Rotherham United are incredibly proud to have once again been named as one of the 65 clubs to achieve the Family Excellence Award in what has been a record-breaking season for teams across the EFL achieving the same status.
The Millers, who have a ‘Family Excellence Committee’ that meets regularly to try and ensure that we continue to improve the matchday experience here at AESSEAL New York Stadium year-upon-year are one of a colossal 65 clubs to be given the award for their efforts throughout 2021/22.
The club received ‘mystery family’ visits during the course of the season gone by, during which they were assessed across a number of different criteria involving the family experience for supporters attending matches at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
The 2021/22 campaign was a big one for a number of reasons on the Family Excellence front, with the Millers and clubs around the country issuing a warm welcome to supporters, who flocked back to stadia following the behind-closed-doors period of the coronavirus pandemic.
Keen to pick up where we left off, we once again took a close look at what we were already doing well before the pandemic gripped the nation and where we could improve, incorporating a number of new and innovative ideas to engage with supporters attending as families.
Coming in for praise on the club’s report were mascot Miller Bear’s improved matchday presence on social media which now includes a fun wordsearch for supporters to get involved with, whilst there was also praise for an ever-increasing ‘pocket money item’ section with the club’s Red and White Shop.
We hope that our supporters already know just how committed we are to putting their experience at the forefront of all of our decisions that are made behind-the-scenes, but we are once again incredibly proud to have been recognised with Family Excellence status at ‘Silver’ level.
Speaking following confirmation that the Millers are indeed among the list of the record-breaking 65 clubs to achieve the award this season, our Head of Community Jamie Noble said:
“Everyone knows just how highly we value our supporters and we hope that has always come across, but loads of work goes on in-house to ensure that we don’t stand still and continue to improve the fan experience for anyone attending matches with us.
“We feel as though we have created an environment in which fans young and old can enjoy what we have to offer and once again that people recognise our ongoing efforts to listen to feedback and change little bits of our practices to ensure that we keep improving."
“As is the case with everything here, whether that be Paul Warne and his first team players and staff, or anything else, it is a team effort.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to thank everyone involved and that includes the many supporters we have that contact us with constructive feedback to help us keep evolving and achieving Family Excellence status, year-on-year.”
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.”