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Yesterday, Football Supporters Europe and Supporters Direct met with UEFA to further improve the dialogue between them.

Yesterday, Football Supporters Europe and Supporters Direct met with UEFA to further improve the dialogue between them.

05/03/2010  
Cambridge Fans United (CFU) Press Release  
For immediate Release  

Cambridge United fans bid to Buy Back the Abbey  

The Cambridge United Supporters’ Trust, Cambridge Fans United (CFU) has unveiled a bold plan to buy back the Abbey Stadium – for the whole community, and they’re asking for the whole town to pull together to achieve it in record breaking time!

Over 1,000 people have now signed up to Supporters Directs Keep the Cup Free for All campaign, which aims to keep the Rugby League Challenge Cup on the list of protected free-to-air TV events.

Over 1,000 people have now signed up to Supporters Directs Keep the Cup Free for All campaign, which aims to keep the Rugby League Challenge Cup on the list of protected free-to-air TV events.

Two clubs that haven’t yet resolved their differences with the taxman are AFC Bournemouth and Cardiff City, and both of them are still fighting off winding up orders. Mark Murphy has been taking a look at both clubs, and finds a bit of a high risk strategy taking place at each.

Hidden away in the back pages of a couple of local newspapers, another football club is dying. It’s a club that has been to the brink before and, unlike, other, bigger clubs that have faced financial problems this season, they haven’t exactly hogged the headlines over the last couple years or so. Farsley Celtic have crossed our rainbow, firstly when their chairman openly considered changing their name to “AFC Leeds” to try and grow their local support and secondly when they fell into serious financial difficulties during the summer over an unpaid a £200,000 bill to HMRC which resulted in their near expulsion from the Blue Square North. It was only at the last minute that a new consortium was believed to have stepped in after the club entered into administration.

Trust statement 02/03/10

The Trust is delighted to welcome Paul Hart as manager of Crystal Palace and wish him every success in his new role. It is particularly pleasing to welcome back Dougie Freedman, a strong supporter and member of the Trust, and John Pemberton back to Selhurst Park.

In amongst all the stories at clubs that we document here; of the creaking structures at Liverpool and Manchester United caused by foolish over-borrowing; falls from grace caused by egos at Chester and Kings Lynn; or collapses at Portsmouth caused by...well, a variety of things really, it's easy to forget what so often comes out the other end after all the heartache and hard work. We've got so many good stories to tell, of clubs saved, reborn, brought back from the brink.

Nick Spencer, Telegraph journalist and Exeter City fan has chronicled the journey that the Club has been on from the dying days of the regime of Lewis and Russell (not to mention Michael Jackson, Uri Geller and the Green Cross Code Man), through to the second promotion under supporter-ownership.

Equally Exeter City through-and-through, Nic Mimmack, reviews Never Say Die...

Since Chester City were expelled from the Football Conference on Friday, there have been a number of rumours circulating about the future of football in Chester, specifically a number of misunderstandings about CFU's work towards the reformation of the Club.

The board of the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust understands and shares the frustration that many Bluebirds fans are feeling as a result of the club’s current predicament. Our beloved football club appears to be in a precarious position with a High Court appearance scheduled for next week, various bills remaining unpaid and sources of future income seemingly already exhausted.

It was standing room only in the social club at Gigg Lane, Bury on Saturday lunchtime for the “Beyond The Debt” rally as a crowd of hundreds watched an impressive array of those in the know explain that the time for debate on the ownership of football clubs is coming to an end. We seem now to be entering a different time. A time when action is required. A time in which shrugging your shoulders and muttering that, “well, my club is alright” is no longer enough. When opening speaker and rally chair Andy Walsh from FC United of Manchester spoke, he talked of the rivalries between supporters of football clubs being an artificial construct which masked the true enemies of football supporters – the people that run the game itself.

The Supporters Trust is concerned with many of the recent statements and decisions that have been made and taken by the AFC Bournemouth Board.

Fans are once again being asked to risk their money by paying for their season tickets well in advance and many supporters are concerned by the spending of season ticket revenue which is normally allocated to close season.

Barnsley, Cambridge United, Carlisle United, Chesterfield, Darlington, Derby, QPR, Scarborough - all victims of money-lenders (variously the Sterling Consortium and ABC Corporation).

