The FSF Annual Review

Transcription

1 The FSF Annual Review

2 Contents Contents The FSF Annual Review Every three months we produce 190+ pages of top -notch writing on a range of football-related topics from across the world, and throughout history. Each issue is an eclectic mix of all that s good about football writing, featuring around 20 articles from the world s best football writers who are passionate about the stories they want to tell. Available in a both digital and hard copy formats from Introduction 06. Television 10. Stand Up For Choice 14. International 16. Away Fans Matter 20. Fans for Diversity 23. All-Party Parliamentary Group 24. FSF Awards 26. Watching Football Is Not A Crime! 30. Ticket Prices 33. Supporter Liaison Officers 34. Supporter Engagement 38. National Game 40. Governance 42. News Review 46. Who s Who About the FSF The Football Supporters Federation (FSF) is the democratic organisation for all football supporters, representing more than 500,000 members made up of individual fans and affiliated supporters organisations from every club in the professional game and footballing pyramid. How does the FSF work? The FSF is a democratic organisation with an elected National Council (NC) which oversees campaigns and policy. Policy is set by members and affiliated/associated supporters organisations at the FSF s Annual General Meeting. Campaigns and day-to-day activity are coordinated by the offices in Sunderland and London. FSF chair Malcolm Clarke sits on the FA Council as the fans representative alongside Kat Law (see p42 News review ). Regional divisions exist in some areas to provide members with a voice. The FSF also hosts meetings with supporter groups from across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. On joining the FSF members agree to oppose all forms of discrimination, reject physical and verbal violence, and promote a positive culture of fair play and goodwill between all football supporters. If you think the FSF is missing a trick when it comes to campaigning get involved and make your voice heard. Contact the FSF 1 Ashmore Terrace, Stockton Road, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, SR2 7DE Telephone: info@fsf.org.uk Editor Michael Brunskill Editorial team Liam Thompson, Garreth Cummins, David Rose, Nina Donkin The FSF s Annual Review has benefited from the valuable contributions of: Amanda Jacks, Andrew Hird, Andy Walsh, Anwar Uddin, Bik Singh, Gemma Teale, Ian Mearns MP, Jon Darch, Kat Law, Kevin Miles, Malcolm Clarke, Mark Bradley, Martin O Hara, Melanie Cooke, Paul Corkrey, Peter Daykin, Tim Rolls, Will Branton and many others whom we apologise to in advance for forgetting. Thanks to all. Follow the FSF on You can also keep up to date with all the latest FSF news on our website and our Facebook page: facebook.com/thefsf 3

3 Introduction Introduction Introduction From the chair and chief executive Welcome to the the FSF s Annual Review At the end of every season we sit down to write the introduction to this report and it s always gratifying to see where progress has been achieved. The process also acts as a reminder as to which areas we need to develop, as we should never rest on our laurels. There is much to do. One of the bigger challenges we face is making progress in relation to televised games and their negative impacts on match-going fans. We have to be realistic about the challenges, media deals bring in huge amounts of revenue for clubs, but we must identify areas within that where we can improve things. The football industry has to use some of that cash to mitigate TV s most disruptive requests and, in some circumstances, simply say no. The Kick-Off Times Working Group - established by fan representatives who attend our Premier League group meetings - have been working especially hard in that area (p6-9) and it s something we d love to see more of at EFL level too. The uproar against Christmas Eve fixtures showed our combined voices do carry weight. Standing at football (p10-13) is also back in the spotlight with a high-profile Parliamentary Finance The FSF accounts are available to all members and are released at the Annual General Meeting. They are also published on the FSF website - visit or Accounts to info@fsf.org.uk Alternatively call and we can send a pack to members who don t have or internet. debate ending with sports minister Tracey Crouch committing to a review - the detail of which is still to be confirmed. We will play a part in that and also helped shaped the debate in Westminster on that and other issues via the All-Party Parliamentary Group, to which we act as secretariat (p23). You might also have noticed that a football tournament took place in Russia. At the time of writing England are still in the World Cup, having just defeated Colombia on penalties, so there is still work to do for our Fans Embassy team who are out in Russia helping fans (p14-15). We hope they re back in Moscow for the final come Sunday 15th July, although there s still a long way to go! Let s not forget the superb work that FSF Cymru do supporting Welsh fans around the globe too. And around the globe isn t an exaggeration with the Dragons travelling to Georgia, Moldova, China and the USA during 2017/18. The FSF Cymru team were there for all and even helped raise thousands of pounds for orphanages during their trips to Georgia and Moldova. Fine work. Protecting the interests of away fans remains core to the FSF s work. While club-specific fan groups are often the most effective lobbyists when it comes to changing their club s attitudes, the away fans interests can slip through the net and we try and fill that vacuum where it does exist. Away Fans Matter is our long-running campaign to address that (p16-19) and you may well have felt its benefits, without necessarily realising. Fans for Diversity (p20-22) continues to deliver amazing results and has now supported more than 50 fan groups across the country. This means more fans engaged, more bodies through the turnstiles and more supporters for generations to come among groups who might not have thought the live game was for them, despite loving football. Anwar Uddin does a great job heading the campaign and anyone who d like to hear more and get involved should contact him - he d love to hear from you. Watching Football Is Not A Crime! continues to fight for the legal rights of fans and Amanda Jacks - who leads this work - has had a busy year on both a European and domestic front. The Spanish police in particular are a concern, as fans of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool can verify from their trips abroad this season. Closer to home you ll read more about important cases involving Crystal Palace and Bristol City fans (p26-29). Though the days of 60-plus away tickets are now behind us, there s still work to be done on ticket prices and much of that is now at Championship level, with the same clubs charging the same high prices. The 30 Premier League-wide cap has relieved some of the pressure in the top-flight but it isn t guaranteed to last forever, so we need to work hard to protect its existence. More on that on p We salute the work of Supporter Liaison Officers on p33 - particularly the Wigan Athletic pair of Ian Wadsworth and Jason Taylor who picked up the SLO of the Year Award at the FSF Awards in partnership with Virgin Media (p24-25). Ian and Jason are the first volunteers to win the award and the first outside of the top-flight. It s thoroughly deserved. Supporter engagement (p34-37) is a vital area of work and builds a formalised point of contact between fan groups, clubs and the leagues. Kevin Miles Chief executive Join the FSF: FSF membership is FREE of charge at: or call the FSF office: Time and again we hear from fan groups who believe clubs are failing to fulfill their commitments in this area. The FSF has to play a role in fixing that, although we should also acknowledge that many clubs are doing things the right way. Andy Walsh continues to drive things forward at non-league level (also known as the National Game in industry speak). As well as helping promote Fans for Diversity at the lower levels, Andy initiated a new Away Day of the Year in conjunction with the Non-League Paper and, via his casework, gave fans a voice at all levels of the game (p38-39). To Governance and a theme from recent years has been clubs in crisis and many fans belief that the authorities have failed to fix the problem. We have worked closely with Supporters Direct and interested fan groups on this in recent times and it feels like we are getting somewhere. It s not easy to sum that progress up in a paragraph though, so you ll have to skip to p40-41 for more! Finally we d like to thank our staff and volunteers for their hard work over the past year. Without the latter group in particular giving up their own free time to help fight the fans corner we simply couldn t deliver the type of results that supporters deserve. The FSF is by the fans and for the fans. Malcolm Clarke Chair 4 5

4 Television Television Television Growing impact of TV on match-going fans Originally, when April s first batch of live television matches were announced by Sky TV, Aston Villa s trip to Carrow Road on Saturday 7th April was shifted to a 5.30pm kick-off. Yet, within 24 hours, Villa and Norwich City fans were reaching for their diaries once again, as it was switched for the second time to an earlier kick-off time of 12.30pm. How can fans be expected to commit to away games on this basis? The EFL also broke its own rules, laid out in its customer charter, for the penultimate fixtures of the Championship season, not making the TV selections for the round until just three weeks before they were due to be played. This left fans in the unenviable position of booking late and paying more for travel and accommodation, or risk booking early and finding themselves stuck with worthless rail tickets. FSF National Survey Statistics 96% 42% There was almost unanimous agreement that TV companies have too much sway in deciding kickoff times 95.9% of fans agreed, while 67.7% believe that Premier League clubs focussed too much on overseas fans to the detriment of their local fanbase. 42.1% of fans have been unable to attend a game in the past season because it was moved for TV, while 21.5% have decided not to attend a game they otherwise would because it was being broadcast. 39% Just like last season, the increasingly large impact of broadcasters on fixture scheduling was apparent again in the season. Things came to a head before Christmas when it emerged the Premier League had planned to schedule games on Christmas Eve unsurprisingly this was met with considerable anger from supporters across the country, described by us at the time as a new low. Christmas Eve football gives fans an impossible choice: go to the match or spend time with your family. The uproar and pressure from supporters forced the Premier League into abandoning its plans. Despite the competition committing to a six-week deadline for TV selection, the Premier League regularly failed to meet its own TV pick deadlines. Over the winter they missed their own deadlines for three consecutive rounds of fixtures January s TV picks stand out, arriving 23 days late. Throughout the season there was much disruption to supporters plans thanks to TV selections. Newcastle United s match at Everton in April was moved to a Monday night kick-off, with just four weeks notice, despite not being included in the previous round of TV picks for the spring Gateshead MP Ian Mearns described the upheaval as ludicrous and called for fans who had been left out of pocket to be compensated. It wasn t just in the Premier League where fans were inconvenienced the EFL got in on the act, too. The question of consideration that the TV companies give fans, especially away supporters, was highlighted once again in March when Aston Villa and Norwich had their match switched twice within the space of 24 hours. 3pm 51% 73% 72.7% of fans are in favour of retaining the 3pm blackout to protect lower league clubs. While only 16.1% thought there were too many games in a season it may be that TV coverage is reaching saturation point 50.9% agree that football on TV is losing its appeal. 58% Under % of fans admitted to watching an illegal online stream of a game within the last year, but when looking at those aged 30 and under that figure jumps to 57.7%. 15% Just under one in six fans had lost money paid on travel or hotels for rearranged fixtures (14.8%) or had lost days off at work because of games being moved (15.1%). 6 7

