SD Europe were very proud to deliver two presentations at this year’s UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play workshop, which took place in Montenegro on 11-13 October.
Hosted by the Football Association of Montenegro (FSGC), the workshop was attended by representatives from UEFA, its 55 member associations, and guests from FIFA and the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL confederations.
Under Article 35 of UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, clubs applying for a licence to compete in one of the two European club competitions are required to appoint at least one supporter liaison officer (SLO) as part of the personnel requirements. SD Europe have been facilitating the implementation of this licensing requirement on behalf of UEFA since September 2010.
At the invitation of UEFA, three SD Europe representatives attended the workshop. Head of SLO Implementation Stuart Dykes gave an update on the latest developments at Council of Europe and European level, emphasising the importance of governing bodies working with the principle stakeholders outside of the football family to strengthen the SLO role as part of a multi-agency, integrated safety, security and service approach.
Lena Gustafson Wiberg, SD Europe team member and lead SLO at Djurgårdens IF in Stockholm, then provided delegates with an insight into the tasks undertaken by an SLO on matchdays and during the week at her club and others across Sweden. The presentation was received very well by the licensing managers in attendance, who are responsible for monitoring compliance with the SLO licensing requirement at domestic level.
During the event the three SD Europe representatives had ample opportunity to engage with delegates in discussions not only about the SLO role but also on the opportunities for wider fan dialogue projects under UEFA’s HatTrick programme. Agreements were reached with several national associations for workshops and strategy meetings in both areas and new contacts were made.
On the wider licensing front, the 160 licensing and financial experts in attendance from across Europe heard presentations on a range of issues and learned more about the positive impact financial fair play is having on European club football finances. For more information on this, please see UEFA’s report on the event here.
Following the workshop, a meeting was held with the SLO coordinator of the FSGC, Branko Latinovic, on the progress of SLO implementation in Montenegro.
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. For more information more, visit the SLO section on the SD Europe website or get in touch via slo@s839813844.websitehome.co.uk.
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