Posted on 16th April 2015
Football fans come from all corners of society, and people all have different political views, but we thought it would be helpful to showcase what the major political parties are saying in relation to football matters.
Posted on 16th April 2015
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
The major political parties this week (16th April) released their manifestos, so we thought it’d be interesting to look at what promises have been made to football fans. You can also check this link for further updates following the manifesto releases.
The FSF is non-party political – fans have varying political views – but we welcome any proposals which strengthen the voice of supporters. Fans should have a voice in the boardroom and be involved in reform of the game, whether that relates to ticket prices, ownership, diversity, or safe standing. Supporters are the lifeblood of the game.
While almost all of the parties make commitments to increasing participation in sport, we’ve only highlighted examples which relate specifically to football, although you can follow the manifesto links for further information. In alphabetical order…
Conservative Party manifesto:
Green Party manifesto:
Labour Party manifesto:
Liberal Democrats manifesto:
Plaid Cymru manifesto:
Scottish National Party:
Ukip manifesto:
The Guardian reports (Thursday 23rd April): “Labour has vowed to legislate within the first 100 days of a new government to ‘change the way football is run’, installing fan representatives in boardrooms and giving supporters the opportunity to buy shares if their club changes hands. The pledge to take immediate action to legislate on the policies, previously announced in the party’s manifesto, is designed to underline its commitment to making practical changes to give fans a greater voice as soon as it gets into power.”
Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Football Supporters’ Federation, said: “We welcome any ideas which aim to strengthen the voice of football fans – these proposals fit that bill and come with a suitably ambitious timetable.
“It’s good to see ticket prices referenced, as well as issues of identity such as the importance of a club’s name or colour of their strip. Clubs must engage properly with their fan base and secure support if they wish to make such fundamental changes. Owners cannot ride roughshod over tradition.
“Should Labour win the election, we look forward to seeing further details and working on them with our affiliated fans’ groups and partner organisations such as Supporters Direct, to achieve the best result for fans.”
Football fans come from all corners of society, and people all have different political views, but we thought it would be helpful to showcase what the major political parties are saying in relation to football matters.
This week the Labour Party and the Premier League both came out in support of change to the current all-seater legislation governing the top two divisions of English football.
The prospect of following England into the knock-out stages of the tournament was probably already enticing enough even before our progress was confirmed by an emphatic and stylish 6-1 victory.
The Fans for Diversity campaign will be supporting a one-off game ahead of Brighton’s pride event next month to celebrate LGBT culture in football.