Football Supporters Europe & SD Europe: January round-up

The FSA works with two organisations, Football Supporters (FSE) and SD Europe, to represent and promote the interests of football supporters at European level. To keep FSA members up to date on that work, we’ve rounded up some highlights below from our friends at FSE and SD Europe…

European Super League

The threat of a breakaway European Super League has once again come to the fore and this week, led by Football Supporters Europe, fan groups from the across the continent made clear their opposition.

More than 200 fan groups from clubs all over Europe were signatories to FSE’s statement against the European Super League.

“A Super League would make European football more unequal, less competitive, and, ultimately, unsustainable,” the statement said.

“While reform is needed, it should not come in the shape of an ultimatum from wealthy clubs seeking to benefit from an unprecedented public health crisis.”

Earlier this year, both SD Europe and FSE called on the football authorities to speak to fans about the potential breakaway – as well as calling for wide-ranging consultation on the future format of UEFA competitions.

The battle against the European Super League will likely continue into the future, and you can read more about our opposition to the competition here.

TRANSFER

Towards the end of January, SD Europe launched the new Transnational Football Exchange and Role-Sharing (TRANSFER) scheme to provide training and development to supporter liaison officers (SLOs) and safety and security officers (SSOs) across Europe.

TRANSFER will invest in the professional development of SLOs and SSOs at clubs, national associations and leagues in six European countries through a programme of transnational exchange visits.

Under the project, a minimum of 72 football club and governing body employees will benefit from the opportunity to undertake job-shadowing learning at their counterparts in the partner countries. Find out more here.

UEFA updates on Euro2020 ticketing

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and with a range of restrictions across Europe, the status of this summer’s European Championship remains in doubt.

This will leave many fans who’ve secured tickets for the tournament anxious about their position. Following their discussions with UEFA, FSE reassured fans that if substantial changes are made to fixtures and venues, that refunds will be made available.

FSE said: “It is our understanding, then, that should a game be moved from one host city to another of the current EURO 2020 host cities, all ticket buyers should be eligible for a refund.

“FSE further expects that, if UEFA is forced to reschedule a game to a different date, time, or venue, ticket buyers will be offered the choice of keeping their allocated ticket or applying for a full refund.”

F+ Collective launched to help women

Following on from the “Fan.Tastic Females” initiative which highlighted the role women play in the supporters’ movement, FSE have now launched the F+ Collective, which aims to build a network of activists from within FSE‘s membership and beyond, focusing on representation and participation in the process. Having hosted its first session at the end of January, the F+Collective plans to host online sessions on topics that are of interest to women supporters. If you’d like to get involved, contact FSE.

• Find out more: follow SD Europe and Football Supporters Europe on Twitter…