Posted on 14th June 2017
This week La Liga announced that it will be staging competitive fixtures in the USA and Canada as part of a new 15-year broadcast deal.
Posted on 14th June 2017
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
A working group set up under the auspices of the Football Supporters’ Federation, made up of representatives from Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust and Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly, has been meeting the broadcasters to fight for a better deal for match-going fans. This group was formed at, and reports to, the 20 fan reps who make up the Premier League Structured Dialogue group. Tim Rolls (Chelsea Supporters’ Trust) explains more on behalf of the working group…
Fixtures for the 2017/18 Premier League season were announced this morning and fans immediately began looking at the challenges we will face to support our teams.
Packed stadiums and a vibrant atmosphere are key parts of the ‘product’ the Premier League sells to broadcasters. But anti-social kick-off times, midweek journeys the length of the country when no public transport is available and short notice rearrangements for TV purposes are making it increasingly difficult for fans to get to games.
Premier League fan groups, backed by the Football Supporters’ Federation have been pressing the case for fans to be given more consideration when fixtures are being scheduled. Our analysis of this season’s fixtures reveals a number of issues of clear concern. This link shows the detail which underpins the analysis:
This analysis adds to the report published earlier this year that can be found here (Word doc full report) and here (Excel sheet fixture-by-fixture analysis). We looked at rearranged, midweek and festive matches in terms of timing, distance and availability of scheduled rail services over a five-year period and made a series of recommendations.
The report highlighted several issues, including:
A working group was set up under the auspices of the Football Supporters’ Federation with members from Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (Tim Rolls), Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (Kat Law) and Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly (Anna Burgess) leading this project. The group sought meetings with broadcasters and the Premier League to put the fan perspective, based on the research carried out.
Separate meetings with executives from Sky Sports, BT Sport and the Premier League were held in February, March and April. The issue was also raised at the multi-topic ‘structured dialogue’ meeting between Premier League supporters’ representatives and Premier League executives in April.
Fan reps believed we had made a positive start in getting all stakeholders to recognise the issues. And we believed at least some of the points we put forward were being acknowledged.
So we note with anger recent media reports suggesting the Premier League is considering late Sunday morning kick offs from the 2019 broadcast cycle to meet the demands of the Far Eastern TV companies. Further reports strongly suggest 7.45pm on Saturday kick offs will be introduced from 2019.
None of these proposals were floated at any of our meetings, although we were lobbied to oppose the Saturday 3pm blackout on televised matches – a request we categorically turned down.
The Premier League is keen to promote the idea that it is genuine in wanting “dialogue” with supporter organisations. Yet it has so far refused to commit to a grown-up discussion at the same table as fan reps and the TV companies.
BT Sport, reported as being a driving force behind the push for Saturday night kick-offs, have not even had the courtesy to reply to a request to sign off minutes from the meeting they held with fan reps or to respond to follow-up communication.
Sky have indicated an understanding of the issues facing fans, and a willingness to meet with fans and the Premier League.
The new proposals would cause significant travel problems for both home and away supporters, and we strongly oppose any such moves. The case for effective supporter input into decisions which directly affect us is undeniable. We are determined to make our voices heard on this subject, one which fundamentally impacts on match-going supporters, the lifeblood of the game. We will take whatever steps we feel appropriate to publicise legitimate supporter concerns.
Backed by:
If a fans’ organisation at your club hasn’t put their name to this list, it doesn’t mean they don’t support it, they might just not know about it. Why not contact them and ask if they’d be happy to give their support? If you would like to add your fan group’s name to this list or have any queries relating to this area of work contact Michael Brunskill.
This week La Liga announced that it will be staging competitive fixtures in the USA and Canada as part of a new 15-year broadcast deal.
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.
The FSF Annual Review, presented and accepted at the FSF annual conference in London this weekend, is now available to download.
We are pleased to publish the Supporters Direct annual report that highlights some of the great work we did during 2017.