SWINDON Town have finished 20th in the Fan Engagement Index for the 2021-22 season, making them the biggest risers across England’s top four leagues.

Town finished bottom of the rankings for the 2020/21 campaign, the last term under previous owner, Lee Power’s reign.

But in the first full year of Clem Morfuni’s ownership, Swindon jumped up an incredible 72 places on the Index.

The FEI is determined through working with the club, brands, and other organisations to understand the relationship supporters have with their team.

Its purpose is to ensure communication is taken seriously by clubs around the country and make sure supporters are prioritised.

The Wiltshire side had been rock bottom of the Fan Engagement Index for a disastrous three years running.

However, Swindon’s new regime has worked tirelessly to turn things around since they arrived in June 2021 when it comes to engaging with the Town supporters, causing the drastic rise.

Swindon’s rapid improvement was highlighted by the owner of Think Fan Engagement, Kevin Rye, who said: “The Fan Engagement Index was created as a positive way to make clubs take fan engagement more seriously, with an ambition to place it at the centre of everything they do.

“I’m not convinced we’re there yet, as can be seen by too many clubs still not - publicly at least - meeting fairly-basic standards of engagement with their fans.

“But we know huge change is possible. You only have to look at Swindon Town under Clem Morfuni and Rob Angus to see it can be done.

“It’s not a matter of size, it’s a matter of willingness. They chose to embrace fan engagement at the heart of their business model, and it’s paying off.”

Town’s CEO, Rob Angus, who played an integral part in the club shooting up the rankings, added: “We’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made on fan engagement since Clem took over the club.

“With our Advisory Board a key cornerstone of our ongoing communication with our supporters and the joint purchase of our stadium with fans on the horizon, we’re excited to be continuing to work closely together and improving engagement going forwards.”

Swindon’s League Two rivals Hartlepool United replaced them at the bottom of the table, while arch-rivals Oxford United sit in a lowly 80th place.

League One Exeter City are top of the table, while Carlisle United and AFC Wimbledon make up the top three positions.

The highest-ranked Premier League club was Norwich City, although the highest current top-tier outfit – based on last season’s score – is Everton.