Nadine Dorries, the new secretary of state for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, held an online meeting with a delegation from the Football Supporters’ Association on Wednesday (22nd September) to discuss the on-going Fan-Led Review (FLR) of Football Governance. She was joined by sports minister Nigel Huddleston.

The meeting was introductory in nature but all supporters present had the opportunity to outline their thoughts on the FLR and praised its interim recommendations. Both ministers outlined their ongoing commitment to the FLR with the report’s recommendations due in October.

Lots of challenges facing football at the moment & I want fans to know that I am listening. That’s why today in my first week at @DCMS I met with football & fan representatives to see how we can bring about lasting reform. Crucial clubs continue to sit at the heart of communities pic.twitter.com/pNMB9EnIJp

— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) September 22, 2021

The supporters on the call did a great job speaking about the nature of owners being temporary custodians and how intimately linked even the biggest clubs can be to their local communities.

A number of fans on the call were from clubs which had recently been in crisis and they told of how motivated their fanbases were to save their clubs and invest in supporter ownership.

Both ministers were also reminded of the importance of the FLR to the women’s game and how diversity issues mustn’t be sidelined either – no sport brings together people from different backgrounds like football.

FSA squad sheet:

• Ally Simcock (Port Vale Supporters Club and FSA Board)
• Ashley Brown (FSA, head of governance and supporter engagement)
• Chris Paouros (Proud Lilywhites, FSA Board member and FA council rep)
• Christine Seddon (Blackpool Supporters Trust)
• James Young (Cheltenham Town Supporters Trust)
• Joe Blott (Spirit of Shankly)
• Kevin Miles (FSA, chief executive)
• Lauren Kreamer (Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust)
• Michael Brunskill (FSA, head of communications)
• Nick Hawker (Exeter City Supporters Trust)
• Roger Ellis (Coventry City Supporters Trust and FSA Board)
• Sachin Patel (FSA Board member)
• Sian Wallis (Tottenham Hotspur Ladies)
• Tim Scott (Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Trust)