FSA AGM 2023
Neil Dady, Wolves 1877 Trust Member and FSA Premier League National Council and Board Member attended the Football Supporters’ Association Annual Meeting on the 22nd to 24th June 2023. Notes from the meeting have been prepared for members’ information.
The AGM and connected conference were held at the Manchester Metropolitan University on Thursday 22nd June, Friday 23rd, and Saturday 24th; the conference was run in parallel with the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) which the FSA was hosting and which ran from 22nd to 25th June.
The whole weekend included workshops, addresses by the Sports Minister, the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, and a Q&A with Gary Neville. Workshops covered topics such as VAR, diversity, broadcasting, fan ownership of clubs, and sustainability.
The opening address was delivered by the President of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin who flew in specifically to address the meeting, his speech included an apology for the way visiting fans were treated at the Champions League Final last year in Paris, and again for the problems that also occurred this year in Istanbul. He fully acknowledged that the initial blame for safety and other issues targeting fans of both clubs in Paris was proved to be 100%, confirmed by an independent investigation, and that UEFA should now learn from their mistakes, He suggested that fans would have far greater input in future in organisational issues so that mistakes would not be repeated. This open approach was further enhanced by the announcement by UEFA that representatives of the FSE would have board positions on UEFA.
A plenary meeting was held to give an update on progress on the government White Paper on football governance through Parliament. It was the view of the FSA that the current government consultation period would conclude within a matter of a few weeks, this would enable a finalised paper to be approved, placed before Parliament and included in the next King`s Speech to enable it to become formal legislation. Whilst it already has cross-party support there is a risk that the timing of the next general election could slow the progress of the bill.
The conference was subsequently addressed by Sports Minister, Stuart Andrew. He would not commit to a specific date for finalisation of the bill, although he did confirm that it was being progressed as quickly as practicable and the timing was likely to be “a few weeks”; hopefully before the Parliament Summer recess. This would enable him to move it forward to a King`s Speech inclusion in the Autumn. He gave his personal pledge to treat this as a priority.
The white paper includes two significant actions:
the appointment of an Independent Regulator of English Football (IREF) who will have the power to veto FA, EPL and EFL decisions in order to ensure football clubs are run properly from a financial and corporate governance point of view and who will fully and properly take into account the views of their fanbase in major decisions.
the compulsion for clubs to properly consult with their fans on a formal and regular basis –structured dialogue such as a Fans Advisory Board (FAB) elected by the fans themselves and not the club which some clubs already have in place.
In respect of the issue of Fans Advisory Boards (FAB), they are very much being led by their Trusts, with other memberships drawn from official supporters’ groups plus some members elected by votes of season ticket holders, alongside club-appointed representatives. As members know Wolves have moved to establish a FAB and Chairman, Dan Warren, will be our representative.
All Supporters’ Trusts regard the implementation of the Fan-led Review of Football to be of critical importance, the creation of meaningful FABs will be a major step forward, albeit that the Premier League has watered down the initial proposals.
In discussion with other Supporters’ Trusts at the AGM, it is evident that whilst the membership of a FAB is important for representing fans, it is also relevant that Wolves put forward representatives on the FAB that are empowered to speak on strategic matters.
Overall, the FSA AGM is a really great event, not only to keep supporters informed of fan engagement throughout all levels of football, but also as an opportunity to meet up and socialise with other supporter groups. Football can be very tribal, supporter representation needs a collaborative approach; the FSA is the link we all need.
We would encourage Wolves 1877 Trust members to make every effort to attend an FSA AGM.