Football Supporters Europe

Football Supporters Europe
founding	2008
Seat	Hamburg , Germany
purpose	Representation of fan interests
Action space	UEFA member countries
Website	www.fanseurope.org

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is a formally established non-profit network of football fans in Europe, with members currently in 48 UEFA member countries . This organization, which was founded at the first European football fan congress in July 2008, is consulted by institutions such as UEFA , the Council of Europe or the EPFL (Association of European Professional Football Leagues) as a legitimate point of contact for fan questions.

history

The history of FSE goes back to the international cooperation of fan organizations under the former name Football Supporters International, which offered advice, information and support for fans of national teams at international tournaments through so-called “fan embassy offers”.

The real story of FSE as it exists today began in July 2008 when the British Football Supporters Federation (FSF) hosted the first European football fans' congress in London.

The meeting in London, held at the Emirates Stadium in Arsenal, London , held discussions on issues affecting fans from all over Europe and the meeting ultimately sparked the further development of the network. The following year, the second European Football Fan Congress (EFFC) was held in Hamburg. In addition to workshops on topics such as discrimination, police work, kick-off times and commercialization, statutes were adopted and the network was formally established.

structure

The membership base of the FSE consists of individual football fans as well as locally, nationally and transnationally active fan organizations and initiatives from 48 different countries. According to FSE, it represents around 3 million football fans, making it the largest fan organization in the world.

The highest authority of the organization is the General Assembly of Football Supporters Europe (FSE). It takes place every two years during the European Football Fan Congress (EFFC). There the members vote on the purposes, the goals and the future actions of the network, approve the changes of the FSE status and elect the members of the committee for the next two years from the FSE membership.

The FSE committee is the executive committee of the network and consists of the FSE coordination, the directors of the departments and the elected members. The members of the committee are responsible for the general management of the organization. You make the important decisions, develop activities with the FSE membership and represent FSE at various activities, events and meetings such as the annual meeting with the UEFA President in Nyon ( Switzerland ).

The elected FSE members for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons are:

• Pierre Barthélemy, Association Nationale des Supporters, France.
• Kevin Miles, Football Supporters Federation (FSF), England.
• Robert Ustian, CSKA Fans Against Racism, Russia.
• Hüseyin Emre Ballı, 1907 UNIFEB, Turkey.
• Stefanie Dilba, Alliance of Active Football Fans, Germany.
• Herjan Pullen, Supportersvereniging Ajax, Netherlands.
• Paul Corkrey, Embassy Wales Fans, Wales.
• Jim Spratt, Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporter Clubs, Northern Ireland.

The committee also consists of:

• Ronan Evain, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) - coordination
• Michael Gabriel, Germany - Head of FSE Fan Embassies Department
• Mark Doidge, England - Head of FSE Anti-Discrimination Unit

The headquarters of the central FSE coordination office is in Hamburg. There, the employees and interns coordinate the various initiatives and departments. You are also responsible for administrative and organizational issues (e.g. accounting, legal issues, internal and external communications, etc.). The FSE coordination is appointed by the FSE committee.

The departments, such as the anti-discrimination department or the fan embassies, focus on specific topics. They are semi-autonomous networks or entities that work on projects relevant to fans under the umbrella of FSE. Each department appoints a director to represent the department on the FSE committee.

Basic consensus

Membership in the FSE is subject to the active support of the four “basic principles” of the organization:

• Rejection of all forms of discrimination (be it on the basis of origin, ability, religion and belief, gender, sexual orientation or age).
• Rejection of violence (both verbal and psychological).
• Strengthening the football fan base.
• Promote a positive football and fan culture , including principles such as fair play and responsible decision-making.

Examples of activities

The EFFC fan congress

The European Football Fan Congress (EFFC) is hosted by FSE with local members of the organization and other fan organizations from the host city to address fan issues. Fan dialogue, fan self-organization and fan culture are promoted through workshops, panel discussions and other discussions between fans and representatives of football and political institutions. The congress takes place every year in a different city: 2008 in London , 2009 in Hamburg , 2010 in Barcelona , 2011 in Copenhagen , 2012 in Istanbul and 2013 in Amsterdam - with the participation of Gianni Infantino , the then General Secretary of UEFA. In 2014 the EFFC took place near Bologna at the Mondiali Antirazzisti and in 2015 in Belfast. It was decided there to organize the congress every two years in future. The next European football fan congress will take place from July 6th to 9th 2017 in the Belgian cities of Ghent and Lokeren.

