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Following the support for the involvement of supporters in football governance structures by the European Parliament, Council of Ministers and Council of Europe in their recent sports policy resolutions, a position espoused by SD Europe, we sat down with Dr Borja García, Senior Lecturer in Sport Policy (Loughborough University, UK), EU sport policy expert and SD Europe Advisory Board member. We asked Borja to offer his interpretation of the recent resolutions, what they actua

SD Europe can confirm that Antonia Hagemann is to step down as Chief Executive Officer on 31 March 2022, and is to be succeeded by current Head of SLO Development Stuart Dykes. Antonia started SD Europe as a project 15 years ago, during which time, through her leadership, SD Europe has become a network of like-minded fan organisations and member-run clubs from across Europe and beyond. Her belief in the importance of supporter representation in decision-making, fan ownership

"To see their enthusiasm and their willingness to develop themselves, develop the role and develop as a group is amazing” Following on from the articles on returning to football as an SLO during the pandemic and being a national team SLO, we complete the hattrick of feature interviews with our Head of Supporter Liaison Officer Training, Lena Gustafson-Wiberg, with the focus turning to SD Europe’s SLO training partnership with UEFA Academy. In addition to her role with SD Euro

December 2021's Supporter Liaison Officer of the Month interview is out now!

In addition to the inclusion of dialogue with supporters in the DFL’s club licensing criteria, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs also committed to meeting sustainability criteria. This essentially means that to participate in Germany’s top two divisions, football clubs must meet set requirements on the matters of environmental, economic and social sustainability. A pilot phase will begin in 2022-23 season, with the licensing being fully implemented for the 2023-24 season

The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) clubs have approved a resolution to change its club licensing requirements meaning that dialogue between fans and clubs is now a binding requirement to compete in the Bundesliga & 2. Bundesliga. This change has come as a direct result of the discussions held in the Task Force between the DFL and supporters. SD Europe members and German national supporters organisation Unsere Kurve have said this is a ‘great success from a fan-political perspect

After more than a year’s hard work, the new and improved SLO Handbook is finally out. The handbook, aptly titled »UEFA Practical Guide to Supporter Liaison«, is a co-production between SD Europe and UEFA, and is more than 100 pages long. Coinciding with the decline of the pandemic and the opening of football in most countries, this is a welcoming practical tool for all national associations and clubs in Europe. Let’s hear from the handbook’s editor and main writer Tony Ernst:

SD Europe is happy to announce the launch of the UEFA Practical Guide to Supporter Liaison, which was written, edited and produced in a collaborative process between UEFA and SD Europe. This landmark document complements the 2011 UEFA SLO handbook, which offers a more theoretical introduction to the SLO role, and it makes a welcome contribution to the professionalisation of the SLO role. The new handbook – over a 100 pages strong and with lots of different voices from the foo

The first partner meeting of SD Europe’s TRANSFER project took part on Thursday and Friday in Frankfurt, Germany. Due to Covid regulations the meeting was a hybrid, with some partners traveling to Germany and some staying at home in front of their computers. On the Thursday, Thomas Schneider from DFL, the German Football League, held a lecture on the history of the SLO role in Germany. The SLO Department within SD Europe then introduced the TRANSFER project, and the awaiting

SD Europe welcomes the overwhelming support by MEPs for the EU Sports Policy Report. At noon today the European Parliament voted by majority in favour of the report prepared by Tomasz Frankowski MEP which acknowledges the special status of fans, backing supporter involvement in decision making in football and recognising them as stakeholders. The vote shows that the European Parliament fully supports the embodiment of European values in sports: meritocracy, openness, competit

The European Leagues and the Fans’ Organisations (Football Supporters Europe & Supporter Direct Europe) agree on a set of principles for the protection and sustainable development of domestic and international club football. Football Supporters Europe (FSE), SD Europe and European Leagues have reached an agreement to formalise the working relationship and future cooperation between the three organisations. This agreement comes at a time when football’s challenges are clear fo

“Fans don’t want football to be dominated by 15 clubs, they want to dream that they can win trophies, but they also want their clubs’ futures to be secure” Our full positions paper is available now. SD Europe made its positions clear at the UEFA Convention yesterday & today: Vastly improved financial sustainability & responsibility within European football protecting clubs & leagues Consistent good governance involving ownership, fan representation in decision making & the sp

SD Europe has once again been granted observer status on the Committee on Safety & Security at Sporting Events for an additional 3 year period having originally been granted the status in January 2016. 1. What is the Committee on Safety & Security at Sports Events? The Committee is the body in charge of monitoring the application of the European Convention on Safety, Security and Service (the Saint-Denis Convention). The main mission of the Standing Committee is to make sure

This weekend the Israel FA and Israfans worked together to host the next stage of the European supporters project ‘Fans Matter!’ in Tel Aviv at the Ramat Gan Stadium. ‘Fans Matter!’, organised by the European supporters organisation SD Europe of whom Israfans is a member, aims to improve the capacity and professional management of member-run football clubs and supporter organisations that are involved in the management of clubs, particularly on the non-elite – lower league an

This week on Wednesday 25th October, member-run club AKS Zły will welcome breakaway fan-owned club FC United of Manchester to Warsaw for the latest round of matches of the Fenix Trophy. Both clubs need little introduction to the SD Europe network. AKS Zły (Zły meaning bad in Polish), based in Warsaw, were established just seven years ago out of discontent at how Polish clubs were run and supported. A group of supporters came together to form a new progressive and inclusive cl

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is an increasingly important part of today’s society. While SD Europe believes in this mission and works with an increasingly diverse network year after year, we still always are striving to improve! Last week SD Europe partnered with KickIn! for an internal team and board of directors training session about DEI in Football. The session was led by Daniela Wurbs of KickIn! gave a deep dive into unconscious bias, inclusivity, and set SD Eu

SD Europe's sustainability report is out now! SD Europe's 'Clean Sheet: SD Europe's Path To Sustainability' report is out now and available to view! The report, developed in consultation with the network, aims to build an environmental action plan for SD Europe & its members. SD Europe's members being organised football supporters organisations and member-run football clubs across Europe. Read more about the report's development process here.

This weekend FIGC (Italian Football Federation) and Supporters In Campo (Italian national supporters organisation) worked together to host the next stage of the European supporters project ‘Fans Matter!’ in Rome. ‘Fans Matter!’, organised by the European supporters organisation SD Europe of whom Supporters In Campo is a member, aims to improve the capacity and professional management of member-run football clubs and supporter organisations that are involved in the management

The Fans Matter! project moves into the next stage on Saturday 25th September 2021 as national training begins in Italy! National trainers in each country will begin to deliver training on the management of football clubs (CEOs, board members and executives), stakeholders, the membership and volunteers to the Supporters In Campo network. Beginning this weekend hosted in Rome, the Italian national supporters organisation (Supporters In Campo) in cooperation with the Italian FA

SD Europe’s sustainability action plan report, titled Clean Sheet: SD Europe’s Path To Sustainability, has reached its final stages. The aim of the report, announced back in May 2021, was to build an environmental action plan – for SD Europe and its members. The report has been developed bottom-up together with SD Europe’s members and network, capturing the values, ideas, and actions of the involved national supporters organisations, local supporters groups and football clubs