5 Television Television TV Hell What can be done? the impact of their decisions upon travelling fans was hugely disruptive. Decisions were being taken without fans in mind. The KOTWG carried out a five-year analysis of rearranged, midweek and festive matches in terms of timing, distance and availability of scheduled rail services, highlighting: The inability of the Premier League to reflect the needs of away supporters when scheduling midweek fixture tranches (e.g. on 13th and 14th December 2016 each of the 10 games required a round trip for away supporters of 280+ miles). The EFL and beyond While top-flight fans do suffer the most disruption by broadcasters in terms of the proportion of games moved around four times as many that doesn t mean fans in the EFL or non-league have it easy. Disruption occurs throughout the pyramid. With that in mind the FSF and our affiliated supporters groups continue to lobby on this issue in meetings with the EFL, who have agreed to broadcast up to 150 games per season from 2019, and the FA, who broadcast around 40 FA Cup games per season via BT and the BBC. As we ve seen the television s influence on match-going fans is growing every year, but what can supporters do? There isn t a magic bullet as domestic football s competition organisers (Premier League, EFL, FA, National League et al) all have different and sometimes competing interests. Match-going fans and television both contribute financially to clubs but often have very different needs. Organisers also have to mesh their fixtures into a calendar which must make space for European and international fixtures. This is done via the Fixtures Working Party which the FSF is represented on by National Council member Ally Simcock. It s relentless work and difficult to deliver results but it s still a relatively new area of work and supporters are making progress. What s going on? There has been some sterling work from FSF volunteers in recent seasons trying to get to grips with the TV issue, and fans of top-flight clubs have been at the forefront via our Kick-Off Times Working Group (KOTWG) - established by fan representatives who attend the Premier League Structured Dialogue meetings. Tim Rolls (Chelsea Supporters Trust) leads this work analysing TV rescheduling along with Katrina Law (Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust) and Anna Burgess (Spirit of Shankly) under the auspices of the FSF. The group came about after supporter representatives at Premier League Structured Dialogue meetings spoke to top-flight executives and realised more intensive work was needed to prove to broadcasters and the Premier League that The lack of consideration for away supporters in terms of distance and availability of public transport when matches are moved for TV. The fact that in 2017/18, clubs will play eight matches in 31 days from 2nd December: the most financially demanding time of the year for many fans. The monetary impact of late fixture changes on supporters travelling by rail. The lack of co-ordination between the Premier League, broadcasters and rail companies to consider scheduled line closures when selecting TV fixtures and compiling the fixture list. Membership surveys by THST and CST made clear the impact of anti-social kick-off times on supporters ability to attend affected matches. The report made a series of recommendations and led to a project plan, endorsed by the Premier League Fans Group. The initial target was to separately meet the Premier League, Sky Sports and BT Sport to present the report and identify ways forward. A number of meetings have now taken place and the group continues to work hard to secure improvements for loyal travelling fans. TV auctions nets billions for Premier League once more The latest TV auction for Premier League games from has brought in 4.464bn for the competition s clubs. The next TV cycle is the first time a third broadcaster has purchased live Premier League games, with Amazon securing a mid-week package for its online streaming service. The latest cycle will see the number of Premier League games broadcast on TV rise to 200 live matches a season, an increase from the 168 for which broadcasters bid in More than half of Premier League fixtures under the new deal will be moved from the traditional 3pm Saturday kick-off time. Other changes for the deal include eight individual games shown live in a primetime Saturday night slot, three complete rounds of 10 midweek matches all shown live, and one set of bank holiday games. 8 9

6 Stand Up For Choice Stand Up For Choice Stand Up For Choice The campaign continues... conjunction with the English Football League (EFL) - the first time fans and such a large football institution have worked together on standing. The EFL has supported standing since This led to a joint survey by the FSF and EFL, the Since professional football came into existence supporters have chosen to stand at games and, despite the introduction of many all-seater grounds, a substantial proportion of fans continue to prefer to stand. While Lord Taylor thought his report would banish standing from the top two divisions forever, the reality is that standing has never gone away. Taylor s preference for seating wasn t based on safety concerns - it was rooted in the belief that supporters would prefer seating for reasons of comfort and customer care. This presumption was wrong and the demand for standing has, if anything, increased in recent years. It is a demand that will never go away entirely as many fans simply prefer to stand, sing and help create a great spectacle. It s one of the reasons we love the game so much. Supporters shouldn t be punished for standing and there s no evidence at all to suggest that standing is inherently unsafe. Clubs have often been forced to try and make fans sit down but this strategy doesn t work and, inevitably, leads to conflict between stewards and match-goers. Of course not every fan wants to stand and this can become a customer care issue, particularly away from home where supporters have less flexibility in choosing their location. This problem is made worse by current legislation which makes it extremely difficult for clubs to manage things in a pragmatic manner. FSF and EFL join forces While standing campaigns have been running for decades it wasn t until around 2012 that clubs really started coming on board and, in April 2018, the FSF launched the Stand Up For Choice campaign in What does the FSF want? To scrap the existing legislation and ground rules that penalise supporters for standing at football and engender conflict amongst and against fans; To replace them with a system that allows individual clubs and their Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs) to work together to develop appropriate stewarding plans based on sound and rigorous dynamic risk assessment; To allow the creation of purpose built standing areas. We believe there are a number of alternative technologies that will allow clubs to create such areas, and it is up to clubs individually in consultation with their supporters to decide what mix of standing areas, permitted standing in existing seated areas and seated areas is right for them. largest ever on standing, which received more than 33,000 responses in less than two weeks - with 94% of fans saying they believe they should be able to choose whether to sit or stand at football. Our clubs and their fans should be part of the solution, said EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey. We recognise that to effect change we will need a partnership approach and this will commence with our survey to demonstrate that those who attend fixtures want to see the change and be offered a choice, even if they still choose to be seated. The EFL would like to see current legislation reviewed by the Government and ultimately amended so that clubs have the opportunity to provide standing accommodation to their supporters at all matches played in the Championship, League One and League Two, should they wish to. Peter Daykin our standing campaign co-ordinator said: Eighteen millions fans make their way to EFL games every season and the Championship is the third most attended league in Europe - theirs is a voice of experience which must be listened to within this debate. Jon Darch Greg Mitchell Rail seats at Celtic Petition There was significant progress at a number of clubs this year, including a crowdfunding initiative at Shrewsbury Town paying for the installation of rail seats while Spirit of Shankly ran a comprehensive consultation and survey which showed the majority of fans in the red half of Merseyside backed the choice to sit or stand. But it was a petition launched by 17-year-old Owen Riches calling on Government to allow Premier League and Championship football clubs to introduce safe standing which was, arguably, to have the biggest impact - and no-one would have predicted the circumstances leading up to it. In April 2018 West Bromwich Albion s application to pilot rail seating at the Hawthorns was rejected by sports minister Tracey Crouch and, when challenged about the decision, she said those calling for legislative reform were a vocal minority. This resulted in a huge backlash and a surge in signatories to Owen s petition giving MPs the opportunity to debate standing at a Westminster Hall debate in June In the lead up to that debate the FSF shared a briefing document and worked with supportive MPs, encouraged members to lobby their local MPs, and worked hard to ensure the subject was given a good showing by the media. This was reflected in the number of references by MPs to the FSF s work in this area over the years on the day of the debate

7 Stand Up For Choice Stand Up For Choice The Labour Party also responded positively to our arguments and confirmed their support for safe standing with shadow sports minister Rosena Allin- Khan leading the charge. Despite clashing with World Cup games and the high-profile Heathrow runway discussion in Parliament, around 50 MPs attended the debate which ended with the sports minister saying her mind is open to standing and committing to a review before the year is out. This will be done in conjunction with the football authorities in order to identify any gaps in data which might exist relating to injuries in all-seater stadiums. Encouragingly the minister also said she would look at other areas of interest to supporters. We need proper evidence and solutions about how risks associated with standing would be addressed and what systems might be needed to achieve this, Crouch said. The first step is to gather that data and to conduct further research if necessary. The data-gathering work will look at the impact of those changes and consider any existing data on the wider impact of introducing the type of rail seating accommodation used in Germany and elsewhere on attendances, ticket prices, the atmosphere, the diversity of supporters, fan behaviour, the management of various parts of the stadiums and, of course, safety. The sports minister also admitted she had been wrong to portray fans campaigning for standing as being a minority voice and thanked the FSF for its role in the debate. However, she said that some of the social media abuse was beyond the pale and that it had left her scarred. The FSF encourages members to argue passionately for what they believe in but there is never any excuse for personal abuse, sexism or threats of violence. MPs in Westminster Hall debate standing What next? Fans will look forward to seeing the detail of the review in which the FSF expects to play a central role. It is encouraging that there s a commitment to working with supporters groups alongside the football authorities. This isn t an issue that is going to go away. Supporters back the choice to sit or stand as standing is so central to generating the best possible atmosphere at football. Legalities The Football Spectators Act 1989, amended after the 1991 Taylor Report, requires football stadia in the top two divisions to be all-seater, with temporary exemptions for clubs promoted to the Championship. The Sports Ground Safety Authority define persistent standing, which is not allowed, as when individuals in seated areas stand for prolonged periods other than in moments of excitement. The enforcement of ground regulations is monitored jointly between clubs and their local authority SAGs. We d like to see fan groups engaged by SAGs. Dear Government listen to minority fan groups, don t make assumptions Like 112,000 other football fans, I signed the petition appealing for fans to have the choice to stand. The Government s response made a link between all-seater stadia and increased diversity within grounds, implying that female fans and those from LGBT+ or BAME groups don t want standing. The assumption being that we ll somehow be scared off football by those noisy standing ends. It s the biggest load of nonsense I ve heard in my life. As a woman and the co-founder of LGBeeTs a Brentford supporters group I take exception to that. Their claim is not based on any evidence the only people who have tried to gather evidence around this are fans. In 2017, the FSF s National Supporters Survey showed that 94.7% of fans thought they should be given the choice to sit or stand with the results remaining consistent even once gender or ethnicity was factored in % of female fans backed the choice to sit or stand as did 94.4% of those from BAME backgrounds. Arsenal Supporters Trust also surveyed 7,239 Arsenal supporters last year for their views on safe standing and 96% were in favour of its introduction in English football grounds. More than 95% of fans who identified as LGBT+ were in favour. The supporters standing at Brentford s Griffin Park are pretty diverse, with fans of all ages, and different genders, ethnicities and sexualities standing together. We have some fans with disabilities who find the terrace the best place in the ground for them to watch the game. The second leap the Government makes is the idea that seating alone is responsible for improved diversity of fans in grounds since all-seater regulations were introduced. This ignores the exceptional amount of work done by fans, clubs, the FSF, Kick it Out, Pride in Football and many others over 25 years. It ignores the changes in society as a whole, and the decline in football violence at all levels and all stadium types. I often speak to many people about the perception that standing areas have more issues with homophobia and are less appealing to LGBT+ fans. What I ve noticed is that these assumptions come largely from people who either aren t LGBT+ or don t stand. One of the hardest things in running an LGBT+ fan group is combating the idea that we just arrived out of nowhere and started demanding people stop having fun at football. I ve been supporting Brentford from the terrace since I was 14. When the Government uses minorities as a shield to hide behind all it does is make our work harder. Gemma Teale is a life-long Brentford FC supporter and co-founder of the fan group LGBeeTs