Manual to fanchartas

According to institutions such as the European Commission or the Council of Europe , fanchartas are joint agreements between the clubs / football associations and their fans, in which they determine their mutual rights and obligations. The results of the negotiation process are expressly laid down in a so-called fan charter, which is regularly processed after its acceptance. The fan charters are intended to serve as a framework for a social dialogue with the aim of preventing tensions between clubs and fans as well as anti-social fan behavior.

At the initiative of FSE, a European manual on fan charts was developed in agreement with European football institutions, national football associations and leagues, the worldwide association of professional footballers FIFPro, as well as representatives of football fans (from the FSE membership) and political institutions. According to the chairman of the Council of Europe's Standing Committee on Spectator Violence, Jo Vanhecke, the "process that led to the creation of this handbook is [...] a breakthrough in itself. All relevant stakeholders gave input and openly discussed the content Dialogue based on principles of mutual respect and on an equal footing " . The final document was conceived as a practical tool for clubs and fans, and was endorsed by European Commissioner for Education and Culture, Androulla Vassiliou, and UEFA President Michel Platini .

The manual was launched on June 3, 2013 in Vienna as part of the "Pro Supporters Seminar and Round Table". This publication, supported by European institutions, is available as a printout and for download on the FSE website in 5 languages.

Fans' Action Fund

The “Fans' Action Fund” launched in 2013 aims to finance fan initiatives and projects through the proceeds of an online shop.

Fan embassies at international games

The origin of the fan embassy concept can be traced back to the 1990 World Cup in Italy , where offers were made for fans of the English and German national teams. In the course of the following tournaments, the concept has continuously developed and since the EURO 2016 can be seen as a successful and established contribution to fan support.

According to the FSE website, Fanbotschaft is "the name for a range of advice, information and support for fans who are traveling to an away game or an international tournament in a foreign country." The Fan Embassies department has developed a smartphone app to provide away fans with information provided by other soccer fans.

Stadium Action Days

FSE has hosted two European Stadium Action Days on topics considered relevant to football fans. The first days of action called on European football fans with the motto "Our Game - Our Time" to organize visible events and stadium choreographies to show their support for the principle of so-called "fan-friendly" kick-off times. They took place in 2010.

The second European Stadium Action Days took place in May 2011 under the motto "Save Fan Culture". They mainly related to the problem of security measures, which football fans across Europe (from the point of view of the FSE representatives) often see as excessive and too restrictive.

All of the European Stadium Action Days sponsored by FSE have been formally supported by various fan groups and initiatives from more than 10 countries. The latter put their names on the list of participants and organized their own visible actions on match days.

In 2010 the "Our Game - Our Time" campaign in Sweden was very much supported by local fans and culminated in the Swedish Football Association suggesting that fans consult with them about kick-off times.

Fanzine - Revive the Roar!

FSE publishes an annual fanzine, "Revive the Roar!". Six issues had been published by 2016, including a media guide and legal information for football fans.

Institutional lobbying

FSE interlocks with various institutions to represent (mainly at the European level) the perspective of football fans in the institutional decision-making process that affects fans.

Since 2009, FSE has participated as an observer in the meetings of the Standing Committee of the EU Convention on Spectator Violence and Misconduct at Sports Events (T-RV) of the Council of Europe. In 2012 FSE was invited by the European Commission as an observer to the meetings of the EU expert group "Good Governance".

Other institutional platforms also consulted with FSE and sought the support or technical input (especially with regard to security issues) from the fan organization. As an example, one can mention the EU football expert Think-Thank and its police officer training project, which sought to promote innovative police strategies for football games with a focus on de-escalation and communication.

