Rams Awarded EFL Family Excellence Gold Award

Derby County are delighted to be awarded ‘The EFL Family Excellence Gold Award’ for the 2017/18 season.

Created in 2007, the Award recognises the outstanding experience provided by clubs for young fans and families as part of a scheme that won the Gold Award at the European Professional Football Leagues’ Best Practice Awards.

A total of 56 clubs from across all three divisions of the EFL have been given the Award for 2018, with Derby County being named as just one of 10 clubs to be awarded gold standard.

Notably, the club ranked 3rd in the Sky Bet Championship and 5th overall out of all EFL clubs for their matchday family experience.

With a significant increase in the benchmark standard being applied by the judging panel, more than ever this year, EFL clubs are providing families with engaging family areas and offering innovative matchday entertainment that delivers a money can’t buy experience for young fans.

With an increase in the number of juniors and families now attending matches around the country this is both testament to clubs’ work to attract them, and an indication of the challenge and importance of retaining them for generations to come.

In achieving the award, Derby County has been recognised as offering superb entertainment for families at Pride Park Stadium throughout the 2017/18 season, engaging with young fans and families through a number of initiatives.

Within a detailed feedback document to the club, the positive comments included:

• ‘An extremely professionally executed matchday experience.’
• Touches that ‘shows the club understands the value of new, young fans and the importance of getting them involved and excited in the club from an early age.’
• ‘The social media content from the club across both channels (Facebook and Twitter) is brilliant; very creative, colourful and with lots of variety and clever little ways to engage with fans.’
• The communications about matchday events was particularly strong.
• ‘The Megastore had a lot of floor space and that had everything you could wish to find. It was really impressive.’ There were also positive comments made about the quality of product and pocket range once again.
• The quality of food on offer to supporters on a matchday as well as the ‘professional and efficient service’ undertaken to deliver food and drink to supporters.
• The Family Area delivers ‘a lot of family-focused activities like face-painting, table football, subs bench etc and plenty of staff on hand too.’
• The ‘comprehensive directions page’ on the website assisting supporters visiting Pride Park Stadium for the first time.

In its overall assessment of Derby County’s Family Experience, the report, which gave the club a score of 9/10, concluded: “Derby County have always provided a hassle-free and very smooth fan experience, but this season we’ve seen some excellent examples of engagement and warmth added to this with the contribution of team members and some really imaginative food choices standing out.

“There’s a willingness to pro-actively engage that wasn’t always so evident in the past, so when you add this to the excellent family experience offered, it takes things to a new level of excellence.”

The Award recipients are decided by an independent assessment using real families that has been commissioned by the EFL, at all 72 League clubs, during the 2017/18 season.

For more about the EFL, visit: efl.com, whilst you can also click here to read the full final report that led to Derby County achieving the gold standard Family Excellence award.