Now it seems Premier League clubs are not prepared to heed the warning that these clubs give us, as football's most recent convert to our gospel of financial sanity David Sullivan discloses to ESPN that 'a private individual has loaned three Premier League clubs "tens of millions" as some of the elite have already sold TV revenues and season tickets for forthcoming seasons' (other convert David Gold is appearing on the Five Live debate 'Football in the Red' on Tuesday with Gordon Taylor and others).

The new season in the Republic of Ireland will see a familiar name taking part, but with a difference: The Club, Cork City, are now fan-owned.

FSF OPEN INVITE

Vibe Bar, London, Thursday March 4th, 7pm

'Sit Down, Shut Up: Are Football Supporters Discriminated Against?' is the FSF's free Question Time-style debate and gives match-going fans the opportunity to tell it how they see it to an expert panel of journalists, police, prosecutors and civil-liberty solicitors (see Notes to Editors).

· Fed up with over-zealous police?

· Tired of doormen dressed up as ‘stewards'?

· Disgusted with clubs criminalising their own supporters?

Portsmouth City Football Club Limited has today confirmed that it has entered into administration. Although this brings an initial nine point deduction it does give the club the opportunity to rebuild.

On Saturday 27th February, before our home game against North Ferriby United, FC United will host a supporters' rally aimed at putting supporter ownership at the very centre of the debate on the future of the game.

Alongside our own speakers, guests will include Guardian journalist David Conn, representatives from Schalke FC, Supporters Direct and IMUSA. Two other high profile European sides have also been invited and we await their confirmation. It is also hoped that groups from English clubs affected by the escalating debt in the game, will be in attendance.

Football is at a critical juncture, with the need for clear leadership and regulation never more evident. An alternative model of how the game is structured has never been more needed with supporter ownership absolutely fundamental to that model.

FC United is part of that debate, an example of that alternative and with our guests and friends that will join us on the day we aim to make the point that supporter ownership is the only way forward.

Join us on the 27th.

12 noon, Gigg Lane Social Club - Free Entry

Please note that we expect that the rally will be finished for 1.30 and that CYCM will be open as usual straight after it does.

There is also no reason at this stage to expect the match will be postponed, but it should be noted that the rally will go ahead regardless.

The Club have been wound up. This brief statement from the Football Conference is hopefully the final episode in a sorry state of affairs, and we hope that all Chester fans will now look to City Fans United to lead the reformation of the Club for next season.

'The Board of the Football Conference has issued a statement following the meeting of member clubs at Rushden & Diamonds on Friday morning.

The statement reads: “Member clubs of the Football Conference, at a general meeting held today, voted in support of the Board of Director`s recommendation to erase Chester City (2004) FC Ltd from membership in accordance with Article 5.2.

Chester City did not attend the meeting'

Success in the Champions League can't disguise the financial agonies of English football clubs at every level.

We've been interviewed alongside fans and bloggers from Chester, Portstmouth, Man Utd, Liverpool and QPR, talking about the problems - and the solutions, and now the Observer want your responses. Head over to their You Tube Channel for more.

Supporters Direct and fans' groups across Europe on Tuesday received a big ‘thumbs up' from Europe's politicians at the first organised lobby of the European Parliament by football fans.

The reception was supported by the Parliament's Friends of Football group of football-loving MEPs and by Europe's governing body for football, UEFA.

Chester Fans furious at the way in which a Danish group are frustrating their efforts to give their city a club to be proud of have hit back...

The Supporters Direct Keep it Free for All campaign has gained significant political support in strong rugby league area, St Helens.

The Supporters Direct Keep it Free for All campaign has gained significant political support in strong rugby league area, St Helens.

The Pompey Trust have issued the following statement following an offer of shares from departing Portsmouth Chairman Sulaiman Al-Fahim:

The Al-Fahim shares - update
Monday, 22 February 2010 

The Pompey Supporters' Trust working committee met with Suleiman Al Fahim at the end of January to discuss the possibility of Mr Fahim donating his 10% share in Portsmouth Football Club to the Trust. The working committee agreed that the offer had been made in good faith, but due to the circumstances of the Club we required financial and legal advice before we'd be in a position to comment further.

No formal offer has yet been made to the trust, but appreciating the need for urgency in the current dire situation, the Trust and it's advisors will deal with any formal offer immediately after it's been recieved.

A reccomendation based on financial and legal advice will be put to the Pompey Trusts members, who ultimately approve any decisions of this scale.