8 International International International Free Lions and FSF Cymru racist hooligans in Ukraine, and drug-related gang violence and robbery in Brazilian favelas all part of the prelude to recent tournaments. FSF Cymru We ve had some unusual trips this season with Widespread media stories of extremism and World Cup qualifiers in Georgia and Moldova hooliganism, led by the BBC s Russia s Hooligan where we did our usual post-match coin Army documentary, coupled with the political tensions collection, raising a couple of thousand pounds and very real memories of the shocking actions of a for local orphanages. You can t swap those coins couple of hundred thugs in Marseille, all contributed to back home so fans are happy to donate. the relatively low numbers of England fans travelling at least to the early stages of the World Cup. There were also friendlies in China and the US - both those trips came out of the blue but At the time of writing, the England team are still brought similar challenges. The cities were so in the tournament, and the fans experience of big - LA in the US and Nanning in China - that Russia has been in sharp contrast to the media you could easily find yourself with a 25 or 30 scene-setting, with those who have made the trip out universally reporting great warmth in both the mile journey to the ground, despite being in the right city. It made it difficult to congregate and weather and the welcome. The Fans Embassy team, fans were spread out, especially in China. It will come as no big surprise that the FSF s Lions England Fans Guide Book, and the recruitment strengthened with native-speaker fixers sourced international work over the last season has been of the Fans Embassy volunteer team with the range by our partners in Football Supporters Europe, has The transport infrastructure in China was better dominated by preparations for Russia. There s of skills required to deliver a comprehensive service. travelled far and wide, working hard to deliver the and the city was very modern with a purpose a long tradition of support for England fans at usual advice and support service, and of course a built 60,000 seater stadium - even though international tournaments dating back to Italia 90, The 2018 tournament presented a few challenges fresh edition of the Free Lions fanzine for each game. they haven t got a team. In LA you re stuck on and Russia is the 11th tournament abroad for Fans in the preceding year. Strained inter-governmental massive six or seven lane roads with cars moving Embassy lead Kevin Miles. relationships meant that preparations were at 3mph. They love their cars in LA. Much of the preparatory work is therefore a interrupted by the wholesale expulsion from the host country of the consular staff who had been central to Football Supporters Europe Both trips went well though, as they re so far well-trodden path: liaison with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), various UK policing agencies and the FA. Then there s fact-finding and relationship-building visits to each one of England s possible host city venues, the production of the Free FSF National Survey Statistics The majority of fans (61.5%) were against the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, with only 16.3% in favour, while opinion was split on whether the expanded 24-team Euros had been a success 30.2% of fans thought yes, while 38.5% disagreed. When it comes to opinions on the Euros in 2020 being held across 13 different countries, however, there was more of a consensus 75.2% agreed it was a bad idea. World Cup planning. The issue of LGBT rights in the host country necessitated particular focused work, involving a wide spectrum of interested agencies from the FA, the FCO, Stonewall, UK LGBT fan groups, the Russian LGBT network and others in compiling specific advice for LGBT visitors to the World Cup in Russia. And it was certainly the first time that the FSF had been called to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament about the preparations to support UK citizens travelling to the games. More familiar were the media scare stories about the fate that was due to befall England fans as they journeyed abroad; such coverage has become a regular feature of the run-up to kick-off, with race war and violent crime in South African townships, The FSF s Kevin Miles continues to serve on the Executive Committee of Football Supporters Europe. Much of the focus of this work has been around the experiences of fans of English clubs in UEFA club competitions with issues of discriminatory ticket pricing and treatment at the hands of foreign police forces, particularly the Spanish, at the forefront. FSE, which is recognised (and funded) by UEFA as their dialogue partner on fan issues, has also launched an initiative around the issue of standing at UEFA matches; the recent relaxation of UEFA rules on the consumption of alcohol in stadiums, allowing local regulations to prevail, sets an interesting and encouraging precedent. away you tend to get more seasoned travellers who were very respectful in China. The atmosphere is unusual though, with the home fans even clapping Welsh goals. LA was more of a party atmosphere outside the Rose Bowl stadium with Mexican fans arriving at 9am to set up drums and BBQs. Wales won in Moldova and Georgia but didn t qualify for the World Cup. Wales faced China and Uruguay in the China Cup, beating the former 6-0 but losing 1-0 in the final to the latter. They also played out a 0-0 draw with Mexico in LA. To find out more about FSF Cymru s work visit: bit.ly/fsf-cymru Paul Corkrey FSF Cymru 14 15

9 Away Fans Matter Away Fans Matter Away Fans Matter Improving life for fans on the road Over the last 12 months we ve continued to work on our Away Fans Matter campaign, now in its sixth year, to lobby the football authorities and clubs on behalf of away fans. One of the highlights of that work has been working alongside the EFL on the Away Fan Experience Campaign, an initiative to improve the away fan experience across the competition s 72 clubs. Away fan experiences were recorded by match-going supporters at each club for the EFL measuring a number of factors such as information provided to travelling fans, first impressions, matchday welcome, quality of catering and accommodation. Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic and Notts County were all singled out for praise and appointed divisional winners in the Championship, League One and League Two respectively. FSF deputy chief executive David Rose said: Away fans put in the most time, money and effort to follow the club they love. They make a huge contribution to the live experience and are often the catalyst for a great atmosphere. The FSF welcomes an initiative that will encourage clubs to show how much they value some of football s most passionate and loyal supporters. Recording the away fan experience Away supporters and the noise, colour and passion they bring - are one of the defining characteristics of the English game. But if we want to ensure more and more fans are motivated to travel, we need to understand what matters to them: their motivations, needs and expectations. So, over the past five seasons, we have worked with the EFL and the Football Supporters Federation to better understand the away fan experience; to identify improvement opportunities; to share best practice and to recognise the top-performing clubs. Beginning with the 2016/17 season, we have arranged for genuine travelling supporters to detail their experiences at each of the 72 EFL clubs over every relevant touch point (from planning their trip to departing after the game). A comprehensive feedback report is then issued to each club, containing detail on each touch point, highs and lows and clear recommendations for improvement. The combination of genuine fan feedback; support in the form of best practice, workshops and recognition and the involvement of the FSF has ensured that the benefits of away fan engagement are better understood and clubs efforts to improve it are more focused and effective. Mark Bradley Fan Experience Co Table of top-flight away fan subsidies AFC Bournemouth Arsenal Brighton & Hove Albion Burnley Chelsea Coach travel prices reduced for 2017/18 season. 2 discount on coach travel for Season Ticket Holders. Adult coach travel costs between 9-30 per match (for Season Ticket Holders). Average adult travel cost is 19 (for Season Ticket Holders). Executive coach travel option being piloted during 2017/18 season. Subsidised coach travel for selected matches. 10 coach travel for Everton and Liverpool matches. Coach travel costs between per match. Average travel cost is 22. Match ticket provides free rail travel in Greater Brighton area (BHAFC home matches. Coach travel costs between per match. Average travel cost is 30. No club travel. Coach travel is 10 (for trips outside of London). Crystal Palace Coach travel costs between per match. Average travel cost is 21. Everton Huddersfield Town Travel Club has a 5 joining fee. Coach travel costs between per match. Average travel cost is 25. Coach travel costs between per match. 6-8 Executive Away Day matches; travel, meal, ticket & gift (e.g.: 99 for Burnley trip). Leicester City Coach travel is subsidised by club and costs 18 per match. Cost price would be c 23 per passenger. Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Southampton Stoke City Swansea City Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Coach travel costs between per match. Average travel cost is 23. Club investigating coach options (at cost) when no public transport is available, over Christmas matches. Club membership provides 20% travel discount with Virgin Trains. No club travel. No club travel. 20 tickets for all visiting fans. Coach travel costs between per match. Average travel cost is 22. Travel initiatives planned for away matches over Festive period. Free coach travel for all Premier League matches. Travel Club has a 10 joining fee. Coach travel costs between (for Travel Club members). Jack Army membership guarantees away match ticket for 20 or under. Subsidised rail and coach travel offered for selected matches. Commitment to provide travel option whenever public transport is unavailable. Charter train for Leicester City 20. Coach travel costs between per match. Average coach travel cost is 28. Coach travel (for trips outside of Greater London area). Aim to ensure supporters don t pay more than 40 (including ticket). 5 subsidy on away travel for opening two matches. Coach travel costs between per match. Coach will provide free coach travel for one selected away match in 2017/18 season. 5 coach travel offered on 3 different routes (for travel to WBA home matches). 5 discount on Club Travel for Season Ticket Holders and Members. Travel costs confirmed on a match-by-match basis (e.g. Everton 35)

10 Away Fans Matter Away Fans Matter Beyond the 30 cap - what are Premier League clubs doing? The 30 cap in the Premier League, introduced after sustained supporter pressure back in 2016, has saved away fans a significant amount of money. However, that isn t the end game and many clubs have gone beyond the 30 cap, as the table on p17 shows. There are some excellent initiatives across the Premier League which the clubs should be recognised for. Stoke City providing free coach travel to every league game stands out, as does Watford s aim to make an away day s ticket and travel cost no more than 40. Swansea City have capped all away tickets for members at 20. Twenty s Plenty as we say. The 30 cap on away tickets in the Premier League replaced what was the Away Supporters Initiative a drive to increase and maintain away attendances in the top flight. Clubs had to set aside a budget to address this. Though the 30 cap superseded the initiative, it s promising that clubs have maintained some of the practices in it. One such practice is reciprocal pricing where two clubs agree a discounted rate for both sets of away fans in each corresponding ground. This season Newcastle United and Watford agreed a reciprocal 25 deal for away supporters attending each fixture. It s a simple, effective way of saving a lot of matchgoing fans money and something we want to see more of. As ever, supporters are encouraged to lobby their clubs to secure these deals. If you want advice on how to do so, get in touch. Most clubs provide something in the form of subsidised coach travel, train deals or cheaper match tickets. Of 20 top-flight clubs, only three (Burnley, Manchester United and Newcastle United) provide no subsidised club travel. Cost of festive football rises This season alongside Virgin Media, we had a look at how much supporters were expecting to spend following their team over the busy Christmas and New Years period - with some supporters paying out up to 468. The analysis included ticket price, travel and food costs, plus journey times, incurred by supporters of all 92 clubs across the Premier League and EFL for festive fixtures played between Boxing Day and January 4th The findings showed that Plymouth Argyle fans spent an average of times more than the lowest costs paid by Morecambe fans ( 42.89). The Pilgrims travelled more than 1,000 miles to get behind their team at MK Dons on Boxing Day and Blackpool on 30th December. The average fan spent to watch their team over Christmas and supporters of 46 clubs travelled twice to support their teams away. In total, Premier League fans paid the most ( ) to watch topflight football over the Christmas break. On top of costs, some fans had to travel huge distances to attend games across the country. Total distances travelled range from 20 miles (Chelsea away at Arsenal) to 1,096 miles (Plymouth Argyle at MK Dons and Blackpool) taking between 1hr 41mins and 26hrs 47mins respectively. The FSF continues to campaign on behalf of away supporters and in the 2017/18 season we asked away fans to help record their experiences once more. Our survey, completed by almost 3,800 travelling fans, asked travelling supporters for feedback on pricing, access, stewarding and much more. Here are the best performing clubs according to away fans for each division... Premier League League One 7.67 Southampton 7.75 Fleetwood Town 7.63 Swansea City 7.69 Plymouth Argyle 7.57 West Brom 7.64 MK Dons 7.08 Leicester City 7.53 Bury 7.06 Spurs 7.22 Blackpool Championship League Two 8.04 Cardiff City 7.62 Chesterfield 7.63 Preston NE 7.52 Coventry City 7.62 Fulham 7.43 Crewe Alexandra 7.48 Reading 7.43 Yeovil Town 7.33 Burton Albion 7.41 Notts County FSF National Survey Statistics 73% 72.7% of fans who travel to away matches notice a difference in the way they are policed by different forces around the country. 70% 69.9% of fans agreed that there s too wide a disparity between the quality of stewarding at different clubs

