Now, as a boy of 6 or 7 years old, this felt like the biggest decision I’d ever make.

In all truth, this is one of the biggest decisions any Sports fan will ever take. We pick our team, we nail our colours to the mast and we say ‘that’s my team, for the rest of my life’

For me, my team is my beloved Yeovil Town Football Club - for better or worse, for richer or poorer. That’s my team, and I’ll defend them to the hilt. The connection I have with them, it's tribal.

The common question I get asked about this is simple, ‘Yeovil Town…but why?’ And believe me when I say, there have been many a cold Tuesday night, stood on the terraces asking myself that very question. But the answer is much more than they were my local club.

The more I understood the history, Alec Stock, the giant killings of years gone by, our Football pitch that sloped 6ft from one side to the other, the FA cup runs, and then in more modern days - Gary Johnson taking us out of the National League (Conference at the time) and us working our way up to the heights of the English Football League.

Remarkable, especially for a very small town of only 40,000 people.

But our days in the Championship proved detrimental to our club, leading to the inevitable relegations amidst years of mismanagement from neglectful owners. This neglect caused our near-closure, ultimately relegating us to the National League South.

Yet despite these setbacks, our fans continued to chant 'We all follow the Yeovil, over land and sea (and sea)' from the terraces. Remarkable. While previous club owners have made decisions I won't delve into here, the current owners have shown some improvement.

Not the best and by no means the worst. The best thing they have done is by engaging fans in ways that they haven’t yet been engaged, resulting in increased revenues and the overall feeling around the club.

By creating a stage area behind the main terrace, they are getting fans to the stadium a little earlier to watch some live music, making it more of a destination whilst enjoying a pint and some pre-match food. They are lifting the bonnet and letting fans on social, have a peak inside with ‘The Source’ content, which especially for this level is wonderful.

These, I accept, are incredibly basic, and low hanging fruit for any club. But, for my club, this is a step in the right direction, and we absolutely needed that step. Can more be done, 100%. Should more be done, 100%.

What I’d like to see more of, and this is true within Football. As the beautiful game evolves, so should the tools we use to engage the audiences and connect them together. It would be great to start bringing fans more into the governance side of things that sits far beyond the idea of the golden share. Let’s face it. If we could buy our clubs, we all would. I’d like to take equity in my club, I’d like to have a say in the kits or merchandise we are producing, I want to engage at a level which sits far deeper than a video on a screen, wherever I am, whenever I choose. And that’s exactly part of the why I do the job I do.

I picked my beloved Yeovil Town for reasons that align with me and my own values. They are plucky, the underdog, the nice team in English Football, and just like this article - not perfect. But every dog has its day, and as I sit here today, Yeovil are just 3 points away from winning the league and securing promotion back to the National League.

While challenges have tested our resolve, the resilience of our fanbase and the recent efforts of the current owners to engage supporters signal a promising future. As Football continues to evolve, it's imperative that clubs prioritise fan engagement and involvement in certain governance aspects too.

Here at SmartMedia Technologies we are creating a deeper connection between supporters and clubs using technology, future-proofing the fan experience whilst driving business goals. We can unlock a brighter future, that is sustainable and more impactful - globally.

So here’s to Yeovil, perfectly imperfect. Let the good times roll

If you’re as passionate about this and the future of Sports as I am - reach out via our contact portal to discuss how our work with the likes of VISA, Pepsico and others is helping develop the fan experience!