If you require any more information please contact info@pompeytrust.com

The fans of Chester City can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, with members of the Football Conference due to vote in seven days time for the expulsion of the Club.

The news came as fans were hearing from Telford United Chairman Lee Carter and FC United's Jules Spencer, as well as Chester MP Christine Russell and council leader Mike Jones, and Supporters Direct, at a public meeting to hear more about how a fan-owned phoenix will rise when the inevitable happens.

And there was even more good news, with Jones calling on local radio for the current incarnation of the Club to be allowed to finally die and for it to be reborn under CFU's ownership.

As the Green and Gold campaign goes from strength to strength the team marches on in parallel. This is surely no coincidence.

We pick up articles all the time that we'd like you to read: that's why we use our delicious accounts and publish them to our site - to the 'What we're reading at SD' on the front page.

Sometimes though we find an article that we want to mention on in a story - like this weekend's Guardian, which had an 'Unthinkable' leader column that advocates fan ownership, which has been followed up by a couple of interesting letters today.

It's good to see the debate beginning to surface more and more. Keep an eye out for more in the not-too-distant future!

In much the same way that you would get a surveyor’s report as a matter of course when considering buying a house, so you would ‘conduct due diligence’ if you were considering buying any company, especially so, I would have thought, if the company happened to be a football club.

The Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) has been created to ensure disabled supporters can enjoy a football match as a problem-free experience. CAFE's aim is inclusivity and equality of experience. And, because football embraces diversity in all its forms, CAFE will also work with the football family to raise disability awareness more widely throughout Europe.

The Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) has been created to ensure disabled supporters can enjoy a football match as a problem-free experience. CAFE's aim is inclusivity and equality of experience. And, because football embraces diversity in all its forms, CAFE will also work with the football family to raise disability awareness more widely throughout Europe.

Substance's research project commissioned by Supporters Direct about the social and community ‘value’ of football clubs is drawing to a close. This landmark piece of research ran from September 2008 to August 2009 and investigated different ways in which we can value football clubs and explore the advantages of supporter ownership models for maximising the social value of clubs.

Substance's research project commissioned by Supporters Direct about the social and community ‘value’ of football clubs is drawing to a close. This landmark piece of research ran from September 2008 to August 2009 and investigated different ways in which we can value football clubs and explore the advantages of supporter ownership models for maximising the social value of clubs.

More than 60 fans were among the very first to sign up as members of the Tiger Tracks supporters' trust - the group aiming to get Telford Tigers back into the English Premier League - with many more taking membership forms away from the meeting for family and friends.

More than 60 fans were among the very first to sign up as members of the Tiger Tracks supporters' trust - the group aiming to get Telford Tigers back into the English Premier League - with many more taking membership forms away from the meeting for family and friends.

Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd led a debate on finance and regulation of football last week (Wednesday). Sion Simon MP was speaking for the Government, with Tory Sports Shadow Hugh Robertson MP there.

Listen to the Debate or read the Hansard verbatim report

We're getting reports (in that News at Ten style) that Chester City have been given more time to explain themselves over their failure to fulfil their match against Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night, and the subsequent cancellation of the match against Wrexham this Sunday. Latest news is that the Club has been suspended from competition and been given seven days to explain the cancellations.

Supporters Direct Statement:

The news that Chester City FC will fail for the second time in two days to fulfil a fixture, this time at home to Wrexham this weekend, surely signals the end for the Club.

The prune-juice economics of football (copyright [Lord]) Alan Sugar are much evidence today, with Southend United, Cardiff City and, most notably, Portsmouth, in the High Court (the company court) over disputes with HMRC. And it'd be very easy to say "I told you so". Too easy in fact. Late breaking news - Cardiff and Southend have had their cases adjourned for 28 days, and Portsmouth's until 14:00 today.

Fans from the Pompey Supporters Trust and SOS Pompey campaign were today promised a 'detailed investigation' into the new owner of Portsmouth Football Club during a lengthy meeting with Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore and Mike Foster.

Runcorn Linnets FC and The Millbank Group, a UK market leading resource management solution provider who operate from headquarters in Runcorn, are pleased to announce a multi-year club sponsorship arrangement. The three year deal, with in-built options to extend to five years, will see the Resource Management specialist provided with branding opportunities at the club for an undisclosed, but substantial annual investment. The Millbank name and logo will feature in the name and signage associated with the club's new stadium; The Millbank Linnets Stadium, whose construction started this week at Halton Sports near Murdishaw, and Millbank will take on the mantle as the club's shirt sponsor in the 2010/2011 season which will see the club playing in Runcorn for the first time since its inception in 2006.

