What the Football Business Awards Tell Us About the Future of Sport
By Elliot Simmonds, Commercial Director
The Football Business Awards are usually associated with the commercial side of the game. Sponsorships, marketing campaigns, stadium experiences and partnerships tend to dominate the headlines. But spending time at this year’s awards showed something slightly different. Increasingly, football is recognising organisations that understand supporters properly, invest in communities and use evidence to shape decisions.
Looking through the 2026 winners, there was a clear theme running through many of the awards. Clubs and organisations were being recognised not just for generating attention, but for creating experiences and initiatives that connect with people in a meaningful way.
Liverpool FC Foundation won Best Football Community Scheme for Premier League and Championship Clubs, while Crystal Palace FC’s “Palace for All” picked up the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award. Stockport County FC won for its “Kits by County” initiative, and The FA’s “Enough is Enough” campaign received the Transformational Impact Award.
Even categories traditionally viewed as commercial reflected that wider shift. Fan engagement, supporter experience and community connection sat at the heart of many shortlisted projects.
That was particularly noticeable in the Women’s Football Business Award category.
WSL Football won the award, with London City Lionesses and She’s A Baller also recognised. M·E·L Research attended as finalists for our work evaluating the Fan Choice: Alcohol in the Bowl pilot alongside WSL Football.
The project itself says quite a lot about where women’s football is currently positioned. The women’s game has become a space where football feels more willing to test ideas, listen to supporters and build evidence before making longer-term decisions.
The Fan Choice pilot allows supporters at selected matches to drink alcohol in their seats during games. On paper, that might sound like a fairly operational or logistical change. In reality, it opens up wider conversations about supporter culture, matchday atmosphere, safety, inclusivity and what fans actually want from attending live football.
What stood out throughout the evaluation was the importance of not making assumptions on behalf of supporters.
Across the season, M·E·L Research has been carrying out an independent evaluation using fan surveys, focus groups, matchday observations and interviews with club staff, stewards and officials. The work has taken place across more than 100 fixtures in the Barclays WSL and WSL2, including matches at stadiums such as the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Anfield, Old Trafford and St James’ Park.
The findings so far have been interesting partly because they challenge some of the stereotypes that often surround conversations about alcohol and football crowds.
Mid-season survey results from 4,720 supporters showed fans rated their sense of safety at matches at 9.4 out of 10, while 70% supported having the option to drink alcohol in their seats.
Just as useful as the numbers, though, has been the wider engagement with supporters. Focus groups and consultations with fan groups have added context that simple statistics cannot always provide. Different clubs, stadiums and supporter bases all bring slightly different experiences and expectations.
That is something football is becoming much better at recognising. There is no single “football fan”, and there is rarely a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to policy or supporter experience.
In many ways, that wider shift was reflected throughout the Football Business Awards. Supporter voice now sits much closer to the centre of decision-making than it once did. Clubs are thinking more carefully about inclusivity, accessibility, community impact and the overall matchday experience because supporters increasingly expect that.
For organisations working in research and evaluation, that creates an important role.
Sport talks a lot about social value, but demonstrating it properly requires evidence. Whether it is a community programme, an inclusion campaign or a change to stadium operations, clubs and governing bodies increasingly need to understand what impact initiatives are actually having and how different groups experience them.
That is where independent research becomes valuable. Good evaluation helps organisations move beyond assumptions and anecdotal feedback. It gives them confidence in what is working, highlights where challenges remain and ensures supporter perspectives are properly represented.
The Football Business Awards this year felt like a reflection of that broader direction of travel. The industry is still commercially ambitious, of course, but there is a growing recognition that football organisations are also community institutions, cultural spaces and public-facing brands that shape people’s experiences in very real ways.
For M·E·L Research, being shortlisted was a welcome recognition of the work our team has been doing with WSL Football throughout the season. More than that, though, it reflected the increasing importance of social research within sport itself.
Football is asking more sophisticated questions than it used to. Understanding supporter experience, community impact and social value is increasingly a part of the conversation, not separate from it.
Need support with your own social research?
Whether you’re a public body, charity, or organisation looking to understand your audience, evaluate impact, or inform future strategies, we’re here to help.
Get in touch with the M·E·L Research team today via our ‘Get in touch’ form below to see how our expert researchers can support your goals. Alternatively, you can email the team at info@melresearch.co.uk.
Latest News
M·E·L News
M·E·L Research welcomes new talent as our teams continue to grow
October 2026
M·E·L Research is pleased to welcome four new colleagues to our growing team, strengthening our research and evaluation expertise as we continue to expand our services and support clients.
The appointments of Laura Karban, Associate Director; Bethan Jewsbury, Senior Evaluation Managers; and Chloe Parker, Research Manager, alongside Rhoslyn Davies, who joins us on a short-term basis to provide additional senior evaluation support, bring a wealth of experience across social research, evaluation, public policy…
Read the full post
Industry Insights
Women’s health social research: We’ve talked about the problems. Now let’s do something about them.
October 2026
It was an absolute honour to attend the Women’s Health Conference in London this week, bringing together clinicians, policymakers, campaigners and others passionate about improving women’s health.
As a researcher specialising in women’s health social research, I was excited to have the opportunity to learn, be challenged and exchange ideas with people who share that passion. And I wasn’t disappointed.
There has (quite rightly) been a lot of discussion recently about the gender health gap. But some of the evidence shared…
Read the full post
M·E·L News
Collections inside and out: thinking differently about gardens, heritage and the visitor experience
September 2026
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at Collections Inside & Out, a symposium hosted at National Trust Chirk Castle & Garden, bringing together people working across gardens, horticulture, heritage, collections and interpretation.
I was, perhaps, a slight interloper among so many people with deep horticultural expertise but every presentation was incredibly interesting and I learned a lot – and broadly managed to follow the general flow of what was being said (still not 100% au fait with taxa…
Read the full post
M·E·L News
Elliot Simmonds to present at Collections Inside & Out Symposium
September 2026
We’re pleased to share that our Commercial Director, Elliot Simmonds, will be speaking at the Collections Inside & Out symposium at National Trust Chirk Castle & Garden on 24 September 2026. Bringing together professionals working across heritage collections, gardens and landscapes, the symposium will explore the relationship between indoor and outdoor heritage and the opportunities created by thinking about them as part of a connected visitor experience.
Elliot’s session, “Integrating Indoor…
Read the full post
M·E·L News
M·E·L Research recognised for outstanding contribution to social value and ethical research
August 2026
M·E·L Research has been named the winner of the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Social Value & Ethical Research 2026 at the UK Enterprise Awards.
The award recognises the values that shape both the work we choose to undertake and the way we deliver it. From building trauma-informed practices into our research to improving inclusion and reinvesting in the communities around us, social responsibility is part of how we operate every day.
Read the full post
Industry Insights
Progress, persistence and the gaps in suicide prevention knowledge
August 2026
New UK-wide research from M·E·L Research’s SPARK report shows improving mental health indicators alongside continuing exposure to suicide, widespread lifetime suicidal thoughts and significant gaps in practical knowledge.
Suicide prevention depends on understanding not only how many people are affected, but also how confident the public feel about recognising risk, starting difficult conversations and finding appropriate support. The Spring 2026 SPARK report from M·E·L Research brings these issues together, providing a detailed picture of attitudes…
Read the full post
