Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 12 juillet 2019

From 4th to 7th July, fans from across the continent joined Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto (APDA) in Lisbon for the 10th European Football Fans Congress (#EFFC19).

Delegates had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of subjects amongst themselves and with representatives from UEFA, European Leagues, and several national football associations. The workshops, which had an open format, explored everything from the experience of away fans in UEFA club competitions and minimum standards in away sectors to stadium redevelopment and female fandom. SD Europe also hosted a seminar on structured relationship between FAs and supporters’ organisations, while CAFÉ did the same for Disability Access Officers and offered their expertise in the stadium session. In addition, there was a pyrotechnics workshop at Campo Branca Lucas, home to Sport Lisboa e Olivais, with a demonstration of three innovative approaches and devices from the United States, Denmark, and Norway.

APDA, meanwhile, convened a roundtable to reflect on the past, present, and future of Portuguese fan culture, and those involved in national fans’ organisations and the Fans’ Embassy Division met to share ideas and good practice. On the Saturday afternoon, Deutsche Welle journalist Felix Tamsut brought events to a close by compering a plenary session about mooted reforms to the Champions League and Europa League, which proved to be both informative and constructive.

As ever, the Congress was followed by the Bi-Annual General Meeting of FSE, where members had the chance to influence the character and policy of the organisation. And that they did, approving changes to the Constitution, passing 5 motions, and electing a new Board and team of internal auditors.

FSE would like to congratulate Hüseyin Emre Balli (ÜNIFEB 1907), Pierre Barthelemy (Association Nationale des Supporters), Paul Corkrey (Fans Embassy Wales), Martha Mestre Gens (Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto), Kevin Miles (Football Supporters’ Association), Herjan Pullen (Supportersvereniging Ajax Amsterdam), Jim Spratt (Amalgamation of the Official Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs), and Gregor Weinreich (Club Nr.12 – Bayern), who were all elected to the FSE Board. Mark Doidge (Director of the Anti-Discrimination Division), Michael Gabriel (Director of the Fans’ Embassy Division), and Ronan Evain (CEO) remain as appointed members of the Board.

We would also like to place on record our thanks to Robert Ustian (CSKA Fans Against Racism), who leaves the Board after 4 years of service, for his continuous commitment, enthusiasm, and effort.

For those who are interested, a more detailed report will soon follow.

The next Board meeting will take place in Autumn of this year. Members can send any comments, questions, and recommendations to info@fanseurope.org.

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Please find the full programme here and a gallery of photographs from the Congress here. 

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 11 juin 2019

Ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, FSE spoke to Deborah Dilworth, who is running the Free Lionesses fans’ embassy in France on behalf of the English Football Supporters’ Association (FSA).

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 4 juin 2019

With the European Football Fans Congress (#EFFC19) in Lisbon nearly upon us, FSE and Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto (APDA) have finalised the list of workshops and plenary sessions, as well as the details of the Bi-Annual General Meeting. 

Please find the four-day agenda below.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER 

(If the link does not load, copy and paste this: https://bit.ly/2HYq0cM)

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 27 mai 2019

Martha Gens is one of the main coordinators of Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto (APDA), the national organisation that is co-hosting the 2019 European Football Fans Congress (EFFC) with FSE. Ahead of July’s event in Lisbon, we spoke to Martha about the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Portuguese supporters’ movement.

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 27 mai 2019

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is pleased to announce the official launch of ‘OUT!’

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OUT! WEBSITE

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 20 mai 2019

On 19th May, UEFA announced its ticketing policy for EURO 2020.

The tournament, which will take place across 12 host nations, is set to be the biggest in the history of European football. To this end, UEFA have made a record three million tickets available for sale, with two-and-a-half million of those, or 82% of the total, reserved for fans of the competing teams and the general public.

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 14 avril 2019

Eintracht Frankfurt have surprised just about everybody this season by making it to the semi-finals of the Europa League. But they’re impressing off the pitch, too, with a fan-centred approach that appears to be paying dividends.

Ahead of their home tie with Chelsea, FSE spoke to Henning Schwarz, the CEO of the Fan Department, and Philipp Reschke, the club’s in-house counsel, who is responsible for security, fan services, and matchday operations.

FSE: What does success in Europe mean for a club such as Eintracht?

Henning Schwarz: For us, it’s the biggest thing that can happen, apart from winning our first title in 30 years and our German cup victory last year. Frankfurt is, after all, a European city. When you walk through the city you can feel how important this is for people, especially since we don’t qualify for Europe every season. We last qualified 6 years ago, so we celebrate each game. Our first match against Marseille was difficult, of course, because we were excluded from the stadium and the city centre. But after making it through the group stage and beating bigger opponents in the knockout rounds, the euphoria has continued to build.

Phillip Reschke: As an association, we regard every European matchday, whether home or away, as a festive event. Our UEFA Cup win in 1980 is an important part of the club’s DNA. If you treat every game with such reverence, it becomes infectious: the players and coaches are motivated, and the fans put their heart and soul into the spectacle, from the noise-level to the choreography. That creates an even more intense bond between the two. Our board member, Axel Hellmann, said “When the team steps onto the pitch it is as if they have imbibed a magical potion. They consider themselves invincible.” European competitions have a completely different aura. Taking part is something very, very special for everyone involved.

FSE: We don’t get the impression that you consider the Europa League to be a second-class competition?
PR: Europa League games are the pinnacle for us. We only know the other competition from television. But I don’t want to judge other, more experienced clubs. We just have a different experience and outlook.

FSE: Henning, you mentioned that Eintracht fans were excluded from Marseilles earlier in the competition. This must have been a huge blow?

HS: Of course! Being excluded from the stadium was hard enough, but the decree prohibiting Eintracht fans from entering the city was even worse. It was obvious that we should work together with FSE and Association Nationale des Supporters (ANS) to oppose these measures.

