Supporters have just hours left to elect new members on the Everton Fans’ Forum and Tony Sampson, the group’s first overseas-based chair is looking forward to another year of exciting initiatives. Exiled Scouser Sampson now lives in Chicago but remains at the heart of Blues supporter issues and is eager to further develop networks plus strengthen engagement and communication with the fanbase.
Sampson managed to get back to the UK for a couple of months last season, attending both home and away fixtures and getting the chance to take his father from Garston – who turns 90 next month and is looking forward to his free season ticket – to some games but his regular matchday experience these days revolves around getting up early taking his two sons to a sports bar called A.J. Hudson’s – owned by a fellow Blue – for “a bit of brekkie” while gathering with other Evertonians from around the Windy City.
Being almost 4,000 miles away doesn’t stop Sampson from being in the thick of things though and he points out that modern technology ensured that the Forum continued to meet throughout the pandemic on a regular basis thanks to Zoom. Explaining how his involvement in the group first came about, he told the ECHO: “When I first moved to the USA, I quickly became aware of the really strong foundations and many supporters clubs that were out here. There’s been some great work done over the years to help build that but I realised maybe there was an opportunity to maybe strengthen the connections between some of the supporters clubs and also I knew that the experiences of being a Blue overseas was very different to if you live in the city or even the UK.
