chair of the FAB said “On behalf of the Fan Advisory Board, I would like to thank all those who applied for these three positions this year. The standard of applications was extremely high, and the fans have now decided who they want to represent them on the Fan Advisory Board for the 2023/24 season.
I’d also like to thank Ellen Louden and Frank McKenna for their assistance during shortlisting; and the Football Supporters’ Association for their assistance in providing independent verification of the entire election process.
The FAB is aware that progress was slow last year due to having to establish the background processes to become organised. But now we are positioned to focus on strategic-level engagement with the current and future EFC Board; and I’m sure these three newly elected FAB members will help us do just that.”
The three newly elected FAB members will join Jazz Bal and Dave Kelly, who were also elected by fans ahead of the 2022/23 season and whose tenures have two seasons remaining.
The remaining six positions, reserved for organisations with links to Everton, were identified independently by the organisations themselves (in accordance with the FAB’s Terms of Reference). These representatives for the 2023/24 season will be:
Welcome to the home of the recently established Everton Football Club Fan Advisory Board (FAB). We are an independent body established with the goal of ensuring that Evertonians’ voices are heard at the highest levels in Everton Football Club.