SD Europe Fund 2020: AKS Zly
‘Capacity building visit with FC Schalke 04 on General Sport Club Management’
WHO IS INVOLVED?
AKS ZÅ‚y is the first ever democratic and member-run club in the Polish capital of Warsaw. It was founded in 2015, and is entirely and directly managed by its supporters, athletes and coaches who want to participate in its development. AKS ‘ZÅ‚y’, which means bad or evil in Polish, in their own words want to “act against modern football, the commercialisation, and in the Polish political environment; the radicalisation of fans’. Specifically, the name ‘ZÅ‚y’ is taken from a novel by Leopold Tyrmand; ZÅ‚y is the Polish equivalent of Batman in the story, fighting hooliganism in Warsaw.
Schalke 04 are one of the largest football clubs in Germany, known around the world and are famed for preserving the legacy of its humble, working class beginnings within its culture. As with most but a few, Schalke 04 adhere to the 50+1 rule in German football. As a member-run football club, Schalke 04 has over 145,000 members.
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Schalke 04 were one of the partners involved in SD Europe’s ‘Clubs and Supporters for Better Governance in Football’ Erasmus+ project under which it participated in two exchange visits with Malmö FF and Cork City FC, who are also member-run clubs. Its contribution to the project’s outcomes was significant, their participation in the project helped lower ranked clubs such as Murcia and Cava and high achievers such as Malmo and Cork City, who were all able to learn from Schalke 04’s wealth of experience in managing membership, volunteers and financial sustainability.
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WHAT ARE THE PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES?
The visit will see six Board Members from ZÅ‚y’s newly elected Board visit Gelsenkirchen and take part in discussions and meetings with Schalke04 officials and supporters. The objective of the visit is to strengthen ZÅ‚y’s understanding of transparent management and strategic decision making, efficient large scale volunteer management and supporter involvement and lastly donors, sponsors and contributors acquisition and management.
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During the visit, the ZÅ‚y Board hopes to familiarise with Schalke 04’s social projects and to build a relationship between the two clubs forged from their commonalities.
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WHAT ARE THE ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES AND IMPACT AT NATIONAL AND LOCAL/CLUB LEVEL?
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ZÅ‚y are aware that, despite recent successes, to continue to be an innovative sports club, it must look for opportunities to shape a sustainable club development strategy and to seek ways to improve the efficiency of its activities whilst maintaining the emphasis on its member inclusive structure.
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Despite the difference in size between the two clubs, ZÅ‚y will receive the insight and knowhow they need to build on the club’s current successful structure.
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The new ZÅ‚y Board was elected in January 2020. Through this visit all Board Members will have the opportunity to grasp a better understanding of key areas of running a football club and gain new competencies in selected areas of management to give ZÅ‚y the best chance for success.