11 Fans for Diversity Fans for Diversity Fans for Diversity Because football is for all It s been a privilege for me to lead the Fans for Diversity campaign over the past four years - meeting some truly inspirational people who are as passionate about diversity as they are for football. This is something I learned a long time ago on a freezing cold night playing away at Morecambe for Dagenham and Redbridge in the National League Cup, a 550-mile round trip. That is tough at the best of times but the fact there were half-a-dozen Daggers fans singing my name and supporting the team got me through the 90 minutes. They would have taken a day off work to get there and would be getting home after 3am the next morning, plus any trip up and down the country is rarely cheap. We lost that night to a last-minute goal but I think that highlights my point even more football fans go to great lengths and make severe sacrifices to support their team. It s really important that with the help of everyone involved in the game, we promote the work of the FSF and Kick It Out. I believe the Fans for Diversity campaign can be a real benefit to all fans: it s imperative that all fans have a voice and are able to share their concerns and delights. Football is for everybody. The campaign has supported more than 50 supporter groups across the country who are pioneering a new chapter of football fandom. We have seen the likes of the Bangla Bantams on the BBC s The One show and many other diverse supporters groups receive praise across the media. I d also like to congratulate Blues 4 All on their great work at Birmingham City and winning our latest Fans for Diversity award. The Fans for Diversity fund, which we offer to all fans, is vital to that good work - producing more than 100 fan-led events last season. They have all championed diversity, celebrating and sharing the game they all love. Football has improved a great deal over the two decades I have been involved in the game as a player, coach, manager and now on the Fans for Diversity campaign. Of course there s still room for improvement but I believe with the help of football fans across the country we can work towards lasting positive change. Fans for Diversity Guidance Group Over the last few years the Fans for Diversity campaign has continued to grow and develop activity in an increasing number of areas - now we need your help to continue that growth. Our Guidance Group is a small network of likeminded individuals from across football who will provide valuable feedback and explore new areas of work. Meetings will take place around four times a year, giving members a chance to hear about our work directly. Travel expenses will be covered by the FSF. To apply or learn more Anwar via anwar.uddin@fsf.org.uk Anwar Uddin Fans for Diversity campaign manager Fans for Diversity award: Blues 4 All Many clubs are located in diverse areas, yet struggle to get black and ethnic minority supporters into their grounds. Our latest Fans for Diversity award winners Blues 4 All tell us what their group has been doing to help the club tap into the local asian community... Blues 4 All were established just over two years ago and since then have been receiving help from the Fans for Diversity campaign to help get more black and ethnic minority fans along to St Andrew s. The all-inclusive group formed after officials from Birmingham City met with black, asian and ethnic minority fans to look at the lack of diversity in their stands. The club met with fans and they were honest asking questions like why aren t more coming to the match?, what can we do?, says Bik Singh, Blues 4 All club secretary. St Andrew s is in Small Heath, a majority ethnic area but unfortunately that isn t reflected in the stands and the club really wants to address that. Fans for Diversity met with Bik and his dad Micky, who established Blues 4 All along with the other founding committee members back in May Shortly thereafter, Anwar helped Blues 4 All get off the ground. Fans for Diversity has been instrumental, Bik said. We were able to get the website done, a new flag and get on social media. That s given us something we can point people to and helped build our profile. Blues 4 All have since led a number of matchday activities to provide a stepping-stone for potential fans to attend live games. A major challenge for the group has been addressing misconceptions about attending football amongst the asian community. We ve been linking up with community and faith groups to promote trips to St Andrew s to them, encouraging as many to try it out as possible, Bik said. One older spectator from the Sikh community said he was amazed at how many women and children go to games now. He was saying I didn t get any dirty looks, no silly jokes, or ignorant comments. It s totally transformed since he last experienced football in the seventies. That s what we re doing - removing that stigma, the fear, addressing those barriers. It s really good to see people come along for their first match and get swept up by it. Blues 4 All isn t just asian fans helping the asian community, they re also looking to build bridges further. We wanted it to be inclusive as we have a really mixed committee - young, old, asian, black and 20 21

12 Fans for Diversity Politics white supporters, Bik says. So we decided against branding it as something like Punjabi Blues or Desi Blues and went with Blues 4 All to portray that. And linking up with other supporter clubs, like the Blues Trust, has been really useful for us as they originally introduced us to the FSF. We ve got so much match-going experience, so much knowledge built up. We re ideal for explaining the ground layout, where the away fans go, songs and what some of the chants are! We ve even helped people get along to their first away games, which is a huge step for some. We re like tour guides - we re real fans so who better to introduce people to the match? With the 30,000-seater St Andrew s stadium only attracting crowds of around 20-21,000 in recent seasons the group believes tapping FSF National Survey Statistics 75.4% of fans agreed that football stadiums were more welcoming of ethnic minorities than 10 years ago, but when looking at responses from those who identified as non-white British or Irish, that figure actually went up to 80.3%. 64% 75% 59% 63.5% of fans think that swearing and bad language is part of watching football; but it s not just a male thing - when breaking it down by gender, 58.9% of women agree, too. into the surrounding black and ethnic minority communities is vital to the future health of the match-going crowd. We see a lot of the youngsters supporting Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool which is a shame because they ll never get to see those teams, Bik says. We re showing them that there is a great alternative on the doorstep, that they can go and see their local side. Blues 4 All s work was recognised by the FSF when they were shortlisted for the inaugural Fans for Diversity Award back in December 2016 at the FSF Awards in partnership with Virgin Media. It followed an incredibly productive first year and Bik hopes the group can continue its good work. Bik says: We just want the group to grow and get as many people along to St Andrew s as we can. 45% Only 45% of fans agreed that the matchday attendance at their club was representative of the community around the stadium/town. 65% *****! 12% 65.1% of fans think that the prospect of abuse from fans is a major hurdle in preventing active players from coming out as gay, while 12.3% do not. Phil Dolby Politics The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Football Supporters The FSF is secretariat to the APPG for Football Supporters, which is chaired by Ian Mearns MP. The APPG aims to represent the interests of match-going football fans and to support the aims and objectives of the FSF. Football-friendly MPs come to events organised by the FSF to discuss issues which matter to fans - in the past 12 months we ve had events on standing at football, the problems which TV and fixtures changes can cause fans, and we launched the Fans For Diversity report in Parliament. We caught up with Ian to hear a little more about that... We ll come on to the APPG in a moment - but tell us how your season has been as an NUFC fan? A season of two halves with Newcastle doing much better after Christmas. There was a blip at the end after we had got the points necessary for survival but beating Chelsea in the final game was a great way to round off the season and secure a top-half finish. What was happening on the pitch was, as ever, soured by the uncertainty caused by the owner s lack of commitment to the club. The Fans for Diversity report launch was a real success - how do you feel football has progressed on these issues? There has been undoubted progress but certainly no cause yet for any complacency. We need to keep our foot on the accelerator so that all fans can enjoy the game without any fear of intimidation, discrimination, or prejudice. Another biggie is standing at the match with Labour recently adopting new policy around this... The recent Westminster Hall debate in response to the online petition attracted a lot of cross-party interest and a significant amount of support. As I said in the debate, until recently I remained to be convinced about safe standing but now I believe the evidence in support is overwhelming and this is an idea whose time has come. Any other issues you see on the horizon which you think should concern fans? Ownership and governance are always going to be on the agenda and that is up and down the leagues and at every level of the game - it is one of the fundamental reasons why fans need to work collectively to give themselves a coherent voice. Find out more about the APPG via:

13 FSF Awards FSF Awards FSF Awards In partnership with Virgin Media The winners of the 2017 FSF Awards in partnership with Virgin Media: Newspaper of the Year: The Guardian Online Media of the Year: Football365.com Men s Player of the Year: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) Women s Player of the Year: Jill Scott (Manchester City Ladies) John Motson relaxes before the Awards Podcast of the Year: Football Weekly Pundit of the Year: Gary Neville The Tower of London was the grand setting for our annual awards show back in December - when hundreds of supporters, journalists and football figures met for our flagship event. Our awards celebrate the best the game has to offer - from players and pundits to podcasts and fanzines. It also gives us the chance to celebrate the good work that supporters and clubs do that can often go unnoticed. Tottenham Hotspur s Harry Kane was named Men s Player of the Year - holding off competition from runner up Kevin de Bruyne. Cesar Azpilicueta, N Golo Kanté, Hugo Lloris and Romelu Lukaku completed the shortlist. Almost quarter-of-a-million votes were cast in this year s Awards previous winners of the FSF Men s Player of the Year are Philippe Coutinho, Alexis Sanchez, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero. Harry Kane said: I want to say a big thank you to the FSF - it s something I m extremely proud to receive. To have the support of fans from all across the country is mind-blowing really. It s been a good year for me. Picking up the golden boot and scoring the goal to send England to the World Cup is something I m extremely proud of. Commentator John Motson was also the proud recipient of a special Lifetime Achievement Award which was presented to celebrate five decades of superb reporting. In September 2017 John announced that he would retire at the end of the current season. Elsewhere Gary Neville picked up the trophy for Pundit of the Year, pipping last year s winner Jamie Carragher in a public vote. It s the third time he has won the award. In total 10 categories were open to a public vote, including the player and pundit categories, while five awards (Away Day, Club Podcast, Fans for Diversity, Fanzine and Supporter Liaison Officer of the Year) were decided by an FSF panel. A winner again - Martin Tyler Away Day of the Year: Swansea City Blogger of the Year: Kieron O Connor (Swiss Ramble) Club Podcast of the Year: Amber Nectar Commentator of the Year: Martin Tyler Fans for Diversity Award: Blues 4 All Fanzine of the Year: The Gooner Swansea City - Away Day of the Year Radio Show of the Year: 606 Supporter Liaison Officer of the Year: Jason Taylor & Ian Wadsworth (Wigan Athletic) Writer of the Year: Jonathan Wilson 24 25

