CFU Statement - Fan engagement

Robert Osbourn and Nigel Pearce, Chair and Deputy Chair of CFU, have been invited by Cambridge United FC to be part of a small, informal discussion group to consider how the club might might improve it communications with fans.  The group will meet on Tuesday 16th October.
 
CFU warmly applauds the club for taking this initiative, led by United’s newest director Godric Smith.  Many United fans will agree that the club’s engagement with fans has been found badly wanting over the past few years. This has fostered considerable suspicion and resentment, with relations reaching a new low earlier this year when the club revealed a huge financial loss for the year ended 2016-17 and, in the eyes of many fans, failed to adequately explain how these losses had been allowed to accrue.  The establishment of this new group is, therefore, seen as a positive step forward to help restore the relationship between fans and the club, and our confidence in the Board of Directors.
 
The Club will field a strong team at the meeting:  Along with Godric, directors Shaun Grady (Director of Business ) and Dave Matthew-Jones (Fans elected Director) will attend, plus Henry Comfort (Chief Operating Officer) and Tom Stewart (Media & Communications Manager).  We understand that, as well as CFU, representatives of a number of local media and social media will also join the group. This again is most welcome – the wider and more diverse the group, the better.
 
In preparation for the meeting CFU will ask its members for their views on how the club’s engagement with fans might be improved, so that we can take these to the group.  To this end all CFU members will receive an email shortly.