Liverpool have set new standards for the Premier League with their historic Supporters Board, a move that Jurgen Klopp knows is “very important” for fans.
A 16-strong Supporters Board was officially enshrined at Liverpool this month, a groundbreaking legal commitment from the club to involve fans in decision-making processes.
It came in the aftermath of the Super League debacle and now all representatives have been confirmed, with the broadest possible representation to ensure all supporter voices are heard.
It sets a new benchmark for other clubs in the Premier League to follow as it is the first of its kind, and Klopp knows this will only further assist in ensuring open dialogue is maintained and encouraged between the club’s hierarchy and the lifeblood of the club, the supporters.
“It’s very important,” Klopp told Sky Sports when speaking about the Supporters Board.
“We all build on that. Imagine we wouldn’t have fans – how boring would that game be. The game would not exist.
“This is really the basis for everything.
“When you have a structure like we have in England, then you need owners as well and they have to make decisions.
“They are not always exactly like the supporters want to have it, because supporters tend to be traditionalists – I’m the same.
“But sometimes you have to open your mind, that’s how life is. Someone will say ‘it was always like this’, I know, but now we have to change in this direction.
“The best thing to do this kind of thing is in a dialogue, when you communicate and that’s what we always did, but now probably even more so. That’s a really good sign.”
The Supporters Board will meet three times per year with executives and senior club staff to discuss strategic club issues and the Chair and Vice Chair will also meet with the Board of Directors annually.
It is a game-changing agreement that is best summed up by Joe Blott, the inaugural chair of the new Supporters Board: “We’ve all seen the PL standards for fan engagement – simply not good enough – and I’m glad to say fans of LFC and the club themselves view them the same way.
“Supporters being the solution, not the problem is an incredible shift in thinking.”