14 Watching Football Is Not A Crime! Watching Football Is Not A Crime! Watching Football Is Not A Crime! Seeking better treatment for football supporters We continue to help supporters who find themselves in trouble or who experience serious problems with the policing or stewarding they receive at the match. While we always look to right wrongs, it s not all We know that football supporters are extremely negative. We ve also continued to engage police forces well behaved and the Home Office statistics show across the country to help improve the perception, that once more. The latest round of football-related representation and treatment of match-going fans. arrest statistics show arrests falling and remaining at historically low levels - there were 1,638 footballrelated arrests in , a 14% decrease of 257 on West Midlands Police (WMP) deserve much credit for their On Side initiative, an intervention scheme the previous season. This is equivalent to just four for younger fans. In the last three years just under arrests per 100,000 match-going supporters. 70 supporters have been through it when not too long ago, it s very likely they d have ended up in FSF casework Amanda Jacks said: Any matchgoing fan will know that the overwhelming majority the Criminal Justice System. WMP were the first force in the country to convene a Football Related of football supporters are well behaved and that Independent Advisory Group (IAG) which goes from matchdays largely pass without incident these strength to strength. Greater Manchester Police figures reflect that. (GMP) have followed suit with an IAG that ll be up and running come the start of the new season, Over the last seven seasons we ve seen significant Bedfordshire Police likewise. improvements to football policing, supporter behaviour and fans involvement in matchday The Enable Initiative headed by Professor Clifford planning. These have all contributed to a better Stott and Chief Supt Owen West from West matchday experience. However, inconsistencies Yorkshire Police continues to scrutinise matchday remain with away supporters experiencing differing policing with improvements noted by supporters. policing styles around the country. Casework: You couldn t make it up We help hundreds of fans over the course of a season, whether that s a simple reassuring phone call or legal help ahead of court proceedings. We hear about all sorts, ranging from the serious to the downright ridiculous. Here s a few of the highlights from our friends at ITN Solicitors... Charlton fan away at Fulham: A supporter threw a scarf on the pitch in disgust at the team s performance and the ongoing issues with the club s owners and, while being restrained by Fulham stewards, his finger was broken. The client alleges that it was intentional on the part of the stewards but the club denies this and the case is ongoing. However, the client was then arrested by Met Police officers. We successfully argued that his arrest was not necessary and the Met Police settled the case for compensation. He received an apology in respect of the lack of medical treatment he received in custody. Bristol City fan at Millwall: The fan had his match ticket but stewards wouldn t let him enter the section of the stand because they had already let too many people through the turnstiles. When he complained he was put in a half nelson which led to his forearm being broken and his elbow dislocated. He has now been unable to work as a lorry driver for two months. Section 35 cases: Cheshire Police settled a case involving a minibus of Tranmere fans. Humberside Police have also agreed to settle cases relating to an incident involving Wrexham fans at Grimsby in early Most of the occupants of the coach will now be compensated. In trouble? Getting legal advice matters! Over the last year we ve seen a continued emphasis on prosecution over cautions for first offences as the police are still prioritising Football Banning Orders (FBOs) and this is achieved by obtaining convictions. Getting legal advice makes a huge difference - without a doubt we re seeing that supporters who are represented in court are achieving the best outcomes. Even minor offences are still being prosecuted and having FBOs attached. We have also seen an increase in the Crown Prosecution Service appealing magistrates refusal to impose FBOs - but in every instance where we have represented our clients we ve been successful in defeating such applications. Similarly appeals of FBOs made in the magistrates court and overturned in the Crown Court are on the increase, our success rate standing at approximately 90%. There have been cases where fans have been manhandled by stewards, then prosecuted and put through the the legal system before succeeding in their cases with magistrates returning swift not guilty verdicts. Steward training in this area needs urgently addressing. The vast majority of contested civil FBO cases in which we ve represented fans have also been successfully defeated. Don t go it alone: we d always encourage supporters to pick up the phone as getting proper legal advice really does matter. Melanie Cooke 26 27

15 Watching Football Is Not A Crime! Watching Football Is Not A Crime! Robins challenge West Midlands Police Bristol City fans began legal action against West Midlands Police (WMP) claiming false imprisonment and human rights breaches from an incident in Ten Bristol City supporters, with the help of the Bristol City Supporters Club & Trust, served court proceedings against the WMP in February 2018 but the force denies they acted unlawfully. The Robins fans were surrounded by WMP officers outside a pub before their away fixture at Birmingham City back in September They claim they were threatened with force including the use of police dogs, publicly accused of being hooligans by an inspector using a megaphone, detained for over 90 minutes and put back on a train home without being allowed to attend the game they had come to watch. precedent was set last year when two Wrexham fans successfully challenged police orders preventing them attending their away fixture at Grimsby Town and forcing them to return to Wrexham. The pair were given compensation in the process. FSF caseworker Amanda Jacks said: I applaud the tenacity of the supporters involved in the case and much credit is due to the Bristol City Supporters Club and Trust for their ongoing support. English fans abroad Mossos Generalitat de Catalunya Martin Endemann from Football Supporters Europe said: It s not the first-time European away fans had these kinds of bad experiences while travelling to Spain. FSE is already working on a project to address the underlying issues with Spanish policing and is liaising on that with UEFA. Liverpool s remarkable journey to the Champions League final was also beset by problems - the Reds visit to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to play Sevilla was marred by over-zealous stewarding, poor crowd management and slow turnstiles. Supporters who made the trip to Roma s Stadio Olimpico reported similar issues, with entrance to the ground taking up to an hour. Palace fans launch action against police those officers responsible for these foreseeable failures are appropriately disciplined. Superintendent Simon Nelson also came in for criticism for spreading false accusations against Palace fans who, he claimed on Twitter, had brought knives and knuckle-dusters to the fixture an allegation Sussex Police later admitted was false. It is unacceptable for an officer, and a senior officer no less, to put forward very serious allegations without evidence to back them up, CPST said. A Freedom of Information request, submitted by the Five Year Plan fanzine, seeking answers about the allegations has yet to be answered despite the statutory limit for a response having long expired. FSF National Survey Statistics Eight of the ten supporters were issued with dispersal notices under Section 35 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Disorder Act all ten are now claiming these powers were used unlawfully and breached Article Five of the European Convention on Human Rights. Chair of Bristol City Supporters Club & Trust, Stu Rogers, said: We believe that supporting these ten fans is fundamentally the role of a pro-active supporters group acting in the best interests of supporters. West Midlands Police appear to have frustrated the process throughout in the hope we would just go away. We won t. Section 35 Dispersal Powers compel an individual to leave a defined area, but the supporters say this does not give police the right to detain them and escort them to a train station. The Birmingham incident is not the first time supporters have challenged these types of police powers. Legal Supporters of several English clubs travelling overseas in European competition have suffered their fair share of problems this season. Many range from poor access and crowd management to shocking treatment at the hands of police and stewards. The FSF assisted Chelsea FC and Chelsea Supporters Trust with an investigation into the treatment of its supporters at Nou Camp back in March after the Catalan club s stewards were filmed indiscriminately hitting away fans with batons. Elsewhere in Spain, Arsenal fans complained about their treatment at the hands of Madrid s police, following their fixture at Atletico Madrid in the Europa League. Arsenal Independent Supporters Association say fans visiting the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium were subjected to inexcusable treatment at the hands of the City s police force. Back in April, Crystal Palace fans lodged an official complaint against Sussex Police following their treatment at the club s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in November Instructing specialist solicitors to act on their behalf Crystal Palace Supporters Trust (CPST) argue that Crystal Palace supporters who had caused no trouble were subject to extremely coercive policing. CPST say the events at the fixture on 28th November, which included blanket kettling and escorting of Palace fans, have significantly damaged fan confidence in Sussex Police. The letter says: The CPST request that the failures as outlined are investigated thoroughly and that Roughly one in five fans have experienced racist, homophobic or sexist language at the match, while 28.9% have heard other language they consider offensive from a supporter. 37% 37.3% of fans have been in the vicinity of a smoke bomb or flare being discharged, with almost one in four (24.6%) witnessing or experiencing antisocial behaviour on the concourse. 59% 14% 58.8% of fans agreed with the statement that policing had improved in recent seasons, too, with only 13.5% disagreeing