FSE also organizes meetings as part of its work in this area and tries to make its European actions or the local actions of its members more visible to national football associations, local authorities, football clubs and the media (e.g. within the framework of the European Football Fan Congress or through the individual processing of member inquiries).

Publications

• REVIVE THE ROAR! special edition - The vision of Football Supporters Europe
• REVIVE THE ROAR! No 2 - The FSE Media guide
• REVIVE THE ROAR! No 3 - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! Vol.1
• Supporters Charters in Europe - A Handbook for Supporters, Clubs Associations and Leagues (2013)
• Fans' Embassies - A Handbook
• EFFC 2008 Report (PDF; 740 kB)
• EFFC 2009 Report
• EFFC 2010 Report
• EFFC 2011 report
• EFFC 2012 report

See also

• Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE)

• Center for Access to Football in Europe
• Queer Football Fan Club (QFF)
• UEFA

Web links

• The official website of Football Supporters Europe
• Official website of the fan embassies

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Structure / FAQs . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
2. ↑ History and Goals . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
3. ↑ fans . UEFA . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
4. ↑ See also How fans fight for their rights . Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
5. ↑ For example, the Standing Committee on Dialogue and Interactions with Fans stated in January 2012 that “Advice and advice [...] can be obtained in particular from Football Supporters Europe (FSE), a European transnational organization of fan experts and representatives in this area ”- cf. Recommendation Rec (2012) 1 of the Standing Committee on dialogue and interaction with fans (PDF; 58 kB) Council of Europe . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
6. ↑ cf. The EPFL was invited for the 4th European Fans Congress . EPFL. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
7. ↑ cf. European Football Fans' Congress launched at the Emirates Stadium . Football Supporters Federation. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
8. ↑ History and Goals . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
9. ↑ cf. "Watching Football is not a Crime!" . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
10. ↑ "The FSE Committee" . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
11. ↑ FSE basic consensus . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
12. ↑ For example, FSE supports the "50 + 1 rule", which says that a maximum of 49% of the shares in a club may belong to private owners such as donors and patrons. The football fans are therefore the majority shareholders in the club. Cf. Fútbol para el pueblo, pero sin el pueblo (football for the people but without the people) . El Mundo . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
13. ↑ Gianni Infantino: The voice of the fans is heard . UEFA . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
14. ↑ Recommendation Rec (2010) 1 of the Standing Committee on supporters' charters (PDF; 69 kB) Council of Europe . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
15. ↑ Supporter Charters . Football For Equality. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 21, 2013. 
16. ↑ cf. "Fans and European football institutions publish a manual on fan dialogue in Vienna" . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
17. ↑ The FSE Fans Action Fund . Football Supporters Europe. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 21, 2013. 
18. ↑ FSE fans action shop . Football Supporters Europe. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 21, 2013. 
19. ↑ Fan embassies department . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
20. ↑ cf. The introduction video on Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A5Jn-OGRq4
21. ↑ Our Game - Our Time! . Football Supporters Europe. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 21, 2013. 
22. ↑ "It's always about repression and violence" . 11 friends . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
23. ↑ Review of the FSE campaign on April 29, 2011 . Harlekins Berlin 98.Retrieved September 21, 2013.
24. ↑ Our Game, our Time . Ultra Rossobianco. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
25. ↑ Save Fan Culture! Action Days (Save the Fan Culture! - Action Days) . Football Supporters Europe. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 21, 2013. 
26. ↑ Revive the Roar! - the FSE fanzine . Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
27. ^ Spectator Violence - Standing Committee . Council of Europe . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
28. ↑ Expert Group 'Good Governance' - Report from the 4th meeting (13 December 2012) (PDF; 184 kB) Council of Europe . Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 21, 2013. 
29. ↑ Note 15027/1/10 REV 1 (PDF; 268 kB) Council of the European Union . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
30. ↑ UEFA / EU police training bears fruit (The EU and UEFA police training program is bearing fruit) . UEFA . Retrieved September 21, 2013.
31. ↑ In this regard one can mention some examples in Turkey (see here ( Memento from August 30, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) or here ), in Russia and in the Netherlands .