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Supporters' Director

One of the most unique positions in English football exists at Charlton, and is held by Ben Hayes. He is a director of the football club elected by the Addicks' adult season-ticket holders to represent them on the board - and fans can contact Ben to discuss issues or raise concerns relating to the club by post or e-mail.

How can I contact the supporters' director?

Email: ben@charltonfansdirector.co.uk
Post: c/o The Valley, Floyd Road, London SE7 8BL.

The role

While the role of the Charlton supporters' representative director is not set in stone or indeed in any handy job description, it is traditionally one of close contact with the supporters and the role will often develop as and when issues arise which are of importance to the fans.

The fans' director sits on the football club board of directors, and therefore has direct input into the running of the club on behalf of supporters.

The post is open to every one of the club's adult season-ticket holders, with the Addicks the only Premiership club to invite a fan on to the board.

Indeed, just Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United are believed to have similar schemes elsewhere in the English game.

Who is the current supporters' representative director?

Name: Ben Hayes

Date of birth: May 8th, 1961

Residence: Bromley

Valley seat: East-stand season-ticket holder

Favourite player: Colin Walsh

East-stand season-ticket holder Ben Hayes is the sixth Charlton fan to sit on the club's board.

The chair of the successful Bromley branch of the supporters' club, Hayes was also known to fans through his articles and book reviews in the club's matchday programme, the Valley Review, and several Charlton fanzines.

His campaign promised that he would 'listen to ordinary fans and communicate their views, however unwelcome, to the board and constructively challenge their decisions; be higher profile and easier to contact so fans know what their director is doing; strive to make supporting Charlton cheaper, easier and more fun; and campaign for the Valley to be a pilot scheme for safe standing'.

Upon his election, Ben said: "I've been to lots of board meetings before, so that's probably the part of the role that holds the least fear for me.

"It will be interesting but I know some of the directors through the supporters' club work I've already done so there will be some familiar faces.”

He added: "Perhaps the most difficult part of it is going to be judging what I can and can't communicate to people and making sure I'm representing their views at the highest level of the club.”

By the time of the commencement of his post in July 2006, Hayes had already started to write a column in the Kentish Times newspaper, and had discussed with fans issues such as park and ride schemes, loyalty points for away fans, flags and the banners at The Valley and bottled beer.

The history

The precedent of the supporters' representative director began in 1992 when the Valley Investment Plan (VIP) was launched to help finance the work necessary to enable the club to return to The Valley from Upton Park.

The VIP scheme established the opportunity for one of its members to be elected to the football club board to represent everyone who had contributed.

From 1993-2006 this position was held by five outstanding individuals, who participated with great enthusiasm in the decision-making processes of the club.

Steve Clarke, Craig Norris, Mick Gebbett, Wendy Perfect and Sue Townsend offered sound and constructive input and most importantly made sure the views of ordinary supporters were heard in the boardroom.

Indeed, the club's only two female directors have been appointed via this process, in the shape of Perfect and Townsend.

The current holder of the position, Ben Hayes, was elected in January 2006 and began his two-year stint on July 1st the same year.

How does the election process work?

Prior to the expiry of the VIP scheme at the end of the 2001/02 season, everyone who had contributed to the venture had the opportunity to elect a representative.

After 2001/02 the Charlton board decided to extend the process, with the result that the VIP scheme representative became a more general fans' representative.

Voting was open to all of the club's season-ticket holders over the age of 18, with Townsend the first to claim the revised position in March 2003, and this process was repeated at the following election in January 2006.

The previous month saw fans invited to submit to the board their applications to be elected for a two-year period, along with a 100-word statement explaining what they would bring to the role plus 50 nominations from fellow season-ticket holders.

Voting took place online and in person at a polling booth located at The Valley at two home first-team fixtures, and the process was independently overseen by former Addicks elected directors Norris and Clarke.

The 2006 election

Although 23 candidates contested the elected directors' post back in 2003 (Sue Townsend winning nearly 20 per cent of the 1,446 votes cast), there were just four candidates in 2006.

These were Hayes, Townsend, Vince Nieswiecz and Brian Cole, and in total they attracted 2,120 votes, a rise on the previous election.

But with around 15,000 adult season-ticket holders eligible to make their preference, the turnout was just 14 per cent.

Hayes claimed 21.9 per cent of the votes (464), Nieswiecz 21.5 per cent (456), Townsend 19.1 per cent (405) and Cole 17.5 per cent (372).

There were also 423 spoilt papers (20 per cent) - a huge rise on the 75 recorded in the previous election in 2003.

"I'm really happy to have won, especially because it was so close,” said Ben, who pipped Nieswiecz by just eight votes, upon hearing the news.

"I was disappointed the turnout wasn't as big as I believed it would be, though.

"All four candidates would have won the last election based on their voting numbers, so that points to some interest in that sense. But there is still a lot of work to do for next time to find out the reasons why the other 13,000 season-ticket holders didn't vote.

"Did they not know about it, did they decide it wasn't for them, did they not care, did they not like any of the candidates?

"Alongside the club, I'd like to look at the election in terms of how it went, what worked and what didn't go so well, and what can be improved for next time.”

He added: "What I'd really like is that when I step down in two years time the role has a higher profile and there is a bigger turnout.

"If fewer people are saying 'what election' or 'I didn't know we had an elected supporters' representative at board level', then my term will have been a success.”