Meet Chelsea FC’s brand new Fan Advisory Board
28 MAY 2023
Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the new members of the Fan Advisory Board (the FAB). The FAB is an initiative to help fulfil our promise to be pioneers in fan engagement.
Building on successful consultation and engagement mechanisms the club already has in place, the FAB will engage in discussion, exchange information and share insights on potential decisions that impact Chelsea FC supporters.
Following an open application process in which 3,700+ fans applied, a nominations committee, consisting of club and independent representatives, identified four supporters who will join our current supporter advisors to the board to make up the inaugural FAB.
The new members selected by the nominations committee are:
Arjun Pillai, who attended his first match at Stamford Bridge at the age of six, and has been a season ticket holder for over 15 years. He is a Chelsea Pitch Owners’ shareholder and member of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust. Arjun also lived in the USA and established the Official Chelsea Supporters club in Brooklyn, NY. Arjun has worked in corporate finance for over 10 years, sits on the Board of Run for Heroes - a health and wellness charity - and is a graduate from the University of Oxford.
Emily Kraftman, a lifelong, 4th generation Chelsea fan living in London. Chelsea has been in her family for over 100 years after her great-grandpa started going to Stamford Bridge in the early 1910s. One of her earliest Chelsea memories is Di Matteo’s 1997 cup final goal - and she counts herself as a lucky charm having been in attendance of the 2012 and 2021 Champion’s League finals (but not 2008!). She is the Managing Director of a profit for purpose company.
Frankie Harrington, who is 30 years old and has been a supporter of Chelsea FC men’s and women’s teams since childhood. She has followed Chelsea over land and sea for almost two decades and been the Chelsea FC ambassador for the Her Game Too organisation for the past year. She is also a football coach, physical education specialist and primary school teacher.
Mark Meehan, a long-standing Chelsea fan who saw his first game at Stamford Bridge in April 1971. He was the editor of the Chelsea Independent fanzine and has written previously for various football publications including Football Monthly, Action Replay, Four Four Two and the official Chelsea magazine. He was previously chair of the Chelsea Independent Supporters Association and has sat on Chelsea Supporters Trust Board since 2022 as the current Chairman.
Our current supporter advisors to the board are:
Gary Beckwith, a regular at Stamford Bridge for 55 years, representing the Fans’ Forum. On the Fans’ Forum, Gary represents over-65s having supported Chelsea since childhood.
Tracy Brown, selected through the diversity and equality representatives, Tracy is a Chelsea supporter for over 30 years and the chair of Chelsea Pride, the LGBTQ+ supporters’ group for Chelsea.
Neil Beard, elected to represent unofficial supporters’ groups, Neil has followed the team home and away and in Europe for many years and was elected vice-chair of the Chelsea Supporters Trust on its launch.
Their focus will be on the club’s strategic vision and objectives, as well as medium- and long-term decision making. Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE, one of the Chelsea FC board directors, will have strategic oversight of the FAB, with the group meeting at least three times a year with Chelsea FC board members, senior club executives and head of supporter relations Cat Smith.
Lord Finkelstein said of the FAB, ‘We were encouraged to see so many applications for the Fan Advisory Board and delighted at the recommendations put forward by our nominations committee. I have no doubt the new members of the FAB will continue to build on the valued contributions our supporter advisors have provided us so far. I am looking forward to working with the FAB closely to ensure our supporters are represented when we are considering the long-term future of Chelsea FC.’
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