Rugby League legend, Martin Offiah has given his backing to the Supporters Direct Keep it Free for All campaign to keep the Rugby League Challenge Cup on the list of protected free-to-air TV events.  The recommendation to remove the event has come from the Government commissioned Davies Report and could see the Challenge Cup disappear from free-to-air TV altogether.

Perhaps I've been wrong all along to be cynical about the owners of clubs and their prediliction for debt-fuelled spending, on the day David Sullivan calls for a salary cap.

Salary Cap? What's the skinny then?

At the end of last year Supporters Direct ran an online survey to gain the views of supporters on a variety of football related topics. As an incentive to complete the questionnaire fans could choose to enter a prize draw to win the Scottish football top of their choice.

At the turn of the year the draw was made and Morton supporter Alistair McKinnon was the first name out of the hat. Morton director and former Supporters Direct board member Stuart Duncan arranged the handover of the prize to Alistair at a recent home match. You can make your own mind up whether the smiles in the photo indicate whether it was before or after the match!

The survey itself was completed by over 1,300 fans of clubs the length and breadth of the country and generated a lot of data along with many more opinions and comments. Results and issues arising from the survey will be published over the coming weeks and will continue to help inform any sports policy discussions the organisation is involved in.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to fill the survey out.

Cardiff City Supporters' Trust is to press ahead with its efforts to force a special meeting of shareholders to demand answers on the football club's financial position.

Board members decided to act after receiving a letter from Cardiff City Football Club (Holdings) Ltd Secretary and Board member Alan Whiteley which failed to give the expected firm commitment on the timing of a promised meeting.

The majority of press and media comment is focussed on the transfer window at the moment but there are other stories lurking out there. Our colleagues in England don't have to look too far for problems at Portsmouth, Crystal Palace, Chester City and a host of other clubs. Manchester United fans have also been getting support from unusual sources for their view of the clubs current financial position.

In Scotland Highland League club Inverness Clachnacuddin are in administration and the Clach Trust have stepped in to try and secure the short-term future of the club by making sure it has the funds to continue to the end of the season.

Players' Union Chief Executive Fraser Wishart has an interesting opinion on agents in The Herald.

Jim Spence, on his BBC blog, gives some advice to those who want to have a say but retain their anonymity.

And in more general information a new newspaper, the Caledonian Mercury, has been launched. It claims to be 'Scotland's first truly online newspaper' and we're looking forward to reading their views on issues in the football and wider sporting worlds.

Warrington Wolves star, Lee Briers, is the latest big name to give his backing to Supporters Direct's Keep it Free for All campaign to keep the Challenge Cup on free to air television. Briers, who with his Wolves team mates won the Challenge Cup in 2009 after beating Huddersfield Giants in the Final, said of the recommendation to remove Rugby League's showpiece final from the list of protected TV events:

On the day the Portsmouth FC website went down, the Supporters Trust has stepped into the breach with their new website.

The new Pompey Supporters' Trust rushed to the rescue when they heard that the official PFC website was down. With fans clamouring for ticket news for the FA Cup game at Southampton, the Trust offered to run any Club ticket information on their new website www.pompeytrust.com.

The Trust also contacted as many Portsmouth messageboards as they could in order that they could also show the details.

We live in challenging times, and these extend to every corner of the game and every aspect of how clubs run themselves. One club that has found the going tough over the last couple of years or so is St Albans City of the Blue Square South. Increasing concern over the way that their club was being run led to the formation of the Saints City Trust, and the Trust has already been fundraising with reasonable success. This week, however, the directors of the club held a meeting and chose to send an open letter to the Trust, outlining why they think the Trust should give them some of the money that they have raised. The Trust replied with an absolutely outstanding response, one that sums up the exact nature of the fractious relationships between the companies that own football clubs and the supporters trusts whose most important single aim is to ensure the long-term future of their club, and should act as a template for any supporters trust that finds itself at the point of being treated like a hole in the wall machine by the people that are running their football club.

Reds In Business is appealing for Manchester United supporters in the business community to step forward and join the growing movement to effect a change of ownership at Manchester United.