CEO Update | October 2026

Now that the season is well underway, with several exciting changes within the club, I thought it was a good time for a CEO update, and it's long overdue.

For the 26/27 season we have made several changes to help improve the Matchday experience for fans, streamline operations and help to attract new supporters into the club.

One great initiative by the club is the Football on Prescription, back again for 26/27 with an improved and upgraded programme to build on last season’s success.

And as mad as it sounds, work has already begun to create plans for 27/28, including season tickets, improvements to Matchdays, new & existing Partners, to name just a few.

One of the most frequently (if not the!) asked questions I get from supporters, partners and pretty much every visitor to the stadium is: when will EcoPark be ready?

We are still working through the huge number of planning conditions and, of course, still need to resolve the access/A419 issues that Dale spoke about late last year; we would all like to move to J13 as quickly as possible, but the club must get the overall design/master plan spot on.

 

Fan Engagement:

On the whole, we take a very proactive and positive approach to Fan Engagement: from the Fan Advisory Board, the new Fan Elected Director, Open Training sessions, in-person Fan Forums, new initiatives on social media and our Online Fans Forum, to name just a few.

We also have aspirations to further develop and expand, with more creative content, an annual Fan Report and improved supporter events that we hold.

I have spoken to many supporters on matchdays, and although the overall view is very positive, it is clear there is still scope to improve; we can and always should aim to do better.

Back in September, we announced our new Fan Advisory Board, an upgrade of our regular meetings with the Supporters Club into a formal Fan Advisory Board (FAB); and we have also reached out to any supporters who would be interested in joining.

Since then, we have met with several supporters who have expressed interest, and after meeting them, I am optimistic that three supporters will join the FAB.

Fan Elected Director:

We are also launching the recruitment of our Fan Elected Director (FED), a role previously held by Phil Doble since 2021, until he sadly passed away last year.

He was a brilliant person to work with, keen and passionate, and he worked across multiple areas of the club to help grow, develop and improve.

Over the last few months, we have created an updated job description for this unique opportunity; as FED, the successful supporter will join the main FGR Board and be a critical bridge between supporters & the club, helping ensure that supporters' voices are heard at the highest level and helping the club to continue to develop new ideas.

Details on how to apply to be our FED will be published in the next few weeks.

Parking Changes:

A number of Matchday changes have been made for this season, of which most are behind the scenes and practically invisible to supporters.

One of the more significant and more visible changes was the club using the school field as a Matchday car park; a new idea for this season.

This was intended to provide a great parking option directly next to the stadium during the summer months, helping supporters, the local community and raising funds for the Nailsworth Primary School.

From July to September, we had over 600 cars across the 9 games, with a few areas for improvement but largely good positive feedback.

This has already generated over £2,700 for the Nailsworth Primary School from these games, plus they also benefit from free pitch maintenance as well; both of which I know will be a huge help to the school.

Between now and around March, we will return to operating the P&R when it makes sense (this info will be included on every pre-match info update), and the school field parking will return in March/April time, subject to the weather.

We have been working closely with Nailsworth Primary School for many years now, on a wide range of areas (i.e. FGR Ambassador programme, player visits, pitch maintenance, Matchday parking) for the benefit of all.

At a time when there is intense pressure on education budgets, I know that the money that we give will have a dramatic and positive impact, and is something that we are proud to continue.

 

The New Football Regulator

The Football Regulator (IFR) has recently published its draft State of the Game report, which makes for a stark reading, summarised by the opening line:

“English football is underpinned by contradictions. It is simultaneously the richest, best and most deeply competitive in the world, but it’s also standing on the edge of a financial disaster.”

This is a blunt statement on the current state of the game but likely to be no surprise to most supporters up and down the country; there are clear fundamental issues within football as a whole, with many clubs struggling and several that have gone under in recent times.

There is a lot of complexity with the report, including aspects like the settlement between the Premier League and EFL, parachute payments and, of course, the 3UP campaign; but overall I hope that the IFR will be able to help promote real and effective change within football, for the benefit of supporters, local communities and to help create a sustainable sporting pyramid.

Looking Ahead:

Looking ahead to the festive season, we will be launching our half-season tickets soon, a great Christmas gift idea; plus we have some special plans for November and December.

The End of the Season might seem far away, but we have been working hard on plans to host a range of events, tournaments and community engagement, all on the main stadium pitch before renovations.

The FGR Youth and FGR Business tournaments were a huge success in 2026, bringing in over 2,000 people to the stadium, with 100+ teams and great interaction with our local and regional community.

Details on these events will be announced over the coming weeks; for any youth club coaches or businesses that are interested in our tournaments, please email events@fgr.co.uk to register your interest.

And lastly

Feedback for a club is always crucial, so I would always encourage any feedback from supporters.

Share any feedback you have HERE, or speak to a member of the team on a Matchday (I am usually available after the final whistle).

Alternatively, supporters can reach out to the FGR Supporters Club directly by emailing forestgreensc@gmail.com.

And I would always encourage our supporters, both in the UK and abroad, to join the 360 members already signed up for just £10 (adult) or £15 for a family; a fantastic offer to be part of the FGRSC and the great work that they do.

Cheers,

Dane Vince

CEO