The third match day of the UEFA Europa League Group Stage saw the Belgian Football Association (RBFA) host Jonathan Waite, SLO at Tottenham Hotspur, Belgian SLOs and representatives of the RBFA and also supporters’ organisations.
Stijn Van Bever (co-worker Pro League) and Ertan Elibol (co-worker Security dept. KBVB) welcomed the participants before Erik Reynaerts (Supporter Liaison Officer RBFA) kicked off what developed in a very interesting discussion. Jonathan was next up, explaining what he does at Tottenham, how he interacts with all the relevant stakeholders and where he sits on the club’s organisation chart. The similarities and differences in approaches to supporter engagement by Premier League and Belgian clubs formed the final part of the discussions.
Regarding the meeting Mr Reynaerts said: “It was very interesting to see a different approach to the SLO project. Different experiences are helpful to different people and the more SLO bilateral meetings we have, the more of our clubs we will be able to help. The KBVB are prepared to put more support behind the SLO project and I am confident we will see real progress soon“.
Under Article 35 of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, clubs across Europe are required to appoint a Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO) to ensure proper and constructive discourse between them and their fans. The SLO project originated in 2009 as a result of detailed talks between UEFA and SD Europe. It was approved by the UEFA Executive Committee in 2010, with SD Europe appointed to manage its implementation across UEFA’s 54 member associations. If you would like to learn more, visit the SLO section on the SD Europe website or get in touch via slo@supporters-direct.coop.
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