The FSE Board is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organisation. It includes 8 fan representatives from across Europe who are elected every two years at the organisation’s General Meeting. The Executive Director and directors of the on-topic divisions also sit on the Board.
The current elected members of the Board are: Hüseyin Emre Balli (1907 ÜNIFEB, Turkey); Pierre Barthélemy (Association Nationale des Supporters, France); Sofia Bohlin (Svenska Fotbollssupporterunionen / SD Europe, Sweden) Paul Corkrey (Fans Embassy Wales, Wales); Martha Gens (Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto (APDA), Portugal); Kevin Miles, (Football Supporters’ Association, England); Herjan Pullen (Supportersvereniging Ajax, Netherlands); and Gregor Weinreich (Club Nr. 12, Germany).
The current appointed members of the Board are: Mark Doidge (Director, Anti-Discrimination Division, England); Ronan Evain (Executive Director, France); and Michael Gabriel (Director, FSE Fans’ Embassy Division, Germany).
You can find out more about each Board member below.
Hüseyin Emre Balli
Hüseyin lives in Istanbul, Turkey, and is a Fenerbahçe fan. Until recently, he sat on the Board of 1907 ÜNIFEB, a Fenerbahçe fans’ group for students founded in 2001, which has regional branches across Turkey. Hüseyin was elected to the FSE Board at the 2017 European Football Fans Congress in Gent and Lokeren.
Pierre Barthélemy
Pierre lives in Paris, France, and is a PSG fan. He is also an active member of French national fans’ organisation Association Nationale des Supporters (ANS). A lawyer by trade, Pierre has regularly used his expertise to challenge unfair and unlawful measures that target and/or impact fans in France and beyond, including away fan travel bans and stadium bans. He was elected to the FSE Board at the 2017 European Football Fans Congress in Gent and Lokeren.
Sofia Bohlin
Sofia lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. She supports IFK Göteborg. Sofia is the chair of the Swedish national supporters’ organisation, Svenska Fotbollssupporterunionen (SFSU), and SD Europe. She is also an active member of Göteborg supporters’ group Supporterklubben Änglarna. Sofia was elected to the FSE Board at the 2022 European Football Fans Congress in Frankfurt.
Paul Corkrey
Paul lives in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. He supports the Welsh national team and Cardiff City, where he recently took on the role of SLO. Paul is an active member of national fans’ organisation FSA Cymru and the organiser of the Wales Fans’ Embassy, which he has run for over 15 years. He was elected to the FSE Board at the 2017 European Football Fans Congress in Gent and Lokeren.
Martha Gens
Martha lives in Lisbon, Portugal, and is fan of Sporting CP. She is a lawyer and the chair of national fans’ organisation Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto (APDA). Martha has played a prominent role in efforts to overturn Portugal’s unpopular fan ID scheme. She was elected to the FSE Board at the 2019 European Football Fans Congress in Lisbon.
Kevin Miles
Kevin lives in Newcastle, England, and is a fan of Newcastle United. Currently the Chief Executive of the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), he has been a fan activist for decades, including many years overseeing the Free Lions fans’ embassy. Kevin was instrumental in the foundation of FSE, winning election to the Board at our first formal General Meeting, which coincided with the 2009 European Football Fans Congress in Hamburg.
Herjan Pullen
Herjan lives in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is a fan of AFC Ajax. He is an active member of Supportersvereniging Ajax, an independent group that has around 120,000 members, making it the largest fans’ association in the country. Herjan is also on the Board of national fans’ organisation Supporterscollectief Nederland. He was elected to the FSE Board at the 2015 European Football Fans Congress in Belfast.
Gregor Weinreich
Gregor lives in Munich, Germany, and supports Bayern Munich. He has been a fan activist for more than 20 years and has been involved in countless fan campaigns and initiatives. Gregor is also a former chair of Club Nr. 12, the independent umbrella organisation for active Bayern fans. He was elected to the FSE Board at the 2019 European Football Fans Congress in Lisbon.
Mark Doidge – FSE Anti-Discrimination Division
Mark lives in Brighton, England, and is a fan of non-league club Whitehawk FC. He is a lecturer at the University of Brighton, where he specialises in the political and social role of football fans. Mark also sits on the steering committee of the FSA’s Fans For Diversity initiative and the Inclusion Advisory Group for Sussex County FA. He has been the Director of the FSE Anti-Discrimination Division since 2015.
Ronan Evain – Executive Director
Ronan lives near Nantes, France, and is a fan of FC Nantes. Ronan was the coordinator of the ‘Fans’ Embassies at UEFA EURO 2016’ project. He was appointed as Executive Director of FSE in November 2016.
Michael Gabriel – FSE Fans’ Embassies Division
Michael lives in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and is a fan of Eintracht Frankfurt. He is the head of Koordinationsstelle Fanprojekte (KOS), the umbrella institution which coordinates the work done by the local fan projects in some 60 locations across Germany. Michael has been involved with fans’ embassies for many years and was appointed as Director of the FSE Fans’ Embassies Division in 2016.