PR: There was no long discussion in the club. We consider a municipal ban on football fans to be a completely disproportionate and legally dubious measure. With all sympathy for security concerns, this is not – cannot be – the future of European football. That’s why we opposed it, on principle, even though we knew, given the time period involved, there would be little chance of overturning the ban. It’s a question of principles and precedent: after Marseille is before Marseille. And that is why we have an interest in ensuring that a French administrative court decides on the legality of such a measure. At the moment, we’re in the early stages of the process (we expect it to last for 18-24 months).

FSE: We gather that you are also critical of UEFA’s sanctions for Olympique de Marseille, which were imposed in response to incidents at Europa League matches during the 2017-2018 season?

HS: We can say that we reject collective punishment in whatever form. We have always favoured perpetrator-oriented punishment in the Bundesliga. Participating in a European competition hasn’t changed our opinion.

PR: We recognise that UEFA, as the organiser of a competition with so many cultures, nations and clubs, has a much harder time maintaining a consistent level of order and safety than national associations. But, in the end, the result of this collective punishment, which impacts innocent fans, shows how unhelpful and counterproductive these means of sanction are.

FSE: What services does the club offer for its fans?

HS: We offer travel to every game, including transfers and tickets. This offer is aimed first and foremost at the 52,000 members for whom I work. Seven supporter liaison officers from the club, five of whom work full-time, also travel to away games. We make sure that we cater for fans with impairments, too, of course.

PR: The Frankfurt fan project, is also involved, and sends 3-5 people on away trips. From the pre-planning and distribution of tickets to the journey and as a point of contact on-site, we are there for our fans at every step. We don’t think so much in terms of “Europa League tourists” who would like a nice trip, but rather of the organised fan scene. We coordinate the process and we’re available as contacts whenever we can be. In addition, we act as a buffer to and mediator with the local security forces, especially during the preparation period. This is an important role because they differ not only geographically, but also on the basis of philosophy, deployment strategies, willingness to communicate, culture etc.

We try to prepare the host clubs and cities for our fan scene. Sometimes it works well and sometimes it doesn’t. In this context, we have worked with the Fan Department and FSE to establish a system of legal assistance where local lawyers help fans who have problems on the ground. These lawyers provide timely and high-quality assistance. We want to make sure that no one is left in a dark hole to rot. So far, we’ve had very good experiences with the respective colleagues in Marseille, Rome, Milan and Lisbon.

FSE: Given that UEFA regulations give away fans only 5% of the overall ticket allocation, is the process of distributing tickets difficult?

PR: Yes. In a game like the one at Chelsea, we can’t take all requests into account. That’s just the way it is. But our system privileges the regular away supporters, and we always try to find a way to bring the hard-core fans. This isn’t always easy, but we believe that we have a good system in place. We don’t have a ticket lottery.

FSE: You’ve been spared absurd prices so far: what was the most you have been charged and how do Eintracht set prices for their away sector?

PR: The most expensive game so far was in Milan, where the tickets of the regular contingent cost 30 EUR, while the 8,000 additional tickets we received were a bit more expensive at 40 EUR. This is OK because the host club provided us with more tickets from a higher category at our request. But you’re right, we’re yet to fall prey to exorbitant prices. For our home games, we respond to the pricing policy of each opponent. Our fans only had to pay 5 EUR in the Ukraine, so we charged Shakhtar Donetsk fans the same for the second leg. That´s just the right thing to do.

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 14 avril 2019

In late-February, representatives from Football Supporters Europe (FSE) visited Baku, Azerbaijan, to assess the city’s preparations for this season’s UEFA Europa League Final, which will take place in the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday 29th May (23:00 local time). 

Based on observations made during the visit, FSE identified several concerns regarding potential hosting conditions, including the human rights situation, ticket allocation, and the visa application process.

The latter was of particular concern because it entailed mandatory disclosure of an individual’s HIV status. FSE believes that this violates the right to equal protection under the law and the United Nations General Assembly’s Political Declaration on HIV and Aids.

FSE communicated these reservations to UEFA. They considered them serious enough to pass on to the Azerbaijani authorities, who acted accordingly.

To this end, on 9th April, the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, signed a decree removing the HIV declaration from the e-visa application process. We must stress, however, that the declaration has only been removed from official channels—some third parties still include the question on their websites. As such, we advise that fans travelling to Azerbaijan for the final use official channels to apply for a visa.

FSE commends UEFA for its swift action, and we are satisfied that all travellers will be able to enter the country regardless of their health status.

While we still have concerns about other aspects of the fixture which we will continue to lobby on, we note that meaningful cooperation between fans, human rights organisations, governing bodies, and national authorities can lead to a positive outcome.

It is therefore vital that, going forward, all stakeholders continue to work together. They should do so around an internationally recognised framework of norms. In the end, this is the only way to ensure that major sporting events such as the Europa League, Champions League, and UEFA EURO 2020 live up to the high standards that we have all come to expect.

Along with our partners at the Sports Rights Alliance (SRA), FSE will continue to promote the human rights agenda in football and sport, as well as the safety and well-being of those most likely to be affected by any potential human rights abuses.  

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 28 mars 2019

Registration for the 10th FSE European Football Fans Congress is now open.

EFFC19 will be hosted in Lisbon from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th July by Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto (APDA), a national organisation that is currently protesting a new law that targets football supporters.

Détails

Écrit par Jim

Publication : 12 mars 2019

Dear Mr Infantino

We are writing as a global group of non-governmental organisations, trade unions, players’ unions and fans groups working to defend and promote human rights and transparency in sport, in relation to the forthcoming FIFA Council Meeting on 14-15 March where proposals to expand the 2022 World Cup will be discussed.