Coventry City has been awarded with Family Excellence Status for the 2021/22 season and joins a record number of 65 EFL Clubs in achieving the accolade
12 Clubs have also been crowned as ‘Gold Award’ winners for their exemplary work in engaging families on matchdays.
The record-breaking number, up from 63 Clubs in 2019/20, recognises continuous improvement and best practice in family engagement across the leagues and supports Clubs’ efforts to attract and retain young fans of the future.
Given the particularly challenging set of circumstances that society faced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, EFL Clubs’ work to ensure supporters have been welcomed back safely, whilst boosting the matchday experience has been recognised across the scheme this season.
EFL Clubs received two ‘mystery family’ visits throughout the season, with their feedback and reports determining whether each respective club would achieve ‘Family Excellence’ status. Now in its 14th year, the Family Excellence Scheme is an ongoing consultation programme, which aims to drive continuous improvement and best practice in family engagement across the leagues.
Dave Boddy, Chief Executive at Coventry City, said:
"We are delighted to have received Family Excellence status again.
"The report we received was excellent, from the information we provide to supporters on our website and social media, to the overall matchday experience of travel, retail and food/drink, and of course the Family Zone activities and volunteers - plus much more.
"I would like to thank everyone involved in us being awarded Family Excellence Status, especially the Family Zone volunteers who do such a wonderful job in providing activities and a warm welcome to our young supporters and their families."
EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said:
“I would like to congratulate the record number of Clubs that have achieved Family Excellence status this season. Ensuring a memorable matchday experience is vital to attract the next generation of young fans so it’s great to see so many clubs excelling in this area”.
“Fans returning to EFL clubs in their millions this season has been fantastic to see and club staff should be commended for going the extra mile to make the matchdays engaging for families attending live games.”
A full list of EFL Clubs to receive the Family Excellence status can be found on EFL.com here