16 Ticket Prices Ticket Prices Ticket Prices Making the game affordable for all... Though the days of the 60-plus away ticket are thankfully behind us, ticket prices remain an issue for match-going fans and one that the FSF will continue to work on. Fans in the top-flight enjoy the benefits of the 30 cap on away tickets, a campaign result saving supporters millions since its introduction in The coming season will be the final year for the current agreement - but we ll be lobbying hard to make sure that the Premier League renews its commitment to keeping away games affordable. Elsewhere, Virgin Media again went beyond the 30 cap thanks to their sponsorship deal with Southampton. For the second successive season, they made sure no away fan heading to St Mary s paid more than 20, saving supporters more than 500,000 in total. In the Championship, Reading continued their 20 cap on away tickets at the Madejski Stadium. Reading say they aim to make football affordable for supporters of all ages and recognise the considerable commitment fans make. Unfortunately, the Championship can be a very expensive league for away fans, with too many clubs charging visiting supporters in excess of 30 or even 40. Ipswich Town, previously one of the worst offenders, changed course this season and sought reciprocal deals across the Championship - a simple, effective way of saving a lot of fans a lot of money. We encouraged fans to lobby their club to get a deal done with Ipswich Town and the club themselves arranged 25 reciprocal deals with 12 others in the division - significant progress in a league where away fans are too often stung by categorisation. Trouble on the homefront It s not just away fans that have been hit by poor pricing this season, home fans have been on the receiving end too. Tottenham Hotspur took the shine off their brand new stadium by announcing some staggering increases to season ticket prices. The club is due to take up residence at its new ground at the start of the 2018/19 season with prices ranging from 795 to 2,200, some of the most expensive in English football. Supporters were quick to criticise the increases, accusing the club of pricing out thousands of supporters. We highlighted the good work of Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST), who analysed all price bands available in the new ground. They found that only nine sections in the 60,000 seater venue will have season tickets available below 950. THST said: Some fans are facing increases of 25, 40 or 50% in their usual seating areas which, even taking into account the improved facilities, will be beyond many. Bristol City fans are also facing some significant price hikes to their season tickets in the coming season - with some childrens under-12 season tickets increasing from 50 to 335 while OAPs are also facing a 10% increase. Bristol City Supporters Club & Trust (BCSCT) have been lobbying the club for a rethink and even started their own crowdfund to help parents who won t be able to take their kids to the match next season. Called Fans Funding Fans of the Future the crowdfund was launched with an initial 2,500 from BCSCT and other supporters are being urged to contribute. Sadly we don t have the resources to help everyone, the Trust said. So we re focusing on fans of the future - the kids that the club had done so well over recent years to attract. Magic of the cup? Fans stung by FA Cup prices The shine was taken off the magic of the FA Cup for many fans this season, as once again the competition s ticket prices were a cause for concern. The issue cropped up in January ahead of the third round when Derby County fans discovered they d be paying 45 for their trip to Old Trafford, as a small rule change introduced two seasons ago means home clubs are now free to charge what they like. Pav Samra from, founder of Punjabi Rams, said: Everyone talks about the magic of the cup and the third round should be one of the highlights of the footballing calendar. So we were buzzing to draw Manchester United. But unfortunately we know a lot of Derby County fans who were put off by the 45 ticket price. This was the second season in a row that the FA Cup pricing at Old Trafford had been highlighted. Previously, Reading fans were also charged 45 for their trip. In both cases, the travelling club stepped in to subsidise their away fans, meaning they didn t pay more than 30. A commendable gesture by both Championship clubs - but should it be necessary? Ticket price woes didn t end in the third round though, the FA itself came in for considerable criticism in March when they announced significant price hikes for the semi-finals and final at Wembley. Supporters from the four competing semi-finalists - via Chelsea Supporters Trust, Manchester United Supporters Trust, Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust and Southampton fanzine The Ugly Inside - issued a joint statement condemning the hikes. The decision to raise prices for the FA Cup semifinals and finals to the highest levels ever defies belief, they said. The FA itself is in better financial health than ever. So we cannot see the rationale for hiking prices. With the help of FSF chair Malcolm Clarke and Kat Law, the two supporter representatives on the FA Council, supporter groups were able to take their concerns to the FA. This rapid lobbying lead to a rethink from the governing body, with the FA pledging to reduce the price of its most expensive concessionary tickets for this year s final. Additionally, they agreed that prices for the final and semi-finals will not increase beyond the rate of inflation until the end of the 2020/21 competition. Kat said: The FA now has the chance to set the standard for genuine consultation that enhances the reputation of the FA Cup, a competition fans continue to hold dear

17 Ticket Prices Supporter Liaison Officers European woes There have been some eye-watering ticket prices facing fans of English clubs in European competition this season. Liverpool were stung for the Champions League semi-final trip to Rome, having to cough up 73 for the privilege of seeing their team at the Stadio Olimpico. It was an expensive campaign for Reds, who faced similar prices at Porto away. Manchester United and Sevilla got involved in some unseemly revenge pricing after the Spanish club charged the visitors 89 for their Champions League last-16 fixture at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium. In retaliation, Manchester United charged Sevilla fans the same amount. The tit-for-tat continued as both clubs ended up subsidising their own fans on the road. FSF National Survey Statistics 37% 36.6% of fans are attending fewer games in recent seasons. 36% 37% 23% The most commonly cited reasons for the drop in attendance being work/family commitments (37.2%), high ticket prices (36.4%) and a disillusionment with football in general (22.5%). Elsewhere, Arsenal supporters faced 79 away tickets for their Europa League tie against Atletico Madrid. Luckily, the club stepped in to help travelling Gunners, making sure they paid no more than home fans ( 36). Away pricing in European competition has been a growing issue over the last few seasons and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) want to see action on this worrying trend. They lobbied UEFA to take action against Anderlecht after the Belgium side overcharged visiting Bayern Munich fans last season. Eventually, UEFA ordered the club to compensate fans who d been hit. FSE said. Now is the time for a broader change in the pricing policy in the European Cup Competitions for away fans. Only 7.2% cited the increased availability of football on TV as a reason for a drop in attendance. 84% 7% 83.7% thought clubs should be forced to offer restricted views at half price. Supporter Liaison Officers Wigan Athletic duo lead the way... The FSF Awards celebrate the best things about football and, while it might not get as much attention as the Player of the Year categories, one of the closest to our heart is the Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO) of the Year award. Previous winners include Anthony Emmerson (Stoke City), Chris Waters (Sunderland) and Jonathan Waite (Tottenham Hotspur) who are all employed by their clubs and do sterling work s winners were a little different though as Ian Wadsworth and Jason Taylor (Wigan Athletic) picked up the gong. Both Ian and Jason are volunteers and the first non-premier League SLOs to win the award. It s really nice to win, said Jason. It s one of those jobs that isn t widely known so it s nice to be recognised. In the first seven months we really struggled but we began to get a feel for it after speaking to the lads at Doncaster Rovers and other SLOs through the FSF s network. The FSF s Northern SLO Network has been up and running for a few years and aims to build bridges in an informal environment where SLOs can share best practice and good ideas. The long-term objective being to empower SLOs to help create a better matchday environment for fans. One area the duo have worked in is improving the club s catering offers - a success that should not be underestimated in a town that takes pies as seriously as Wigan... Ian explains more: We had a lot of complaints about the quality of the catering. It was like something from the 80s. Despite the feedback the catering firm weren t willing to improve things, so we spoke to the club and supporters which has led to significant improvements. Ian and Jason have also established a Female Fans Focus Group and are a point of contact for fans at home and away games, answering travel queries, liaising with opposition SLOs and travel issues - helping fans stranded on the M6 get to Swindon Town away. Supporter liaison work is improving across the country, but there s still a long way to go, Jason said. Too often when you re trying to get a hold of an SLO before a match you re told Oh, it s the ticket office manager or so-and-so s doing that this week. You can never get a hold of them. Ian chips in: It s a role that needs to be taken much more seriously by clubs and we think they ve got to have a fan representative involved. My advice would be to get in touch with other SLOs, see what they re doing and get along to the FSF s SLO meetings. It does take a lot of drive and sometimes you ve got to push your club to make sure it s not just a tick-box exercise. Need to know more about SLOs? Visit for a whole section dedicated to SLOs. You ll find contact addresses, best practice suggestions and FAQs

18 Supporter Engagement Supporter Engagement Supporter Engagement Structured dialogue between fans and clubs fixture scheduling, kick-off times, future broadcast contracts, structured dialogue and travel initiatives making up the agenda items. Scudamore took the opportunity to confirm that there would not be a 4pm fixture on Christmas Eve this came about as a direct result of fan pressure and was welcomed. What is structured dialogue? The long answer runs to 10,702 words and the full report from January 2016 can be read on the DCMS website via bit.ly/ewg-dcms. But this is what the leagues adopted into their own rulebook... In January 2016 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) recommended that football clubs meeting with their fan groups at least twice per season as part of its report into supporter engagement. The FSF also committed to mirroring that with the Premier League and EFL. During 2017/18 the FSF convened four meetings between fan representatives and Premier League or EFL officials. Ahead of those formal meetings we also host open meetings where our affiliated and associated groups propose agenda items for the meeting and we align arguments. It s important everyone is in agreement when we propose ideas to the authorities, because dissenting voices within a meeting room can be seized upon by the football authorities to reject ideas or maintain the status quo. In the Premier League a fan representative for each club - 20 fans in total plus representatives from the FSF, Supporters Direct and Pride in Football - meets top-flight executives and relevant officials, including the now outgoing Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore. The pattern so far has been that Scudamore will attend for a couple of hours for the most important agenda items before his executive team fields questions on other items. The fan representatives are selected by the supporters trust at each club. If a trust doesn t exist then that position is taken by a democratically structured fan group and if no democratically elected fan group exists then a fanzine can take that position, with the aim being to use the opportunity to help build a democratic group - as happened at both West Ham United and Sunderland (see overleaf). The first meeting of this season took place on 10th October 2017 with policing and security, standing, At the meeting on 20th March 2018 a similar set of agenda items was tabled, with the addition of Video Assistant Referees (VAR), which Scudamore thought was a good idea in principle, but he was hesitant for the Premier League to be at the forefront of it while teething problems remained. He also reiterated that the Premier League would recommend to clubs that the 30 away price cap be maintained and his executive team seemed far more open to arguments for standing at football than had previously been the case. EFL meetings take a slightly different format, as it simply isn t possible to have 72 fans present and hold a meeting which is sufficiently detailed. Nine fan representatives - three from each division - are therefore selected alongside a representative from Pride in Football. Within that number we try and reflect football s differing demographics. Once again two meetings were held during the season on 1st December 2017 and 25th May Ahead of those formal meetings with the EFL we also held preparatory meetings with our EFL fan groups which, once again, sought to fine tune agenda items and align arguments. Supporter engagement, broadcasting, club relations, ticketing, safety and security, EFL streaming service ifollow and late weather postponements were high on the agenda. As with the Premier League minutes, the EFL minutes are posted upon the FSF website once agreed and signed off by all parties. EFL Clubs shall hold at least two meetings/ fans forums per Season to which its supporters (or representatives) are to be invited in order to discuss significant issues relating to the Club. The framework for these meetings shall be documented in the Club s customer charter, but are subject to the following minimum criteria: Clubs must be represented by the Club s majority owner, board director(s) or other senior executive(s); where meetings are not open to all supporters wishing to attend, the supporter representatives must be elected, selected or invited in line with basic democratic principles; and individuals cannot be excluded by the Club without good reason (the Club acting reasonably) Premier League R.3. A Club s policy with regard to its Stakeholders should: R.3.1. provide for consultation with them on a structured and regular basis through forums, questionnaires and focus groups and by the publication of current policies on major issues in an easily digested format; and R.3.2. promote supporter and community liaison and provide for the establishment of liaison structures where none exist

