Cambridge United have have received a Silver Award from the 2024/25 EFL's Family Excellence mystery visits...
The U's recorded an overall score of 8.0 for last season's two visits, as families of mystery shoppers attended the Saturday 19 August game against Bristol Rovers and the Saturday 10 February game against Cheltenham Town.
United received the fifth highest scores in Sky Bet League One and 16th highest across the entire EFL.
At the annual Family Excellence Best Practice Seminar, the Club also was the "First Impressions Touchpoint Winner" - awarded to the Club which offers the best first impression to new supporters.
"This season's EFL Family Excellence assessments highlight plentiful evidence of really strong family engagement at the Cledara Abbey Stadium, home of the U’s," the report summary stated.
"Both 2023/24 assessments were extremely consistent and positive with hardly any gaps and only needing a small uplift at a few of the touchpoints to be a great family experience.
"The standout was the refreshments at the stadium whilst other strengths are the friendly employees and the always entertaining Marvin the Moose. Both are described as a real asset to the club, helpful and engaging with fans and creating a warm atmosphere on arrival."
EFL Clubs received two ‘mystery family’ visits throughout the season, with their feedback and reports determining whether each respective club would achieve ‘Family Excellence’ status.
Now in its 16th year, the Family Excellence Scheme is an ongoing consultation programme, which aims to drive continuous improvement and best practice in family engagement across the leagues.
Scores are reached as each Club is assessed across a range of touchpoints, in order to reflect and report on the first-time family experience they encounter.
Speaking about the results, CEO Alex Tunbridge said, "We are pleased to be recognised by the EFL for our commitment to making matchdays an enjoyable and engaging experience for families and young supporters.
"Over the past few seasons we have invested heavily in this area which has resulted in our biggest crowds in almost 35 years. With the designation of the South Stand as a new family stand next season, we have aspirations to raise the bar further as we work towards a Gold Award."
A full list of EFL Clubs to receive the Family Excellence status can be found here.