Head of SD Scotland

Supporters Direct Scotland

Based in Glasgow

Supporters Direct (SD) will team up with The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) this summer to bring all football supporters together at one big event - The FSF and SD Fans’ Weekend (on twitter: #fansweekend). As part of the Fans’ Weekend both organisations’ AGMs (the FSF’s Fans’ Parliament and the SD AGM) will take place on Saturday 7th July at the Grand Connaught Rooms in central London.

The Fans’ Weekend is kindly supported by The Co-operative Group.

The upcoming Champions League final, to be contested by FC Bayern München of the Bundesliga and Chelsea FC of the Premier League, has been billed in some quarters not just as a clash of two outstanding teams, but of two differing models. In the first of two articles focusing on Saturday's game, we unpick just what people mean when they refer to the 'German Model'. 

Below is the latest Supporters Direct media briefing, rounding up a selection of news and opinion on some of the issues that have made headlines over the last fortnight.

"We don't need SLOs because our clubs are too small," is a commonly held view that does not quite stand up to closer inspection. The principles of supporter liaison hold true whether a club attracts attendances of 500 or 50,000, as was underlined by a recent case in Luxembourg, where all 14 BGL Ligue clubs have now appointed an SLO. In the run-up to the recent top-of-the-table matchup between CS Grevenmacher and Jeunesse Esch there were fears (for the first time ever in Luxembourg) that the game would be marred by clashes between rival supporters.

Amid lurid media speculation, the two clubs and their respective SLOs and safety officers did an excellent job preparing for the match. Supporter groups were consulted and a security concept was worked out with the police. As a result of the measures taken, the game, which attracted a large crowd by Luxembourg standards of about 1,500, passed off completely without incident.

The April 28th-May 5th edition of The Economist contains an article entitled "Crowdfunding football: Buy this team", which can be viewed online by clicking here.

Supporters Direct's response to the article has been sent to The Economist, and can also be viewed below.  

The Federation of Stadium Communities (FSC) has worked with a number of Supporters' Trusts in recent years on heritage projects. The process has helped to develop new relationships with a range of different agencies including positive ways to work with clubs themselves. The two most recent projects - Shrews Tales and More which finished in December last year and Swinton Lions Tales and More which finishes in October this year - have created sustainable resources that will be used in the community, keeping the profile of the club visible and celebrated for generations to come.

1 May 2012

Supporters Direct Scotland (SDS) presented their Fans' Plan to the Chief Executives of the Scottish Football Association (SFA), Scottish Premier League (SPL), and Scottish Football League (SFL) atHampdenParkon 26 April 2012. 

Supporters Direct (SD) today confirmed that Alasdair Galloway and Colin Pike have resigned from their positions as elected members of the SD Scottish Council, stating disagreements with SD over the last six to nine months.

A 1-0 victory at home to Ilfracombe Town was enough to secure the Western Football League Premier Division title and promotion to the Southern League for Merthyr Town F.C this Saturday. With just one postponed match remaining at Wells City tonight, the Martyrs are guaranteed to finish at least one clear of Bitton.