19 Supporter Engagement Supporter Engagement Case Study Red & White Army (Sunderland) The EFL rule on supporter engagement has prompted some fans to stop and think about how their club communicates with its fans. In some cases, this cementing of regular discussions has inspired the formation of new supporter groups. The Red & White Army (RAWA) at Sunderland is one such group. Chairman Andrew Hird tells us why they formed and what they ve achieved so far... Like many supporters I use social media regularly and occasionally ended up on the supporters message board. I found myself falling into that habit of having a moan often on the pitch stuff, but increasingly about off-the-pitch matters. As a member of the FSF I was aware of the increasing focus on supporter engagement and the benefits of having proper dialogue with your club. I realised that whilst taking to the keyboard could be quite a cathartic process, I wanted to get involved and see if I could help influence things. It turned out that there were several long-standing groups already in dialogue with Sunderland AFC and I became involved with one of them for a while. They did a great job, but it was clear there was a need for a group that pulled together all the various supporter entities and put themselves out there a bit more. After a lot of phone calls and meetings in the back rooms of pubs, we had a core group of individuals who were all motivated by having regular open dialogue. It s common for such groups to form in times of adversity and that was certainly the case for us. The Sword of Damocles had fallen when we were finally relegated from the Premier League. We had an absent owner, a CEO who was clearly there to cut costs and the worst home record in the top four divisions. Working with fanzines, podcasters, local business people and committed individuals we launched RAWA in September We decided immediately that we wanted co-opted roles to sit alongside the elected chair and secretary and give us the best chance of being truly representative. We now have 16 co-opted reps covering supporter entities like fanzines and different sections of support such as away fans, disabled supporters and the family zone. We ve even went as far as to include an ex-player rep and someone championing the prawn sandwich brigade. Co-opted representatives have proved crucial in terms of credibility with the supporter base and I think it helped make the club sit up and take notice. By January 2018 we had our first formal meeting with the club attended by the then CEO Martin Bain and other key staff. Three other supporter groups attended and we later agreed a Terms of Reference between the club and what has become known as a supporters collective. Prior to getting around the table, RAWA held open meetings and canvassed supporter opinion online to help shape the agendas. The moaning on message boards suddenly had purpose. We pushed hard for the minutes to be agreed within seven days and after 48 hours they d reached 18,000 fans. That s when we really knew we were onto something and I think it raised eyebrows at SAFC too. It made everyone feel more accountable I suppose. So that was all well and good, as a group I was pleased with how far we d progressed. In the meantime, SAFC were having a good go at getting out of the Championship at the first attempt straight into League One. The silence from our megarich, American owner was deafening. This is when I learnt quickly that you can t build a supporter group purely around structured dialogue or supporter engagement. Credibility with support is king. You must listen and make sure you re hearing all facets of your supporter base. You have to get a feel for the genuine mood of the fans social media helps but it also brings out the extremists so you have to take the temperature in varied ways. Between November 2017 and May 2018, the supporter base was split. Half wanted to take to the streets before a game, hold a march and protest. The other half were asking what s the point? as the unofficial word was owner Ellis Short wanted to sell anyway. What are we protesting for and who are we protesting to? Both camps had reasonable arguments and after much debate a consensus was reached. An online petition was launched urging the owner to proactively sell and calling for transparency. More than 10,000 signed it and in the same week the club leaked statements that Ellis Short would give Sunderland AFC away to anyone that would take on 140m debt! The petition story is important. It illustrates the challenges that any new supporter group will have to be representative. Crucially, it shows the significance of building relationships with individuals at your club. RAWA continued to have dialogue with the CEO despite the rebellious tone of the petition and accompanying open letter. Despite the original motivations for creating RAWA, if it had come to it we would have definitely sacrificed the club dialogue to remain credible with supporters. Owners and club executives come and go. I m happy to say we have new owners who seem to genuinely embrace engaging with supporters. I m about to sit down with them to look through the results of a matchday experience survey. The FSF kindly helped us create the survey and the club enthusiastically promoted it leading to 9,000 fans providing constructive feedback that we re assured will be taken on board. So, there s signs that the challenging start for RAWA might pay-off and we ll have real influence in the running of our club. Although I appreciate a ball hasn t been kicked yet under our new regime. On and off the pitch, it s the hope we can t stand. FSF National Survey Statistics 90% 89.5% thought it important that their club gave something back to the local community. 71% 70.5% of fans agreed that their club invested and engaged with its local community and grassroots initiatives

20 National Game National Game National Game Sustaining football at the grassroots administrators to help more fans become more deeply involved with their clubs - beyond just paying for admission to matches and purchasing merchandise. Football is our game. Fans for Diversity Working with a supporters trust often involves coordination with colleagues at Supporters Direct to ensure that fans receive the best advice available. At York City this year we worked closely with Supporters Direct to help the trust reestablish itself after a time of inactivity. The trust showed itself to be a vital channel for One of the key FSF pledges is to help clubs be more diverse in their support, more welcoming and accessible to the broadest cross-section of our society, making football a sport for all. To achieve this, the FSF has made a commitment to offer greater support to our members in the grassroots of the game. supporter representation when the club chairman tried to force the trust into gifting him shares. The trust shares remain in supporter control and the revitalised trust is working to ensure supporters concerns are properly addressed by the club board and chairman. It is a core aim of the FSF to give fans a voice at all levels of the game. Most of our grassroots clubs rely totally on volunteers, including clubs at the top of our non-league game, and as the democratic representative body for supporters we believe that fans have a key role to play in helping clubs survive. We want to play our role in building the game. With more involvement from supporters, we believe that clubs can move from surviving week to week to thriving and developing. We aim to build on the work that has already done and increase the active involvement of supporters in the game. Want to know more about Andy s work in the National Game? Contact the FSF on or info@fsf.org.uk Our work in the non-league and at the grassroots of the game is helping fans of lower league clubs to become more involved in their clubs through volunteering. The media focuses on the leading professional clubs but those in the lower leagues are not only important to their own fans, they are a vital part of the national game s fabric. Without them the professional game would be diminished. The FSF works with leagues and clubs lower down the pyramid to help them obtain more support from the game s administrators. To maintain a vibrant game, it s important that young people get to experience football at all levels and are attracted to play the sport as well as watch it. Football is said to be nothing without fans and the FSF wants club officials and the game s There s been an encouraging response from nonleague fans and clubs to our Fans for Diversity (FFD) campaign. Increasingly clubs are recognising the benefit of making their clubs more open and welcoming to the whole of their communities. Last season, seven non-league clubs dedicated a home match to the FFD campaign. Coinciding with Non-League Day, clubs celebrated the diversity of their local communities and sought to attract new supporters to the match. Altrincham FC launched a new inclusion strategy for the club and wore the FFD logo on their home shirts. They used their match to open a new facility for disabled fans and welcomed the Women at the Game campaign. A worshipper who was stabbed on his way to the local mosque was invited to attend the game as a guest of the club and further activities are planned. Casework We have assisted fans in establishing or reviving the supporter groups at their clubs and we regularly support individual members who contact the FSF with problems at their club and general advice. As well as individual fans, the FSF affiliates include supporter groups and supporter trusts. Away Fans Matter In conjunction with the Non-League Paper, we initiated a new Away Day of the Year Award for non-league. As with our established award in the professional game, the non-league award aims to encourage clubs to consider how welcoming they are to visiting supporters. We sought nominations from supporters for clubs at steps one to four of the non-league pyramid and nominations were considered by a panel of judges who determined the winners to be: Tranmere Rovers (step one), Bognor Regis (step two), Kings Langley (step three), and Bamber Bridge (step four). The individual winners at each step will be recognised with the presentation at the start of the new season. Kings Langley FC won the overall title of Best Away Day of the Year and club representatives were presented with an award at an event at Chelsea s Stamford Bridge. Andy Walsh FSF National Game Development Officer 38 39

21 Governance Governance Governance Stopping problems before they happen... Our paper has some key principles. First, the importance of football clubs, which are not just ordinary businesses but have a special status in their communities. They are built on the loyalty of fans over generations and are arguably the greatest expressions of community identity in our nation. Second, that the FA, as the governing body of the whole game, has a historic role as its primary custodian, and regulatory functions should be under its auspices. The making of rules and the setting of standards should not be taken exclusively, or even primarily, by those who own and manage clubs, as they have a potential conflict of interest. to any members who are interested. We know that we do not have a monopoly of wisdom on this subject! I write without knowing the outcome of proposals being discussed at the EFL s summer meeting to enable action to be taken against individuals, not just clubs, but we welcome the fact that they are having the debate. Myself and Kat Law, the other supporter representative on the FA Council, also met with FA chairman Greg Clarke to discuss these issues. Greg promised us an opportunity to pitch directly to the FA Board with our proposals which is a significant and welcome opportunity. One of the most significant themes at last year s Supporters Summit was what has often been labelled as clubs in crisis, namely the behaviour of what was described at our conference as negligent, incompetent or irresponsible owners, and the perceived failure of existing football regulation to deal adequately with this. I think we can all name a list of clubs and owners who fall into this category. In deciding how to take forward our mandate on this from the FSF conference, we decided to establish a working group and invited Supporters Direct to join us. The group comprised four nominees each from FSF and SD, although it soon became apparent that this distinction was largely irrelevant. We wrote to the Trusts and other FSF affiliated fan groups to ask for their ideas and I would like to thank those who responded. I would like to place on record my thanks to the members of the group for their hard work, which has resulted in a draft report outlining the regulatory changes we would like to see. I thank Roger Ellis from Sky Blues Trust (Coventry City) for drafting the report. In producing this we recognise that in many respects the football authorities have made the regulatory regime much tighter and more effective than it once was (although that is perhaps not setting the bar very high!). As an example, the number of insolvencies has greatly reduced. We also recognise that there is a distinction between owners who are fraudulent and whose prime aim is not to further the interests of the club, but to make financial gain, and those who are just not very good at running football clubs. The latter category is much more difficult to regulate. We have proposed a code of practice on the management of football clubs and looked at the three existing Owners and Directors tests. Although we recognise that some aspects of these work well and have been strengthened in recent years, we would like to see them amalgamated into a single set of regulations and further strengthened, in areas such as previous convictions. In particular we suggest two new basic distinctions. First, a recognition that the respective roles of owners of clubs and the directors appointed to oversee their management are in many ways different and this needs to be reflected in the tests. Second, that the requirements from those wishing to own clubs should be separated from their ongoing obligations once they own them. The current tests place too little emphasis on the latter and there should be an annual oversight of clubs, with a transparent reporting system covering the key areas, and increased powers of intervention by the regulator. These changes should be supplemented by strengthened regulations in the fields of finance, asset management and protection and club location. Space does not permit a more detailed outline of our ideas but we will happily provide further information This will hopefully occur sometime in the coming months. Before we do so, we will have individual discussions with FA executives, including legal staff, to discuss their viability, and with the individual leagues from the Premier League down into the pyramid to explore how much common ground there might be. The encouraging thing is that many of the our concerns are shared with other key stakeholders. The challenge for us is to identify new regulatory rules and processes which tackle the problems but are also legally watertight. It s not easy, but I think we re beginning to get there. Malcolm Clarke Chair FSF National Survey Statistics Fans overwhelmingly want a say in how their teams are run, with 89.5% agreeing that fans should have representation on club boards

