FUTURE OF FOOTBALL
Football Supporters Europe launched the Erasmus+ project “Future of Football” in Summer 2023. The project focused on increasing the number of young people involved in democratic structures within supporters’ organisations and football clubs.
Contents
Background
Future of Football was a multi-year project that ran until autumn 2025, bringing together supporter organisations and partners from five EU countries, England & Wales, and Africa through the continental supporters’ body Football Supporters Africa.
The project worked closely with younger supporters from England & Wales, Germany, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Together, they co-created a series of toolkits and training materials designed to strengthen youth engagement and supporter participation. These resources were developed for delivery at selected clubs within each partner country.
The project was underpinned by research and insight provided by the Mulier Institute, the Netherlands’ only independent sports research organisation. Alongside its Europe-wide research contribution, the Institute delivered tailored national analyses for each partner country, ensuring that the project outputs were grounded in robust evidence and local context.
A series of national and European youth forums complemented this work, reinforcing the research findings, sharing learning between countries, and amplifying the project’s overall impact.
The toolkits, training materials, and research outputs developed through Future of Football are available below, along with articles and updates published during the lifetime of the project.
Future of Football Partners:
- The FSA, England & Wales
- FSE and Koordinationsstelle Fanprojekte (KOS), Germany
- Norsk Supportersallianse, Norway
- FASFE, Spain
- SFSU, Sweden
- Football Supporters Africa, Africa
- Mulier Institute, Netherlands
Project News
African Youth Fan Forum 2025
The Future of Football project headed to Sfax, Tunisia, in May 2025 for the first ever African Youth Fan Forum. Read more
Future Of Football Project Hosts First In-Person Meeting
FSE and project partners in Brussels, on 15-16 December 2023 for the first partner meeting and workshop of the Future of Football Erasmus+ project. Read more
Future of Football Launches
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is excited to announce the beginning of a new Erasmus+ project that will focus on increasing the number of young people involved in democratic structures within supporters’ organisations and football clubs. Read more
Project Resources
Youth Participation In Football Toolkit
The Future of Football toolkit offers guidance and support on how to
increase an individual’s engagement as a football fan and become an active supporter
within a democratic organisation. Download here.
Increasing Youth Participation In The Governance of Football Fan Organisations Report
Literature Scan into Barriers, Enablers, Relevant Practices, and Instruments. Download here.
Participation In The Decision-Making Processes Of Football (Fan) Organisations Report
The opinions of youth. Download here.
Lessons Learned From (Less) Successful Youth Participation Practices.
Results of a comparative country analysis.. Download here.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them