22 News Review News Review News Review A season in four pages... Second fan rep joins FA Council 29th June 2017 Supporters Direct chose Kat Law as the second fan representative on the FA Council to work alongside FSF chair Malcolm Clarke, who was previously the sole supporter representative on the FA Council. Kat is co-chair of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust and has been heavily involved in FSF activity in recent seasons, lobbying broadcasters for a better deal for match-going fans and supporting Twenty s Plenty, amongst other work. It s an honour to be selected to represent supporters at this level, Kat said. I m looking forward to increasing the voice of match-going fans on the issues that matter to them, and to positively contributing to a more inclusive, modern and representative FA Council. Andrew Wilkinson For club and country: remembering football s war dead 11th July 2017 The FSF supported The Woodland Trust and the National Football Museum s new initiative, For Club and Country, which aims to create lasting living memorials to footballers who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War I. After the Great War thousands of trees were planted as part of a drive to rebuild the country s timber stocks following the demands of the fouryear long conflict. Many though, were rooted in towns and cities as memorials to fallen soldiers. Now the Woodland Trust and National Football Museum want to reboot that tradition and are looking for football fans to get involved by honouring the players killed in the Great War in the football battalions and beyond. A crowdfunding page has been established making it easy for supporters to donate to the campaign. Find out more: bit.ly/for-club-and-county Premier League abroad: the idea that won t go away 20th July 2017 It s the story that just won t go away - and once again the Premier League s (now outgoing) chief executive Richard Scudamore said its member clubs still want a competitive overseas fixture. The idea first emerged as Game 39 back in 2008 and the reaction from match-going fans around the country was incredibly hostile. The FSF s No To Game 39 campaign won out and it was vowed that if the Premier League ever tried to resurrect the idea in any concrete way, that we would lead a campaign against it once more. An overseas fixture would devalue the competitive nature of the league - with 10 teams losing their home advantage for one match. How would a relegation or title decider in Hong Kong feel compared to home soil? The FSF will remain vigilant on this issue and will always be ready to mobilise against any proposals for games abroad. Labour call for flexible train tickets as TV picks disrupt fans 11th August 2017 With more and more games moved for TV, the Labour Party is calling for the leagues, broadcasters and rail companies to do more for travelling fans. As part of their new policy, Labour say they want to see the introduction of a national flexible ticketing scheme for away fans who have to change trains if a match is moved at the behest of football s major broadcasters. Shadow sports minister Tom Watson said the party are concerned about the number of rearranged fixtures that leave supporters with no public transport options home. When matches are switched for TV it is fans who pay the price, often forking out more for extra train tickets that cost more than their match tickets, Watson said. Palace create face-value ticket exchange for fans 24th August 2017 Crystal Palace have created a ticket exchange allowing supporters to swap tickets at face value for games they can no longer attend. Using the Twickets platform, Palace fans can resell their seat for individual games to other season ticket holders and club members. Club chairman Steve Parish said: We re actively making a stand against fans being exploited in the secondary market and offering our season ticket holders flexibility with their tickets, and members a chance to get to games when a season ticket holder can t. We want to make sure that club members at Selhurst Park aren t paying over the odds through unofficial platforms. Twickets is an ethical face-value reselling site that also helps fans in other industries such as music. Secondary ticketing agencies such as StubHub and Viagogo often sell tickets to fans at vastly inflated prices, something the FSF wants to see clubs put an end to. Hull City behaviour unacceptable and unprecedented says Ombudsman 11th September 2017 Two footballing authorities found against Hull City s controversial ticketing scheme in a damning verdict against the club, said Hull City Supporters Trust in September. Hull City introduced a membership scheme which saw the removal of traditional season tickets and concession prices and the Premier League ruled that, should Hull City be promoted back to the division, they will be required to offer 10% of home match tickets to seniors and juniors at concessionary rates

23 News Review News Review The Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO) also investigated alleged mis-selling of the same membership scheme but said last week he was unable to reach a fair conclusion due to the club s lack of co-operation with his investigation. It is unacceptable, and unprecedented, that a Club should choose not to cooperate so that IFO can fulfil his given role, said the IFO. The club maintained that the latter complaint was resolved and made amendments to its membership scheme to avoid any further confusion. The club added: This supporter has also enquired about purchasing further Memberships which we see as a sign of his content with the scheme. Or the fan has no other choice if he wishes to watch his club... Fans & foodbanks a powerful link up say campaigners 16th October 2017 Supporters, MPs and community leaders gathered at Newcastle United s St James Park to look at the burgeoning relationship between football fans and foodbanks. Convened by the FSF, the Fans Supporting Foodbanks event looked at how fans can be a positive driver for change and provide support to their local foodbanks. Supporters heard about the relationship between fans and the country s largest foodbank, Newcastle West End Foodbank, as well as work going on at Celtic and on Merseyside. Newcastle s Chi Onwurah MP and Gateshead s Ian Mearns MP spoke about the challenges facing families in the north east and the demands placed upon volunteer-led foodbanks. Supporters and community figures representing clubs including Liverpool, Everton, Celtic, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Doncaster Rovers were also in attendance. Supporters agreed to set up a Fans Supporting Foodbank network to help activists keep in touch and develop a toolkit to help supporters get involved. FA plans for WSL flawed and unrealistic says new fan group 8th November 2017 Huge changes are coming to the female game after the FA announced plans for the Women s Super League top tier to become professional only - but new Facebook fan group FA WSL Fans United had concerns. We are not opposing a professional top tier, but we are opposing it being an exclusively professional from the start of 2018/19. The timescales are unfair and unworkable for some existing clubs, allowing no time to source funding streams and develop a sustainable business plan, said Tony Farmer from FA WSL Fans United. Katie Brazier, the FA s head of women s leagues and competitions, said the changes were made following a full review of women s and girls football competitions and extensive and valuable dialogue with the clubs, who have been really supportive of the changes being introduced. VAR tech trial 29th January 2018 With Video Assistant Referees (VAR) technology being trialled in League Cup, FA Cup and this summer s World Cup as part of IFAB s worldwide trial the media were keen to know what the FSF thought about the subject, especially in light of controversy at Anfield during Liverpool s fourth round FA Cup tie loss to West Bromwich Albion. The match was frequently interrupted by the referee Craig Pawson s use of VAR with officials using the review system on eight separate occasions and, in the first half alone, employed VAR to disallow an Albion goal, award a penalty to Liverpool and allow the visitors third goal. Its impact on the occasion drew criticism from managers, supporters and pundits. FSF policy was always to back goal-line technology providing that the results were instantaneous and didn t break the flow of the game. Clearly that isn t happening with VAR. In moments when the game was paused there was a lack of clarity about how decisions were made and a lack of communication in relaying information to match-goers. FA announces cheaper Cup final concessions following fan meeting 17th April 2018 The FA announced it would reduce the price of its most expensive concessionary tickets ahead of the 2017/18 FA Cup final. It followed a meeting with Kat Law, one of the official supporters representatives on the FA Council alongside FSF chair Malcolm Clarke, and fan representatives of the clubs competing in this year s semi-final. Concession savings increased from 10 to 25 for those who bought Category 1 or Category 2 tickets for May s final. The FA also agreed that ticket prices for the FA Cup final and semi-finals will not increase beyond the rate of inflation until the end of the 2020/21 competition. Supporters also pressed the FA on the potential re-categorisation and allocation of Category 2 tickets for areas directly behind each goal. The FA committed to reviewing that and the possible introduction of accessible priced family areas within both the East and West stands ahead of the 2018/19 final and semi final. This will be done via open and collaborative dialogue with the official supporters representatives on the FA Council. Supporter groups have long argued that football ticket pricing is not an ordinary market which follows the usual rules of supply and demand. Football is a monopoly product fans will not swap teams and the FA, as the game s regulator, can set an example and lead the game in rewarding fan loyalty. Football and terrorism 21st May 2018 National Counter Terrorism Policing (NCTR) deputy assistant commissioner Lucy D Orsi answered questions from fans on the FSF website, helping them navigate this age of heightened security. While all major sports work with anti-terrorism specialists football, having such a huge fan base and high media profile, is an obvious target for those who wish to do harm. The NCTR started their ACT for Sport (Action Counters Terrorism) programme with the Premier League, EFL, National League and FA - explaining the nature of the current threat and working with the leagues and clubs to make football as safe as possible. Supporters should be alert not alarmed, said D Orsi. Just remember to always be vigilant and report any concerns to staff. Don t leave it to someone else. Find out more about that and the main ways to stay safe: bit.ly/act-for-sport 44 45

24 Who s Who Who s Who The FSF National Council (NC) is made up of members and officers (chair/deputy chair) elected at the FSF AGM and secretary/treasurer (elected by the NC). The FSF s local divisions have one place each along with FSF Cymru and co-opted representatives from Supporters Direct and Pride In Football. The NC for 2018/19 will be elected at the AGM on Saturday 28th July Last season s representatives are listed below and the FSF would like to thank all who served: FSF National Council: Alan Bloore (FSF Yorkshire Division representative) Ally Simcock (Elected member) Billy Grant (Elected member) Carroll Clark (Elected member) Colin Whittle (Elected member) Dave Kelly (Elected member) Dave Pennington (Elected member) Dave Tomlinson (Elected member) Di Cunningham (Pride In Football co-opted representative) Fiona McGee (Elected member) Ian Byrne (Elected member) Ian Todd MBE (Elected member) Kristine Green (Elected member) Malcolm Clarke (FSF chair) Mark Ogbourne (FSF Southern Division representative) Martin O Hara (FSF deputy chair) Neil Springate (FSF secretary) Paul Corkrey (Elected member) Pavinder Samra (Elected member) Peter Daykin (Elected member) Rick Duniec (Elected member) Roisin Wood (Elected member) Royston Bentham (Elected member) Simon Magner (Elected member) Tim Hartley (Supporters Direct co-opted representative) Tim Hillyer (Elected member) Tony Roome (Elected member) FSF Board (selected by the National Council): Billy Grant (NC member) David Rose (Deputy chief executive & non-voting Board member) David Tomlinson (NC member) Fiona McGee (NC member) Ian Todd (NC member) Kevin Miles (Chief executive & non-voting Board member) Malcolm Clarke (Chair) Martin O Hara (Deputy chair) Peter Daykin (NC member) Staff Amanda Jacks (Caseworker) Andy Walsh (National game development officer) Anwar Uddin (Diversity and campaigns manager) David Rose (Deputy chief executive) Garreth Cummins (New media manager) Kevin Miles (Chief executive) Michael Brunskill (Director of communications) Nina Bond (Finance and administration manager) Liam Thompson (Communications officer) Contact the FSF If you would like to contact any of the FSF s NC members all s follow the same format which is firstname.surname@fsf.org.uk. If you don t get a response using that format simply info@fsf.org.uk and the FSF office will pass on your message to their private address. Free Lions Magazine Follow Legal Advice and Support International Fans Embassies Case Work and Consumer Advice Local Campaigns National Representation Football Supporters Europe Vince Alm (FSF Cymru representative) 46 Join the FSF today for FREE visit: